[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 106 (Tuesday, June 2, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33772-33774]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-11889]


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DEPARTMENT OF STATE

[Public Notice 11122]


30-Day Notice of Proposed Information Collection: Public Charge 
Questionnaire

ACTION: Notice of request for public comment and submission to OMB of 
proposed collection of information.

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SUMMARY: The Department of State (``Department'') is seeking Office of 
Management and Budget (``OMB'') approval for the information collection 
described below. In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 
and

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OMB procedures, we are requesting comments on this collection from all 
interested individuals and organizations. The purpose of this notice is 
to allow 30 days for public comment preceding submission of the 
collection to OMB.

DATES: Submit comments up to July 2, 2020.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and recommendations for the proposed 
information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of 
this notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find this particular 
information collection by selecting ``Currently under 30-day Review--
Open for Public Comments'' or by using the search function.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Direct requests for additional 
information regarding the collection listed in this notice may be 
submitted to Taylor Beaumont, who may be reached over telephone at 
(202) 485-7586 or email at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Department published a ``Notice of 
Intent to Request Emergency Processing of Information Collection: 
Public Charge Questionnaire'' (``DS-5540''), notifying the public of 
the Department's intent to seek emergency processing of the DS-5540 on 
February 12, 2020. 85 FR 8087. Consistent with the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995 (``PRA'') and OMB procedures, the Department requested 
approval after emergency processing of the DS-5540. On October 24, 
2019, the Department had published a Notice of Request for Public 
Comment for the DS-5540, initiating a 60-day period for the public to 
submit comments on the information collection. 84 FR 5712. The 60-day 
comment period ended on December 23, 2019, and the Department received 
92 comments. On February 12, in the Supporting Statement for the 
Department's request for OMB emergency processing and approval of the 
DS-5540, the Department responded to public comments received during 
the 60-day comment period, as well as comments received in response to 
the emergency notice for the separate DS-5541, Immigrant Health 
Insurance Coverage (``DS-5541'') (84 FR 58199) that are pertinent to 
the DS-5540. On February 20, 2020, OMB approved the DS-5540, based on 
emergency processing. While the Department is currently enjoined from 
implementing Presidential Proclamation 9945 and therefore cannot 
utilize the DS-5541, see Doe v. Trump, 418 F. Supp. 3d 573 (D. Or. 
2019), the health-insurance related questions in the DS-5540 are also 
relevant for the purposes of making a public-charge assessment.\1\ The 
Department is completing the ongoing PRA process for three-year 
approval of the DS-5540, because the approval based on emergency 
processing under the PRA expires August 31, 2020.
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    \1\ The government is also challenging the injunction of the 
Proclamation before the Ninth Circuit and is awaiting a ruling. See 
Doe v. Trump, No. 19-36020 (9th Cir.).
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     Title of Information Collection: Public Charge 
Questionnaire.
     OMB Control Number: 1405-0234.
     Type of Request: Extension of a Previously Approved 
Collection.
     Originating Office: Bureau of Consular Affairs, Visa 
Office (CA/VO).
     Form Number: DS-5540.
     Respondents: Immigrant visa applicants, including 
diversity visa applicants, and certain nonimmigrant visa applicants.
     Estimated Number of Respondents: 397,814.
     Estimated Number of Responses: 397,814.
     Average Time Per Response: 4.5 hours.
     Total Estimated Burden Time: 1,790,163 hours.
     Frequency: Once per respondent's application.
     Obligation to respond: Required to Obtain or Retain a 
Benefit.
    We are soliciting public comments that assist the Department in:
     Evaluating whether the proposed information collection is 
necessary for the proper functions of the Department;
     Evaluating the accuracy of our estimate of the time and 
cost burden of this proposed collection, including the validity of the 
methodology and assumptions used;
     Enhancing the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and,
     Minimizing the reporting burden on those who are to 
respond, including the use of automated collection techniques or other 
forms of information technology.
    Please note that comments submitted in response to this Notice are 
public record. Before including any detailed personal information, you 
should be aware that your comments as submitted, including your 
personal information, will be available for public review.

Abstract of Proposed Collection

    Aliens who seek a visa, application for admission, or adjustment of 
status must establish that they are not likely at any time after 
admission to become a public charge, unless Congress has expressly 
exempted them from this ground of ineligibility or if the alien 
obtained a waiver. Consular officers will use completed DS-5540 forms 
to assess whether an alien is more likely than not to become a public 
charge, and consequently, whether the alien is ineligible for a visa 
under section 212(a)(4)(A) of the Immigration and Nationality Act 
(``INA''), 8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(4), and 22 CFR 40.41. This collection will 
assist applicants in meeting the burden of proof on aliens under 
section 291 of the INA, 8 U.S.C. 1361, to establish that they are 
eligible to receive a visa, including that they are not inadmissible 
under any provision of the INA. This information collection is 
consistent with the statutory requirement in section 212(a)(4)(B), 8 
U.S.C. 1182(a)(4)(B), and regulatory requirement in 22 CFR 40.41, that 
consular officers must consider an alien's age; health; family status; 
assets, resources, and financial status; and education and skills in 
determining whether a visa applicant is more likely than not to become 
a public charge. The Department published an interim final rule 
amending 22 CFR 40.41 on October 11, 2019, to incorporate new standards 
for assessing eligibility on public charge grounds. The interim final 
rule invited public comment for 30 days. 84 FR 54996. The Department 
will separately address public comments to the interim final rule in 
the publication of the final rule. The DS-5540 collects information 
relating to the visa applicant's age; health; family status; assets, 
resources, and financial status; and education and skills. The DS-5540 
also will require visa applicants to provide information on whether 
they have received certain specified public benefits from a U.S. 
federal, state, territorial, or local government entity.
    Among the purposes of the public charge ground of inadmissibility 
is to ensure that aliens entering the United States are self-sufficient 
and will not rely on public resources to meet their needs, but rather, 
will rely on their own capabilities, as well as the resources of 
sponsors. Through the DS-5540, as approved on an emergency basis, the 
Department collects information in a standardized format regarding 
applicants' ability to financially support themselves following entry 
into the United States, without depending on government assistance. 
Fields in the DS-5540 primarily pertain to the applicant's health; 
family status; assets, resources, and financial status; education and 
skills; health insurance coverage; and tax history. The DS-5540 also 
requires applicants to provide

