[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 51 (Wednesday, March 16, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14844-14845]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-05516]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[Docket ID ED-2022-FSA-0003]


Privacy Act of 1974; Matching Program

AGENCY: Federal Student Aid, Department of Education.

ACTION: Notice of a new Computer Matching Agreement (CMA).

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SUMMARY: This document provides notice of a new CMA between the U.S. 
Department of Education (Department or ED) (recipient agency) and the 
Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration 
Services (USCIS) (source agency). The current 18-month CMA was 
recertified for an additional 12 months on April 21, 2021, and will 
automatically expire on April 20, 2022.

DATES: Submit your comments on the proposed CMA on or before April 15, 
2022.
    The CMA will be effective on the later of: (1) April 21, 2022, or 
(2) 30 days after the publication of this notice on March 16, 2022, 
unless comments have been received from interested members of the 
public requiring modification or republication of the notice.
    The CMA will continue for 18 months after the effective date of the 
CMA and may be extended for an additional 12 months thereafter, if the 
respective Data Integrity Boards (DIBs) of ED and USCIS determine that 
the conditions specified in 5 U.S.C. 552a(o)(2)(D) have been met.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments through the Federal eRulemaking Portal 
or via postal mail, commercial delivery, or hand delivery. We will not 
accept comments submitted by fax or by email or those submitted after 
the comment period. To ensure that we do not receive duplicate copies, 
please submit your comments only once. In addition, please include the 
Docket ID at the top of your comments.
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to www.regulations.gov to 
submit your comments electronically. Information on using 
Regulations.gov, including instructions for accessing agency documents, 
submitting comments, and viewing the docket, is available on the site 
under the ``help'' tab.
     Postal Mail, Commercial Delivery, or Hand Delivery:
    If you mail or deliver your comments about this new CMA, address 
them to Gerard Duffey, Management and Program Analyst, Wanamaker 
Building, U.S. Department of Education, Federal Student Aid, 100 Penn 
Square East, Suite 509.B10, Philadelphia, PA 19107. Telephone: (215) 
656-3249.
    Privacy Note: The Department's policy is to make all comments 
received from members of the public available for public viewing in 
their entirety on the Federal eRulemaking Portal at 
www.regulations.gov. Therefore, commenters should be careful to include 
in their comments only information that they wish to make publicly 
available.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gerard Duffey, Management and Program 
Analyst, Wanamaker Building, U.S. Department of Education, Federal 
Student Aid, 100 Penn Square East, Suite 509.B10, Philadelphia, PA 
19107. Telephone: (215) 656-3249.
    If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) or a text 
telephone (TTY), call the Federal Relay Service (FRS), toll free, at 1-
800-877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552a (commonly 
known as the Privacy Act of 1974); Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) Final Guidance Interpreting the Provisions of Public Law 100-503; 
the Computer Matching and Privacy Protection Act of 1988, 54 FR 25818 
(June 19, 1989); and OMB Circular A-108, notice is hereby provided of 
the re-establishment of the matching program between ED and USCIS, 
prior notice of which was published in the Federal Register on 
September 13, 2019 (84 FR 48333).

Participating Agencies

    ED and USCIS.

Authority for Conducting the Matching Program

    The information contained in the USCIS database is referred to as 
the Verification Information System (VIS), which is authorized by 
section 274A(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. 
1324a(b). ED seeks access to the VIS for the purpose of confirming the 
immigration status of applicants for assistance, as authorized by 
section 484(g) of the HEA, 20 U.S.C. 1091(g), and consistent with the 
title IV student eligibility requirements of section 484(a)(5) of the 
HEA, 20 U.S.C. 1091(a)(5). USCIS is authorized to participate in this 
immigration status verification by section 103 of the Immigration and 
Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. 1103.

Purpose(s)

    The purpose of this matching program entitled ``DHS-USCIS and the 
Department of Education Immigration Status Verification'' is to permit 
ED to confirm the immigration status of alien applicants for, or 
recipients of, financial assistance under title IV of the Higher 
Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA), as authorized by section 
484(g) of the HEA (20 U.S.C. 1091(g)). The title IV, HEA programs that 
are covered by the agreement include: The Federal Pell Grant Program, 
the Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education 
(TEACH) Grant Program, the Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant Program, 
the Federal Perkins Loan Program, the Federal Work-Study Program, the 
Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant Program, and the 
William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program.

Categories of Individuals

    The individuals included in this matching program are those who 
provide an Alien Registration Number (ARN) (also referred to as A-
number or USCIS number) when completing the Free Application for 
Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and have indicated that they are an 
``eligible noncitizen'' to determine their eligibility for title IV, 
HEA program assistance.

Categories of Records

    ED will provide to the DHS the ARN, Social Security number, first 
and last name, and date of birth of each applicant for financial 
assistance under title IV of the HEA who indicates that they are an 
``eligible noncitizen'' and have provided their ARN in his or her 
application for financial assistance under title IV of the HEA.

[[Page 14845]]

System(s) of Records

    ED system of Records: Federal Student Aid Application File (18-11-
01), (76 FR 46774). DHS-USCIS system of records: Systematic Alien 
Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) System of Records, (81 FR 78619).
    Accessible Format: On request to the program contact person listed 
under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT, individuals with disabilities 
can obtain this document in an accessible format. The Department will 
provide the requestor with an accessible format that may include Rich 
Text Format (RTF) or text format (txt), a thumb drive, an MP3 file, 
braille, large print, audiotape, or compact disc, or other accessible 
format.
    Electronic Access to This Document: The official version of this 
document is the document published in the Federal Register. You may 
access the official edition of the Federal Register and the Code of 
Federal Regulations at www.govinfo.gov. At this site you can view this 
document, as well as all other documents of this Department published 
in the Federal Register, in text or Portable Document Format (PDF). To 
use PDF you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available free at 
the site.
    You may also access documents of the Department published in the 
Federal Register by using the article search feature at 
www.federalregister.gov. Specifically, through the advanced search 
feature at this site, you can limit your search to documents published 
by the Department.

Richard Cordray,
Chief Operating Officer, Federal Student Aid.
[FR Doc. 2022-05516 Filed 3-15-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P