[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 63 (Monday, April 5, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17620-17621]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-06921]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

[OMB Control Number 1615-0075]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Extension, Without 
Change, of a Currently Approved Collection: I-864, Affidavit of Support 
Under Section 213A of the Act; I-864A, Contract Between Sponsor and 
Household Member; I-864EZ, EZ Affidavit of Support Under Section 213 of 
the Act; I-864W, Request for Exemption for Intending Immigrant's 
Affidavit of Support

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

ACTION: 60-Day notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Citizenship 
and Immigration Services (USCIS) invites the general public and other 
Federal agencies to comment upon this proposed extension of a currently 
approved collection of information. In accordance with the Paperwork 
Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, the information collection notice is 
published in the Federal Register to obtain comments regarding the 
nature of the information collection, the categories of respondents, 
the estimated burden (i.e. the time, effort, and resources used by the 
respondents to respond), the estimated cost to the respondent, and the 
actual information collection instruments.

DATES: Comments are encouraged and will be accepted for 60 days until 
June 4, 2021.

ADDRESSES: All submissions received must include the OMB Control Number 
1615-0075 in the body of the letter, the agency name and Docket ID 
USCIS-2007-0029. Submit comments via the Federal eRulemaking Portal 
website at https://www.regulations.gov under e-Docket ID number USCIS-
2007-0029. USCIS is limiting communications for this Notice as a result 
of USCIS' COVID-19 response actions.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: USCIS, Office of Policy and Strategy, 
Regulatory Coordination Division, Samantha Deshommes, Chief, telephone 
number (240) 721-3000 (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 https://www.uscis.gov, or 
call the USCIS Contact Center at 800-375-5283 (TTY 800-767-1833).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Comments

    You may access the information collection instrument with 
instructions or additional information by visiting the Federal 
eRulemaking Portal site at: https://www.regulations.gov and entering 
USCIS-2007-0029 in the search box. All submissions will be posted, 
without change, to the Federal eRulemaking Portal at https://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 is 
available via the link in the footer of https://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: Extension, Without Change, of a 
Currently Approved Collection.
    (2) Title of the Form/Collection: I-864, Affidavit of Support Under 
Section 213A of the Act; I-864A, Contract Between Sponsor and Household 
Member; I-864EZ, EZ Affidavit of Support under Section 213 of the Act; 
I-864W, Request for Exemption for Intending Immigrant's Affidavit of 
Support.
    (3) Agency form number, if any, and the applicable component of the 
DHS sponsoring the collection: I-864; I-864A; I-864EZ; I-864W; USCIS.
    (4) Affected public who will be asked or required to respond, as 
well as a brief abstract: Primary: Business or other for-profit. Form 
I-864. USCIS uses the data collected on Form I-864 to determine whether 
the sponsor has the ability to support the sponsored alien under 
section 213A of the Immigration and Nationality Act. This form 
standardizes

[[Page 17621]]

evaluation of a sponsor's ability to support the sponsored alien and 
ensures that basic information required to assess eligibility is 
provided by petitioners.
    Form I-864A. Form I-864A is a contract between the sponsor and the 
sponsor's household members. It is only required if the sponsor used 
income of his or her household members to reach the required 125 
percent of the Federal poverty guidelines. The contract holds these 
household members jointly and severally liable for the support of the 
sponsored immigrant. The information collection required on Form I-864A 
is necessary for public benefit agencies to enforce the Affidavit of 
Support in the event the sponsor used income of his or her household 
members to reach the required income level and the public benefit 
agencies are requesting reimbursement from the sponsor.
    Form I-864EZ. USCIS uses Form I-864EZ in exactly the same way as 
Form I-864; however, USCIS collects less information from the sponsors 
as less information is needed from those who qualify in order to make a 
thorough adjudication.
    Form I-864W. USCIS uses Form I-864W to determine whether the 
intending immigrant meets the criteria for exemption from section 213A 
requirements. This form collects the immigrant's basic information, 
such as name and address, the reason for the exemption, and 
accompanying documentation in support of the immigrant's claim that 
they are not subject to section 213A.
    (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-864 
is 453,345 and the estimated hour burden per response is 6 hours; the 
estimated total number of respondents for the information collection 
Form I-864A is 215,800 and the estimated hour burden per response is 
1.75 hours; the estimated total number of respondents for the 
information collection Form I-864EZ is 100,000 and the estimated hour 
burden per response is 2.5 hours; the estimated total number of 
respondents for the information collection Form I-864W is 98,119 and 
the estimated hour burden per response is 1 hour.
    (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 3,445,839 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 $159,608,680.

    Dated: March 30, 2021.
Samantha L. Deshommes,
Chief, Regulatory Coordination Division, Office of Policy and Strategy, 
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Department of Homeland 
Security.
[FR Doc. 2021-06921 Filed 4-2-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9111-97-P