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information on whether they have received certain specified public 
benefits from a U.S. Federal, state, local or tribal government entity 
on or after February 24, 2020. Consular officers use the completed 
forms in assessing whether an applicant is likely to become a public 
charge, and is thus ineligible for a visa under section 212(a)(4)(A) of 
the INA. This collection will assist applicants in meeting the burden 
of proof on applicants under section 291 of the INA to establish that 
they are eligible to receive a visa, including that they are not 
inadmissible under any provision of the INA.
    Sponsors of immigrant visa applicants must currently provide 
information regarding their ability to financially support the 
applicant on the I-864, Affidavit of Support, which consular officers 
use in considering whether the applicant is likely to depend on certain 
forms of government assistance. Visa applicants provide limited 
optional input on the I-864 regarding their assets. The DS-5540 
collects more detailed information on an applicant's ability to support 
himself or herself. Consular officers use the information to assess 
whether the applicant is likely to become a public charge, based on the 
totality of the circumstances.
    Applicants for immigrant visas, including diversity visas, are 
required to complete the DS-5540, except for categories of applicants 
that are exempt from the public charge ground of inadmissibility. The 
exempted categories are listed in 8 CFR 212.23(a). Exempted categories 
include applicants seeking immigrant visas based on qualified service 
to the U.S. government as an interpreter in Afghanistan or Iraq, visas 
based on a self-petition under the Violence Against Women Act, and 
visas for special immigrant juveniles. Additionally, a consular officer 
has discretion to require a nonimmigrant visa applicant to complete the 
DS-5540, when the officer determines the information is needed, for 
example, if the officer is not satisfied, based on other available 
information, that the applicant would be self-sufficient during his or 
her period of stay. In the 60-day notice, the Department explained that 
a consular officer could also request any immigrant visa applicant not 
subject to public charge, but subject to The Presidential Proclamation 
on the Suspension of Entry of Immigrants Who Will Financially Burden 
the United States Healthcare System (``Presidential Proclamation 
9945'') (Oct. 4, 2019), to complete questions 4 and 4A from Form DS-
5540 to establish that the applicant will be covered by an approved 
health insurance plan within 30 days of entry into the United States, 
or that the applicant possesses sufficient financial resources to cover 
reasonably foreseeable medical costs. As noted above, the Proclamation 
is currently enjoined, but the Department has retained those questions 
in the DS-5540 because they are also relevant for making a public 
charge assessment. As long as the injunction exists, officers will be 
instructed that they can rely on the answers to these questions only to 
the extent that it is relevant to the public charge assessment and not 
to implement Presidential Proclamation 9945.

Ongoing PRA Process

    On October 24, 2019, the Department published a notice in the 
Federal Register to announce that it was seeking OMB approval of the 
DS-5540, and invited public comment for a 60-day period. The 60-day 
comment period ended on December 23, 2019, and the Department received 
92 comments. The Department's responses to those comments are in the 
associated Supporting Statement for this notice.
    On February 12, 2020, the Department published a notice of intent 
to request emergency processing and OMB approval in the Federal 
Register for the DS-5540, because the Department needed to align its 
standards with those that the Department of Homeland Security (``DHS'') 
was set to implement on February 24, 2020. The Department of Homeland 
Security announced that it would begin implementation of its final rule 
on the public charge ground of inadmissibility on February 24, 2020. 
Following conclusion of the 60-day public comment period for the DS-
5540, there was insufficient time for the Department to complete the 
ongoing process for OMB approval of the DS-5540 under standard 
procedures pursuant to 5 CFR 1320 prior to February 24, 2020. OMB 
granted emergency processing and approval of the DS-5540 pursuant to 5 
CFR 1320.13 in order for the DS-5540 to be used by consular officers 
beginning 12:01 a.m. Eastern Standard Time February 24, 2020. OMB 
granted approval for six months, until August 31, 2020. On March 9, 
2020, the Department published a second notice in the Federal Register 
announcing approval of the DS-5540 to the public.
    The Department now seeks three-year approval of the DS-5540 to 
ensure continued alignment of the Department's standards with those of 
DHS, to avoid situations where a consular officer will evaluate a visa 
applicant's circumstances and conclude that the applicant is not likely 
at any time to become a public charge, only to have a DHS officer 
subsequently evaluate the same individual under the same facts and find 
the individual inadmissible on public charge grounds when he or she 
seeks admission to the United States.

Methodology

    The DS-5540 will be available online in fillable PDF format. 
Immigrant visa applicants will download the completed form and then 
upload and submit the completed DS-5540 and other supporting 
documentation as a part of their immigrant visa application through the 
Consular Electronic Application Center (CEAC). Nonimmigrant visa 
applicants who are required to submit this form will be able to do so 
via email or in hard copy.

Carl C. Risch,
Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Consular Affairs, Department of State.
[FR Doc. 2020-11889 Filed 6-1-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4710-06-P