[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 40 (Wednesday, February 28, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14674-14676]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-04114]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
[OMB Control Number 1615-0157]
Agency Information Collection Activities; Revision of a Currently
Approved Collection: Online Request To Be a Supporter and Declaration
of Financial Support
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.
DATES: Comments are encouraged and will be accepted until March 29,
2024.
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-2023-0004. All submissions received must include the
OMB Control Number 1615-0157 in the body of the letter, the agency name
and Docket ID USCIS-2023-0004.
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 http://www.uscis.gov, or call
the USCIS Contact Center at 800-375-5283 (TTY 800-767-1833).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
This notice seeks comment on the USCIS Form I-134A, Online Request
to be a Supporter and Declaration of Financial Support, information
collection package, which DHS uses in connection with certain parole
processes. In January 2023, at DHS's request, the Office of Management
and Budget approved this new collection in accordance with emergency
procedures set forth at 5 CFR 1320.13. DHS uses this collection to
implement processes through which nationals of certain countries and
their immediate family members may request to come to the United States
in a safe and orderly way. The collection is an outgrowth of Form I-134
(OMB Control Number 1615-0014), and has been used in connection with
Uniting for Ukraine; the parole processes for certain Cubans,\1\
Haitians,\2\
[[Page 14675]]
Nicaraguans,\3\ and Venezuelans; \4\ family reunification parole
processes for certain Colombians,\5\ Salvadorans,\6\ Guatemalans,\7\
Hondurans,\8\ and Ecuadorians; \9\ and procedural changes to the
previously established Cuban \10\ and Haitian \11\ Family Reunification
Parole processes. The emergency processing activities associated with
implementing these parole processes were necessary for multiple
reasons, including to address the urgent humanitarian events
transpiring in Ukraine, to prevent complications for the United States'
ongoing efforts to engage hemispheric partners to increase their
efforts to collaboratively manage and reduce irregular migration that
could have arisen without timely action by the United States, and to
avoid incentivizing irregular migration during a public comment period.
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\1\ 88 FR 1266 (Jan. 9, 2023); see also 88 FR 26329 (Apr. 28,
2023).
\2\ 88 FR 1243 (Jan. 9, 2023); see also 26 FR 327 (Apr. 28,
2023).
\3\ 88 FR 1255 (Jan. 9, 2023).
\4\ 87 FR 63507 (Oct. 19, 2022); see also 88 FR 1279 (Jan. 9,
2023).
\5\ 88 FR 43591 (July 10, 2023).
\6\ 88 FR 43611 (July 10, 2023).
\7\ 88 FR 43581 (July 10, 2023).
\8\ 88 FR 43601 (July 10, 2023).
\9\ 88 FR 78762 (Nov. 16, 2023).
\10\ 88 FR 54639 (Aug. 11, 2023).
\11\ 88 FR 54635 (Aug. 11, 2023).
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Under these processes, certain beneficiaries who are outside the
United States and lack U.S. entry documents may be considered, on a
case-by-case basis, for advance authorization to travel and a temporary
period of parole for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public
benefit. To participate, eligible beneficiaries must:
Have a confirmed supporter in the United States;
Undergo and clear robust security vetting;
Demonstrate that a grant of parole is warranted based on
urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit;
Meet other eligibility criteria; and
Demonstrate that they warrant a favorable exercise of
discretion.
Beneficiaries participating in these processes must have a
supporter in the United States who agrees to provide them with
financial support for the duration of their parole in the United
States. Potential supporters file a Form I-134A for each potential
beneficiary, including, if applicable, immediate family members of the
principal beneficiary, with USCIS through the USCIS online web portal
to initiate the parole process. Form I-134A identifies and collects
information on both the supporter and the beneficiary. The potential
supporter must submit evidence establishing their income and assets and
commit to provide financial support to the beneficiary for the duration
of parole. A potential supporter filing Form I-134A under a family
reunification parole process is also required to submit evidence
establishing the family relationships between the principal beneficiary
and all derivative beneficiaries. No fee is required to file Form I-
134A.
USCIS will perform background checks on the potential supporter and
verify their financial information to ensure that the potential
supporter is able to financially support the beneficiary. If the
potential supporter's Form I-134A is confirmed, the beneficiary named
in the Form I-134A will receive an email from USCIS with instructions
to create a USCIS online account and next steps for completing the
request. See Advance Travel Authorization (ATA) (OMB Control Number
1651-0143) for the approved collection of information for the next
steps in relevant parole processes.
Comments
The information collection notice was previously published in the
Federal Register on September 12, 2023, at 88 FR 175, allowing for a
60-day public comment period. USCIS did receive 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-
2023-0004 in the search box. Comments must be submitted in English, or
an English translation must be provided. 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 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: Revision of a Currently
Approved Collection.
(2) Title of the Form/Collection: Online Request to be a Supporter
and Declaration of Financial Support.
(3) Agency form number, if any, and the applicable component of the
DHS sponsoring the collection: I-134A; USCIS.
(4) Affected public who will be asked or required to respond, as
well as a brief abstract: Primary: Individuals or households. USCIS
uses Form I-134A to determine whether a U.S.-based individual has
sufficient financial resources and access to those funds to support the
beneficiary named on the Form I-134A for the duration of their
temporary stay in the United States, as well as to obtain information
concerning whether the beneficiary merits a favorable exercise of
discretion under the statutory parole standard.
Form I-134A is filed by a U.S.-based individual (the potential
supporter) to request to be a supporter, agree to provide financial
support to the beneficiary named on the form during the beneficiary's
period of stay in the United States, and to provide information
concerning why the beneficiary warrants a discretionary grant of
parole.
(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 I-134A is
1,205,600 and the estimated hour burden per response is 2.11 hours.
[[Page 14676]]
(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 $2,543,816 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 $0.00.
Dated: February 22, 2024.
Samantha L. Deshommes,
Chief, Regulatory Coordination Division, Office of Policy and Strategy,
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Department of Homeland
Security.
[FR Doc. 2024-04114 Filed 2-27-24; 8:45 am]
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