ELIS Customer Service Survey - Submission Form

Request for Approval under the “Generic Clearance for the Collection of Routine Customer Feedback” (OMB Control Number: 1615-0121; Expiration Date:12/31/2014)

T ITLE OF INFORMATION COLLECTION: USCIS ELIS Customer Satisfaction Survey

PURPOSE:

USCIS currently conducts customer satisfaction e-mail surveys to rate services offered by USCIS. We are expanding our existing e-mail surveys to include a version specifically designed for and disseminated to our customers who use USCIS ELIS to submit benefit requests. The purpose of this survey is two-fold. First, we require customer satisfaction data to fulfill our monthly reporting requirement to DHS. Second, we will utilize customer feedback to inform and help prioritize our ongoing USCIS ELIS development.

Each month, we will retrieve from USCIS ELIS a list of e-mail addresses for customers who have successfully submitted a benefit request using the system. We have worked with our Privacy Office to ensure that retrieval, transmission, use, storage and deletion of customer e-mail addresses is appropriately handled by our office and by our survey contractor. Depending on the population of USCIS ELIS customers, the contractor will randomly select the e-mails of ELIS customers to receive e-mail invitations to participate in the USCIS ELIS Customer Satisfaction E-Survey. We will make the survey available in both English and Spanish. This E-Survey consists of seven (7) questions with up to three (3) additional questions being generated by the customer’s response to the first seven. It is anticipated that it will take approximately 5 minutes, 39 seconds on average to complete. The E-Survey is not mandatory and is conducted anonymously. In addition, customers can opt out of receiving these email requests.

The survey will be available via a web link in the e-mail invitation. It will remain open for approximately twelve (12) weeks for those USCIS applicants who wish to respond. Afterwards, the survey for this specific quarter will be withdrawn (closed), and the web link will no longer be available.

The survey contractor will provide raw results from the E-Survey to USCIS every month. At the end of each quarter, after the survey has been officially closed, the contractor will provide a more-detailed analysis of quarterly results. We will not make survey results available to the public.

We will use the first question of the survey, which relates to Overall Customer Satisfaction, to calculate our monthly Overall Customer Satisfaction rating. This data will be shared within USCIS and with DHS. The remaining survey questions will be used to help USCIS make informed decisions on further USCIS ELIS development. This data will help us identify top customer benefits, customer support needs, potential system issues, future design priorities, and other knowledge to better serve our USCIS ELIS customers.

DESCRIPTION OF RESPONDENTS:

The respondents will be USCIS ELIS customers who have already used the system to submit their application to USCIS for processing / adjudication. The contractor will disseminate as many surveys as necessary to obtain a total of 900 completed surveys per quarter. Customers will be selected at random. The survey will be conducted anonymously. Completion of the survey is optional, and customers can opt out of receiving these email requests.

TYPE OF COLLECTION: (Check one)

[ ] Customer Comment Card/Complaint Form [X] Customer Satisfaction Survey

[ ] Usability Testing (e.g., Website or Software [ ] Small Discussion Group

[ ] Focus Group [ ] Other: ______________________

CERTIFICATION:

I certify the following to be true:

1. The collection is voluntary.

2. The collection is low-burden for respondents and low-cost for the Federal Government.

3. The collection is non-controversial and does not raise issues of concern to other federal agencies.

4. The results are not intended to be disseminated to the public.

5. Information gathered will not be used for the purpose of substantially informing influential policy decisions.

6. The collection is targeted to the solicitation of opinions from respondents who have experience with the program or may have experience with the program in the future.

