[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 211 (Thursday, October 31, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58403-58405]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-23793]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement

[OMB Control Number 1653-0022]


Agency Information Collection Activities: Revision of a Currently 
Approved Collection: Immigration Bond

AGENCY: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Department of 
Homeland Security.

ACTION: 30-Day notice.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995 
the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Immigration and Customs 
Enforcement (ICE) will submit the following Information Collection 
Request (ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review 
and clearance. This information collection was previously published in 
the Federal Register on August 27, 2019, allowing for a 60-day comment 
period. ICE received one comment in connection with the 60-day notice. 
The purpose of this notice is to allow an additional 30 days for public 
comments.

DATES: Comments are encouraged and will be accepted until December 2, 
2019.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments 
and/or suggestions regarding the item(s) contained in this notice, 
especially regarding the estimated public burden and associated 
response time, to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, 
Office of Management and Budget. Comments should be addressed to the 
OMB Desk Officer for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, 
Department of Homeland Security, and sent via electronic mail to 
[email protected] or faxed to (202) 395-5806. All submissions 
must include the words ``Department of Homeland Security'' and the OMB 
Control Number 1653-0022.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For specific question related to 
collection activities, please contact: Justin Gellert, 202-732-5462, 
[email protected], Enforcement and Removal Operations, Bond 
Management Unit, ICE.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Comments

    Written comments and suggestions from the public and affected 
agencies concerning the proposed collection of information should 
address one or more of the following four points:
    (1) Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is 
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, 
including whether the information will have practical utility;
    (2) Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of 
the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the 
methodology and assumptions used;
    (3) Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to 
be collected; and
    (4) Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those 
who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated, 
electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic 
submission of responses.

Overview of This Information Collection

    (1) Type of Information Collection: Revision of a Currently 
Approved Collection.
    (2) Title of the Form/Collection: Immigration Bond.
    (3) Agency form number, if any, and the applicable component of the 
DHS sponsoring the collection: I-352; ICE.
    (4) Affected public who will be asked or required to respond, as 
well as a brief abstract: Primary: Individual or Households, Business 
or other nonprofit. The data collected on this collection instrument is 
used by ICE to ensure that the person or company posting the bond is 
aware of the duties and responsibilities associated with the bond. The 
collection instrument serves the purpose of instruction in the 
completion of the form, together with an explanation of the terms and 
conditions of the bond. Sureties have the capability of accessing, 
completing and submitting delivery, voluntary departure, and order of 
supervision bonds electronically through ICE's eBonds system which 
encompasses the I-352, while

[[Page 58404]]

individuals are still required to complete the bond form manually and 
sureties will be required to submit maintenance of status and departure 
bonds manually.
    (5) An estimate of the total number of respondents and the amount 
of time estimated for an average respondent to respond: 61,722 
responses at 30 minutes (.50 hours) per response. ICE calculated the 
number of estimated responses by adding together the number of bonds 
that were posted using Form I-352 in Fiscal Year 2018 (58,734) with the 
maximum number of maintenance of status and departure bonds the 
Department of State expects may be required for non-immigrants in the 
next fiscal year (2,988). The burden estimate includes the time 
required to review instructions, gather and maintain data needed, to 
complete, and to file the collection of information.
    (6) An estimate of the total public burden (in hours) associated 
with the collection: 30,861 annual burden hours, estimated by 
multiplying the total number of responses, 61,722, by the average 
response burden of .50 hours. This estimate is composed of 8,689 
responses from surety companies, and 53,033 aliens posting cash bonds 
resulting in a total of 61,722 responses.
    (7) An estimate of the total public burden (in cost) associated 
with the collection: The estimated total annual cost is $743,670. This 
cost is composed of the burden to surety companies estimated using the 
average wage for insurance sales agents and the burden to aliens using 
the average wage of unskilled workers and production works plus fringe 
benefits estimated to be $47.58 per hour and $20.25 per hour 
respectively.\1\
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    \1\ The hourly wage rate for an insurance sales agent is $32.64 
as reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) in the May 2018 
National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates United States, 
https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm#41-3021.
    The hourly wage rate for unskilled labor is represented by the 
national average of state minimum wage rates, $8.94. See 
Consolidated Minimum Wage Table, June 1, 2019, https://www.dol.gov/whd/minwage/mw-consolidated.htm. The hourly wage rate for 
manufacturing labor is represented by the average hourly wage for 
production occupations, $18.84. See All Production Occupations, May 
2018 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates United 
States, https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm#51-0000. 
Employer costs per hour worked for employee compensation and costs 
as a percent of total compensation: Civilian workers, by major 
occupational and industry group, All workers, https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ecec.t01.htm. Wages and salaries are 68.6 percent of 
total compensation.
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    (8) The estimated cost to the Government associated with the 
collection: The total estimated cost is $10,422,995, which includes 
printing costs and the collection and processing burden for each form. 
The total printing costs equate to $46,292 which is estimated by 
multiplying the number of responses (61,722) by the cost of printing 
two forms per response for $0.75. The collection and processing of each 
form takes an average of 6 hours, and will be conducted by a government 
employee with an average hourly wage plus overhead estimated to be 
$28.02.\2\ The total cost of collecting and processing for the 
government is $10,376,703.
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    \2\ The hourly rate is an average of a General Schedule Grade 7 
Step 5, and a Grade 9 Step 1, plus the average national locality 
adjustment of 21.48 percent. https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/salaries-wages/salary-tables/pdf/2019/saltbl.pdf. An overhead rate of 12 percent was added to reflect the 
indirect expenses as reported in OMB Circular A76, https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/whitehouse.gov/files/omb/circulars/A76/a76_incl_tech_correction.pdf.
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Overview of Proposed Revisions to the Bond Form and to Bond Procedures

