SUPPORTING STATEMENT
FOR PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT SUBMISSION
DS-10
The Birth Affidavit (DS-10) is submitted in conjunction with an application for a passport, in certain situations. It is used by Passport Services to collect information for the purpose of establishing the birth in the United States of a passport applicant who has not submitted an acceptable United States birth certificate with his or her passport application. An affiant who has personal knowledge of the facts of the applicant’s birth in the United States must execute the affidavit.
The DS-10 solicits data necessary for Passport Services to issue a United States passport in the exercise of authorities granted to the Secretary of State in 22 United States Code (U.S.C.) section 221a et seq. and Executive Order (EO) 11295 (August 5, 1966) for the issuance of passports to U.S. citizens and non-citizen nationals.
The issuance of a U.S. passport requires the determination of identity and citizenship and/or nationality with reference to the provisions of Title III of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) (8 U.S.C. sections 1401-1504), the 14th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, and other applicable treaties and laws. Implementing regulations are at 22 CFR Part 50 and 51.
The information collected on the DS-10 is used to facilitate the issuance of passports to U.S. citizens and non-citizen nationals. The primary purpose for soliciting the information is to establish the birth in the United States of a passport applicant who has not submitted an acceptable United States birth certificate with his or her passport application.
The DS-10 is retained in the files of the Department of State as a record attesting to the adjudication of citizenship of passport applicants and the subsequent issuance of their passports. These records are consulted when a U.S. passport has been lost and the bearer has no evidence of citizenship available or in support of derivative claim to citizenship made by an applicant’s children. Consular personnel, in the event of an emergency abroad involving U.S. Nationals, may also consult the records. Information from the DS-10 may also be shared with other Federal agencies on a need-to-know basis when personnel from those agencies may lawfully be given access to such information.
The DS-10 becomes part of the applicant’s passport file, which is covered by the Privacy Act. The information contained in this file cannot be released except as provided by the Privacy and Freedom of Information Acts.
In addition to this primary use of the data, the DS-10 may also be used as evidence in the prosecution of any individual who makes a false statement on the application. Such false statements may entail violations of 18 U.S.C. Sections 1001 and 1542.
Due to legislated requirements and established regulations, a complete end-to-end electronic submission for this form is currently not an option. The DS-10 requires notarization from a passport agent, acceptance agent or a notary public. We therefore need the original documentation to conduct a forensic analysis to ensure there is no fraud involved and to confirm the identity of the applicant. However, in an effort to facilitate customers’ completion of the form, it is posted on the Department's website where it can be filled out on-line and printed for submission. Efforts will also continue to investigate, test, and deploy more complete electronic options, while continuing to meet legislated requirements.
Aside from necessary basic self-identification data, the information requested does not duplicate information otherwise available. The DS-10 is the sole Department of State form used by passport applicants who need to establish their birth in the United States when a certified birth certificate does not exist.
The collection of information does not involve small businesses or other small entities.
The information collected on the DS-10 is crucial to establishing the identity and citizenship of the passport applicant and resolving suspected fraud cases. Without it, time consuming and expensive field investigations would likely be required.
No such special circumstances exist.
The Department of State received one comment from the 60-day notice in the Federal Register. The commenter noted that the DS-10 does not require a picture, interview, or fingerprints and expressed concern over the lack of security measures. The DS-10 is considered a supplementary form and is used in conjunction with a DS-11, Application for a U.S. Passport. In order to apply on the DS-11, you must supply a picture, citizenship evidence, and proof of identity. You are also required by law to personally appear at a designated acceptance facility, passport agency, or at a U.S. embassy or consulate, if abroad. The Department employs various anti-fraud and other measures to validate identity. Fingerprints are not required in order to apply for a passport.
This information collection does not provide any payment or gift to respondents.
This form includes a Privacy Act statement explaining the routine uses of the information collected under the Act.
The DS-10 does not ask questions of a sensitive nature.
The estimated number of minutes required per response is based on prior sampling of the time required to complete the form. Passport Services estimated that 154,850 respondents will use Form DS-10 annually and the form will require 15 minutes to complete, resulting in estimated annual burden of 38,713 hours.
There is no cost to the respondent associated with this form.
This collection does not add additional expense to the Federal Government. This form is one of several types of evidence that can be submitted as secondary evidence of birth in the United States, in lieu of an acceptable United States birth certificate. This form is processed with Form DS-11, collection #1405-0004, and all associated processing costs are accounted for with that collection.
There are no program changes associated with the submission of this collection. The Department has added a question regarding the witness’s social security number to assist in establishing and verifying the identity of the affiant, a critical element that bears on the witness’s credibility. The added question does not increase the burden to the respondent.
Quantitative summaries of Department of State passport activities are published periodically on the Department of State website at www.travel.state.gov. Such summaries do not involve use of complex analytical techniques.
Expiration date for OMB approval will be displayed.
The Department is not requesting any exceptions to the certification statement identified in Item 19 “Certification for Paperwork Reduction Act Submissions,” of OMB Form 83-I.
This collection does not employ statistical methods.
| File Type | application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document |
| File Title | Supporting Statement for FORM DSP-10 - “Statement of Identity” |
| Author | Margaret A Dickson |
| File Modified | 0000-00-00 |
| File Created | 2021-02-01 |