[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 102 (Thursday, May 29, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22750-22752]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-09585]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

[OMB Control Number 1615-NEW]


Agency Information Collection Activities; New Collection: Generic 
Clearance for the Collection of Certain Biographic and Employment 
Identifiers on Immigration Forms

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 new 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. This collection of information is necessary to 
comply with section 2 of the Executive order (E.O.) 14161 entitled 
``Protecting the United States from Foreign Terrorists and Other 
National Security and Public Safety Threats'' to establish enhanced 
screening and vetting standards and procedures to enable USCIS to 
assess an alien's eligibility to receive an immigration-related 
benefit. This data collection also is used to help validate an 
applicant's identity and to determine whether such grant of a benefit 
poses a security or public-safety risk to the United States.

DATES: Comments are encouraged and will be accepted for 60 days until 
July 28, 2025.

ADDRESSES: All submissions received must include the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) Control Number 1615-NEW in the body of the 
letter, the agency name and Docket ID USCIS-2025-0006. Submit comments 
via the Federal eRulemaking Portal website at https://www.regulations.gov under e-Docket ID number USCIS-2025-0006.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: USCIS, Office of Policy and Strategy, 
Regulatory Coordination Division, Jerry Rigdon, Acting 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-2025-0006 in the search box. Comments must be submitted in 
English, or an English translation must be provided. 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

[[Page 22751]]

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.

Background

    E.O. 14161, ``Protecting the United States from Foreign Terrorists 
and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats,'' directs 
implementation of uniform vetting standards and necessitates the 
collection of all information necessary for a rigorous vetting and 
screening of all grounds of inadmissibility and removability or bases 
for the denial of immigration-related benefits. See 90 FR 8451 (Jan. 
20, 2025). Implementation of the directives provided in the E.O. 
requires U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to collect 
standard data on immigration forms and/or information collection 
systems. This data will be collected from certain populations of 
individuals on applications for immigration-related benefits and is 
necessary for the enhanced identity verification, vetting, and national 
security screening and inspection conducted by USCIS and required under 
the E.O.
    This collection of information is necessary to comply with section 
2 of the E.O. to establish screening and vetting standards and 
procedures to enable USCIS to assess an alien's eligibility to receive 
an immigration-related benefit from USCIS. This data collection is also 
used to validate an applicant's identity and to help determine whether 
such grant of a benefit poses a security or public-safety threat to the 
United States.
    USCIS will collect biographic information on immigration 
information collection instruments and systems. USCIS will update its 
forms and systems to collect additional information from individuals 
who seek admissibility or other benefits when that information is not 
already collected.

New Information To Be Collected

    U.S. Government departments and agencies involved in screening and 
vetting, to include USCIS, identified 24 data elements that would 
constitute a new baseline threshold of data to be collected for 
improved identity verification and national security vetting. These 24 
core data elements were published in the Federal Register at 90 FR 
11326 on March 3, 2025. These six (6) new data elements are in addition 
to and separate from the data elements for which USCIS requested 
comments in the March 3, 2025, generic clearance notice, but they are 
also needed for further identification and national security vetting 
and will be added to certain immigration benefit request forms where 
the information is not already collected.
    The following six (6) data elements are biographic and employment 
identifiers used to help USCIS confirm both an individual's identity as 
it relates to the submitted application and to other records. These 
biographic identifiers are also used by USCIS and screening partners to 
help confirm or disprove a relevant association between an applicant 
and information of interest and the strength of that association in the 
context of the underlying information.

1. Beneficiary/Applicant/Petitioner Social Security Number
2. Family Member (parent(s), spouse, sibling(s), and child(ren)) Social 
Security Number
3. Business/Employer Name
4. Business/Employer Physical Address
5. Business/Employer Mailing Address
6. Business Federal Employer Identification Number

Programs Affected, OMB Control Numbers

 OMB No. 1615-0052--Form N-400, Application for Naturalization
 OMB No. 1615-0013--Form I-131, Application for Travel Document
 OMB No. 1615-0017--Form I-192, Application for Advance 
Permission to Enter as a Nonimmigrant
 OMB No. 1615-0023--Form I-485, Application to Register 
Permanent Residence or Adjust status
 OMB No. 1615-0067--Form I-589, Application for Asylum and for 
Withholding of Removal
 OMB No. 1615-0068--Form I-590, Registration for Classification 
as Refugee
 OMB No. 1615-0037--Form I-730, Refugee/Asylee Relative 
Petition
 OMB No. 1615-0038--Form I-751, Petition to Remove Conditions 
on Residence
 OMB No. 1615-0045--Form I-829, Petition by Entrepreneur to 
Remove Conditions on Permanent Resident Status

    Applicant information is collected to maintain a record of persons 
applying for specific immigration benefits, and to help determine 
whether these applicants are eligible to receive the benefits for which 
they are applying. The information provided through USCIS forms is also 
analyzed--along with other information that the Secretary of Homeland 
Security determines is necessary, including information about other 
persons included on the USCIS forms--against various security and law 
enforcement databases to identify those applicants who may pose a 
security or public-safety risk to the United States.

Overview of This Information Collection

    (1) Type of Information Collection: New Collection.
    (2) Title of the Form/Collection: Generic Clearance for the 
Collection of Certain Biographic and Employment Identifiers on 
Immigration Forms.
    (3) Agency form number, if any, and the applicable component of the 
DHS sponsoring the collection: GC-2025-0006; USCIS.
    (4) Affected public who will be asked or required to respond, as 
well as a brief abstract: Primary: Individuals or households. E.O. 
14161, ``Protecting the United States from Foreign Terrorists and Other 
National Security and Public Safety Threats,'' directs implementation 
of uniform vetting standards and necessitates collection of all 
information necessary for a rigorous vetting and screening of all 
grounds of inadmissibility and removability or bases for the denial of 
immigration-related benefits. Implementation of the directives in the 
E.O. requires USCIS to collect standard data on immigration forms and/
or information collection systems. This data will be collected from 
certain populations of individuals on applications for immigration-
related benefits and is necessary for the enhanced identity 
verification, vetting and national security screening, and inspection 
conducted by USCIS and required under the E.O.
    (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 N-400 is 909,700 and the estimated hour burden 
per response is 2 hours.

[[Page 22752]]

     The estimated total number of respondents for the 
information collection I-131 is 1,073,059 and the estimated hour burden 
per response is 2 hours.
     The estimated total number of respondents for the 
information collection I-192 is 68,050 and the estimated hour burden 
per response is 2.08 hours.
     The estimated total number of respondents for the 
information collection I-485 is 1,060,585 and the estimated hour burden 
per response is 2 hours.
     The estimated total number of respondents for the 
information collection I-589 is 203,379 and the estimated hour burden 
per response is 2 hours.
     The estimated total number of respondents for the 
information collection I-590 is 106,200 and the estimated hour burden 
per response is 2.08 hours.
     The estimated total number of respondents for the 
information collection I-730 is 13,000 and the estimated hour burden 
per response is 2 hours.
     The estimated total number of respondents for the 
information collection I-751 is 140,000 and the estimated hour burden 
per response is 2 hours.
     The estimated total number of respondents for the 
information collection I-829 is 1,010 and the estimated hour burden per 
response is 2 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 7,163,906 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. No additional costs to the 
public are anticipated due to this action. Any costs to the respondents 
associated with the specific form filed are captured in those approved 
information collections.

    Dated: May 22, 2025.
Jerry L. Rigdon,
Acting Chief, Regulatory Coordination Division, Office of Policy and 
Strategy, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Department of 
Homeland Security.
[FR Doc. 2025-09585 Filed 5-28-25; 8:45 am]
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