    Form No. I-352, Immigration Bond, has not been substantively 
revised since 2008. Changes to the form are now necessary because U.S. 
Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) intends to issue a 
different form for public charge bonds and Form I-352 will no longer be 
used for that type of bond. Additionally, ICE is adding language to 
explain the terms and conditions of maintenance of status and departure 
bonds. Maintenance of status and departure bonds were previously 
accepted by the former Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) on 
earlier versions of the Form I-352, and ICE may accept this type of 
bond when required for non-immigrants visiting the United States. The 
proposed revisions to the bond form also seek to clarify when a bond 
obligor's liability attaches and the events that trigger cancellation 
of a bond, and to notify the public that ICE will no longer issue 
receipts on Form I-305 for bonds secured by a cash deposit.
    Cash Bond Deposit: ICE has revised the Instructions to state that 
it will accept a certified check, a cashier's check, or a money order 
(a ``cash equivalent'') as a deposit from a cash bond obligor.
    eBONDS Power of Attorney: Based on the development of the eBONDS 
system, ICE has revised the Instructions to state that surety bonds 
issued using the eBONDS system may be accompanied by a power of 
attorney executed by a surety company for use in the eBONDS system.
    General Terms and Conditions: Because certain jurisdictions do not 
honor ICE detainers, the General Terms and Conditions governing the 
bond have been revised to reflect that a bond will not be cancelled 
simply because ICE is on notice of the detention of the bonded alien 
for 30 or more days pursuant, or prior, to a conviction by local, 
state, or federal authorities. The revised General Terms and Conditions 
clarify that a delivery bond may not be breached when the bonded alien 
is in local, state, or federal custody on the date the obligor is 
scheduled to produce the alien. The bond will remain in effect in this 
situation unless ICE later takes the bonded alien into its custody 
directly from local, state, or federal authorities, in which case the 
bond will be cancelled.
    Address to Use for Notice Purposes: Part A of Form I-352 has been 
revised to delete the boxes indicating the address to use for notice 
purposes.
    Liability Attaches Upon Execution of the Bond: Part C of Form I-352 
has been revised to reflect that the surety's liability attaches upon 
execution of the bond form. References to the alien becoming a public 
charge have been omitted and the revisions clarify that the face amount 
of the bond is forfeited or becomes due when the breach determination 
is administratively final.
    Form I-352 No Longer Used for Public Charge Bonds: Previous 
Paragraph G(2) has been omitted from Form I-352 in anticipation of 
USCIS using a different form for issuance of public charge bonds.
    Maintenance of Status and Departure Bonds: Paragraph G(4) has been 
added to explain the terms and conditions for Maintenance of Status and 
Departure Bonds. The former INS accepted maintenance of status and 
departure bonds using prior versions of Form I-352 when a bond was 
required for a non-immigrant traveling to the United States.
    Deletion of Paragraphs H-J: Because U.S. bonds, notes and cash are 
no longer accepted as deposits to secure cash bonds, ICE has eliminated 
Paragraphs H-J of Form I-352 and any references to those paragraphs 
because they are no longer necessary.
    Forms I-305 and I-395 No Longer Used in Conjunction with Cash 
Bonds: Before the advent of electronic signatures, ICE issued a receipt 
on Form I-305 to the cash bond obligor documenting the amount of the 
bond deposit. ICE required the obligor to submit the original of Form 
I-305 with the bond cancellation notice before obtaining a refund of 
the cash bond deposit. If the obligor lost the receipt, the obligor 
could submit an affidavit on Form I-395 in lieu of the receipt to claim 
the cash bond deposit. ICE has

[[Page 58405]]

now determined that issuance of Form I-305 is unnecessary and is unduly 
burdensome. For bonds posted on the newly revised bond form, ICE will 
no longer require cash bond obligors to submit Form I-305 or Form I-395 
after a bond has been cancelled and will issue refunds of bond deposits 
to the individual or entity identified in ICE records as the individual 
or entity entitled to receive the refund without requiring Form I-305 
or Form I-395 to be submitted.

    Dated: October 28, 2019.
Scott Elmore,
PRA Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 2019-23793 Filed 10-30-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 9111-28-P