[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 205 (Thursday, October 22, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67367-67368]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-23390]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

[OMB Control Number 1615-0111]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Extension, Without 
Change, of a Currently Approved Collection: Petition for CNMI-Only 
Nonimmigrant Transition Worker and Semiannual Report for CW-1 Employers

AGENCY: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Department of 
Homeland Security.

ACTION: 30-Day notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Citizenship 
and Immigration Services (USCIS) will be submitting the following 
information collection request to the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) for review and clearance in accordance with the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995. The purpose of this notice is to allow an 
additional 30 days for public comments.
    USCIS made one change to the Form I-129CWR Instructions being 
submitted with this 30-day Federal Register Notice to correct a legal 
error. The first two rows of the table on page 1 identifying the CW-1 
petition validity period and whether Form I-129CWR must be filed were 
updated to reflect the correct time ranges during which Form I-129CWR 
is and is not required.
    USCIS made one change to the Form I-129CW Instructions being 
submitted with this 30-day Federal Register Notice to correct a legal 
error. The use of ``children under 21'' in the I-129CW instructions was 
corrected to ``children under 18'' to properly reflect the regulatory 
definition at 8 CFR 214.2(w)(1)(ix) that a minor child is a child as 
defined in section 101(b)(1) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 
who is under 18 years of age.

DATES: Comments are encouraged and will be accepted until November 23, 
2020.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and/or suggestions regarding the item(s) 
contained in this notice, especially regarding the estimated public 
burden and associated response time, must be submitted via the Federal 
eRulemaking Portal website at http://www.regulations.gov under e-Docket 
ID number USCIS-2012-0011. All submissions received must include the 
OMB Control Number 1615-0111 in the body of the letter, the agency name 
and Docket ID USCIS-2012-0011.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: USCIS, Office of Policy and Strategy, 
Regulatory Coordination Division, Samantha Deshommes, Chief, Telephone 
number (202) 272-8377 (This is not a toll-free number; comments are not 
accepted via telephone message.). Please note contact information 
provided here is solely for questions regarding this notice. It is not 
for individual case status inquiries. Applicants seeking information 
about the status of their individual cases can check Case Status 
Online, available at the USCIS website at http://www.uscis.gov, or call 
the USCIS Contact Center at (800) 375-5283; TTY (800) 767-1833.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Comments

    The information collection notice was previously published in the 
Federal Register on July 20, 2020, at 85 FR 43869, allowing for a 60-
day public comment period. USCIS received two comments in connection 
with the 60-day notice.
    You may access the information collection instrument with 
instructions, or additional information by visiting the Federal 
eRulemaking Portal site at: http://www.regulations.gov and enter USCIS-
2012-0011 in the search box. The comments submitted to USCIS via this 
method are visible to the Office of Management and Budget and comply 
with the requirements of 5 CFR 1320.12(c). All submissions will be 
posted, without change, to the Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov, and will include any personal information you 
provide. Therefore, submitting this information makes it public. You 
may wish to consider limiting the amount of personal information that 
you provide in any voluntary submission you make to DHS. DHS may 
withhold information provided in comments from public viewing that it 
determines may impact the privacy of an individual or is offensive. For 
additional information, please read the Privacy Act notice that

[[Page 67368]]

is available via the link in the footer of http://www.regulations.gov.
    Written comments and suggestions from the public and affected 
agencies 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 Request: Extension, Without 
Change, of a Currently Approved Collection.
    (2) Title of the Form/Collection: Petition for CNMI-Only 
Nonimmigrant Transition Worker and Semiannual Report for CW-1 
Employers.
    (3) Agency form number, if any, and the applicable component of the 
DHS sponsoring the collection: I-129CW; I-129CWR; USCIS.
    (4) Affected public who will be asked or required to respond, as 
well as a brief abstract: Primary: Business or other for-profit. USCIS 
uses the data collected on Form I-129CW to determine eligibility for 
the requested immigration benefits. An employer uses Form I-129CW to 
petition USCIS for an alien to temporarily enter as a nonimmigrant into 
the CNMI to perform services or labor as a CW-1 worker. An employer 
also uses Form I-129CW to request an extension of stay or change of 
status on behalf of the alien worker. The Form I-129CW serves the 
purpose of standardizing requests for these benefits and ensuring that 
the basic information required to determine eligibility is provided by 
the petitioners.
    Form I-129CWR, Semiannual Report for CW-1 Employers, is used by 
employers to comply with the reporting requirements imposed by the 
Workforce Act. Form I-129CWR captures data USCIS requires to help 
verify the continuing employment and payment of the CW-1 worker. DHS 
may provide such semiannual reports to other federal partners, 
including the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) for investigative or other 
use as DOL may deem appropriate. Congress expressly provided for these 
semiannual reports to be shared with DOL. 48 U.S.C. 1086(d)(3)(D)(ii).
    (5) An estimate of the total number of respondents and the amount 
of time estimated for an average respondent to respond: The estimated 
total number of respondents for the information collection Form I-129CW 
is 5,975 and the estimated hour burden per response is 4 hours; the 
estimated total number of respondents for the information collection 
Form I-129CWR is 5,975 and the estimated hour burden per response is 
2.5 hours.
    (6) An estimate of the total public burden (in hours) associated 
with the collection: The total estimated annual hour burden associated 
with this collection is 38,838 hours.
    (7) An estimate of the total public burden (in cost) associated 
with the collection: The estimated total annual cost burden associated 
with this collection of information is $3,809,062.50.

    Dated: October 16, 2020.
Samantha L. Deshommes,
Chief, Regulatory Coordination Division, Office of Policy and Strategy, 
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Department of Homeland 
Security.
[FR Doc. 2020-23390 Filed 10-21-20; 8:45 am]
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