Name: Gerri Ratliff

To assist review, please provide answers to the following question:

Personally Identifiable Information:

1. Is personally identifiable information (PII) collected? [ ] Yes [X] No

2. If Yes, is the information that will be collected included in records that are subject to the Privacy Act of 1974? [ ] Yes [ ] No N/A

3. If Applicable, has a System or Records Notice been published? [ ] Yes [ ] No N/A

Gifts or Payments:

Is an incentive (e.g., money or reimbursement of expenses, token of appreciation) provided to participants? [ ] Yes [X] No

BURDEN HOURS

Category of Respondent	No. of Respondents	Participation Time	Burden
Individuals or Households and Businesses and Organizations	3,600	5 min, 39 sec.	339 hours

FEDERAL COST: The estimated annual cost to the Federal government is $48,000.00

If you are conducting a focus group, survey, or plan to employ statistical methods, please provide answers to the following questions:

The selection of your targeted respondents

1. Do you have a customer list or something similar that defines the universe of potential respondents and do you have a sampling plan for selecting from this universe? [X] Yes [ ] No

If the answer is yes, please provide a description of both below (or attach the sampling plan)? If the answer is no, please provide a description of how you plan to identify your potential group of respondents and how you will select them?

USCIS ELIS can provide a full customer list (i.e., those customers who have used the system during the previous month to submit applications to USCIS for processing / adjudication). We have determined that we would need as a valid statistical sample a minimum of 900 responses per Quarter (approximately 300 per month). Depending on the population of ELIS customers, the recipients of the E-Survey request will be randomly selected among the total available population of qualified ELIS customers (i.e., those who have successfully completed an online application, paid the appropriate fee, and have submitted their application to USCIS for processing).

The list of customer e-mails will be scrubbed to remove incomplete and duplicate e-mail addresses. The data will then be randomized using a query which randomly assigns different values to each record and sorts the records by value. Depending on the population of ELIS customers, the first 5,000 records will then be selected and the e-mail addresses will be used to invite ELIS customers to complete the E-Survey. If necessary, additional e-mails will be selected to invite additional ELIS customers to complete the E-Survey, in order to reach the minimum of 900 responses per quarter.

Administration of the Instrument

1. How will you collect the information? (Check all that apply)

[X] Web-based or other forms of Social Media

[ ] Telephone

[ ] In-person

[ ] Mail

[ ] Other, Explain

2. Will interviewers or facilitators be used? [ ] Yes [X] No

Please make sure that all instruments, instructions, and scripts are submitted with the request.

Instructions for completing Request for Approval under the “Generic Clearance for the Collection of Routine Customer Feedback”

TITLE OF INFORMATION COLLECTION: Provide the name of the collection that is the subject of the request. (e.g. Comment card for soliciting feedback on xxxx)

PURPOSE: Provide a brief description of the purpose of this collection and how it will be used. If this is part of a larger study or effort, please include this in your explanation.

DESCRIPTION OF RESPONDENTS: Provide a brief description of the targeted group or groups for this collection of information. These groups must have experience with the program.

TYPE OF COLLECTION: Check one box. If you are requesting approval of other instruments under the generic, you must complete a form for each instrument.

CERTIFICATION: Please read the certification carefully. If you incorrectly certify, the collection will be returned as improperly submitted or it will be disapproved.

Personally Identifiable Information: Provide answers to the questions.

Gifts or Payments: If you answer yes to the question, please describe the incentive and provide a justification for the amount.

BURDEN HOURS:

Category of Respondents: Identify who you expect the respondents to be in terms of the following categories: (1) Individuals or Households;(2) Private Sector; (3) State, local, or tribal governments; or (4) Federal Government. Only one type of respondent can be selected.

No. of Respondents: Provide an estimate of the Number of respondents.

Participation Time: Provide an estimate of the amount of time required for a respondent to participate (e.g. fill out a survey or participate in a focus group)

Burden: Provide the Annual burden hours: Multiply the Number of responses and the participation time and divide by 60.

FEDERAL COST: Provide an estimate of the annual cost to the Federal government.

If you are conducting a focus group, survey, or plan to employ statistical methods, please provide answers to the following questions:

The selection of your targeted respondents. Please provide a description of how you plan to identify your potential group of respondents and how you will select them. If the answer is yes, to the first question, you may provide the sampling plan in an attachment.

Administration of the Instrument: Identify how the information will be collected. More than one box may be checked. Indicate whether there will be interviewers (e.g. for surveys) or facilitators (e.g., for focus groups) used.

Please make sure that all instruments, instructions, and scripts are submitted with the request.

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