Justification for Changes to DS-71

Justification for Changes to the DS-71

The new version of Form DS-71, Affidavit of Identifying Witness, incorporates minimal changes - mainly information has been moved on the form to highlight its importance. The sentence “Please print legibly in blue or black ink only.” was moved from the second page to the last sentence of the heading on the first page to notify the customer of this requirement before he/she starts filling out this form. In block 12 of the Witness Information section, the word “Possible” was changed to “Known” because it is more accurate. At the top of page two, the heading “Use of the Affidavit of Identifying Witness” was added to introduce that section of the form. The Warning statement on the second page has been moved from the bottom to the upper half of the page. Moving the warning statement will bring to the attention of the identifying witness the consequences for providing false information on this passport form. In order to accurately quote the law, the following changes have been incorporated in the Authorities section of the Privacy Act and Paperwork Reduction Act Statements: “et seq.” has been added after the 22 U.S.C. 211a citation in the first paragraph, and the phrase “and in particular 22 CFR 51.41 and 51.45” has been added at the end of the paragraph. In addition, the phrase “whether or not codified” was deleted from the Authorities section to eliminate possible confusion. Finally, the heading “Consequences of Failure to Provide Information” was added to introduce that section of the form.