Pta

The Privacy Office
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Washington, DC 20528
703-235-0780, [email protected]
www.dhs.gov/privacy

Privacy Threshold Analysis
Version date: April 27, 2010
Page 1 of 7
PRIVACY THRESHOLD ANALYSIS (PTA)
This form is used to determine whether
a Privacy Impact Assessment is required.

Please use the attached form to determine whether a Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) is required under
the E-Government Act of 2002 and the Homeland Security Act of 2002.
Please complete this form and send it to your component Privacy Office. If you do not have a component
Privacy Office, please send the PTA to the DHS Privacy Office:
Rebecca J. Richards
Director of Privacy Compliance
The Privacy Office
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Washington, DC 20528
Tel: 703-235-0780

[email protected]

Upon receipt from the component Privacy Office, the DHS Privacy Office will review this form. If a PIA
is required, the DHS Privacy Office will send you a copy of the Official Privacy Impact Assessment Guide
and accompanying Template to complete and return.
A copy of the Guide and Template is available on the DHS Privacy Office website, www.dhs.gov/privacy,
on DHSConnect and directly from the DHS Privacy Office via email: [email protected], phone: 703-235-0780.

The Privacy Office
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Washington, DC 20528
703-235-0780, [email protected]
www.dhs.gov/privacy

Privacy Threshold Analysis
Version date: April 27, 2010
Page 2 of 7
PRIVACY THRESHOLD ANALYSIS (PTA)
SUMMARY INFORMATION
DATE submitted for review: October 26, 2011

NAME of Project: Form I-131 - Application for Travel Document
Name of Component: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
Name of Project Manager: John Gagnon
Email for Project Manager: [email protected]
Phone number for Project Manager: 202-272-8035
TYPE of Project:
Information Technology and/or System. ∗
A Notice of Proposed Rule Making or a Final Rule.
Form or other Information Collection.
Other:

∗

The E-Government Act of 2002 defines these terms by reference to the definition sections of Titles 40 and
44 of the United States Code. The following is a summary of those definitions:
•“Information Technology” means any equipment or interconnected system or subsystem of
equipment, used in the automatic acquisition, storage, manipulation, management, movement,
control, display, switching, interchange, transmission, or reception of data or information. See 40
U.S.C. § 11101(6).
•“Information System” means a discrete set of information resources organized for the collection,
processing, maintenance, use, sharing, dissemination, or disposition of information. See: 44. U.S.C. §
3502(8).
Note: for purposes of this form, there is no distinction made between national security systems or
technologies/systems managed by contractors. All technologies/systems should be initially reviewed for
potential privacy impact.

The Privacy Office
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Washington, DC 20528
703-235-0780, [email protected]
www.dhs.gov/privacy

Privacy Threshold Analysis
Version date: April 27, 2010
Page 3 of 7
SPECIFIC QUESTIONS
1.

Describe the project and its purpose:

This form is for applying to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for the
following travel documents:
1. Reentry Permit A reentry permit allows a permanent resident or conditional resident to
apply for admission to the United States upon returning from abroad during the permit's
validity without the need to obtain a returning resident visa from a U.S. Embassy or consulate.
2. Refugee Travel Document A refugee travel document is issued to a person classified as a
refugee or asylee, or to a permanent resident who obtained such status as a refugee or asylee in
the United States. Persons who hold asylee or refugee status and are not permanent residents
must have a refugee travel document to return to the United States after temporary travel
abroad.
3. Advance Parole Document DHS may, as a matter of discretion, issue an advance parole
document to authorize the parole of an alien into the United States. Parole is not an
“admission.”

An alien who has received a valid advance parole document may present the document to a
transportation company in lieu of a visa as an authorization for the carrier to transport the alien
to a port-of-entry in the United States. An advance parole document may not be used in lieu of
any required passport. Whether to actually parole the alien is a decision made, in the exercise of
discretion, by DHS at the port-of-entry. Issuance of an advance parole document does not
preclude a denial of entry into the U.S.
Upon arriving at a port-of-entry, an alien presenting an advance parole document is an
applicant for admission, and may be denied admission if he or she is inadmissible under section
212 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended. The alien may also be placed into
removal proceedings as an inadmissible alien, rather than as a deportable alien. The alien may
also qualify as an “arriving alien” subject to expedited removal, as specified in 8 CFR 1.1.
Generally, however, an alien who obtains advance parole while in the United States, and who
returns to the United States while the advance parole document is valid, would not be subject to
expedited removal.

The Privacy Office
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Washington, DC 20528
703-235-0780, [email protected]
www.dhs.gov/privacy

Privacy Threshold Analysis
Version date: April 27, 2010
Page 4 of 7

4. Humanitarian Parole Humanitarian parole is an extraordinary measure used sparingly to
bring an otherwise inadmissible alien to the United States for a temporary period of time due to
a compelling emergency. Humanitarian parole cannot be used to circumvent the normal visa
issuing procedures and is not a means to bypass delays in visa issuance.

2.

Status of Project:
This is a new development effort.
This is an existing project.
Date first developed:
Date last updated: 0/12/2011
This is a request to extend the use of the Form I-131 under the Paperwork Reduction
Act. The form is set to expire on January 31, 2012.

3.

Could the project relate in any way to an individual? 1
No. Please skip ahead to the next question.
Yes. Please provide a general description, below.
This form is used by an individual to appeal an unfavorable decision.

4.

Do you collect, process, or retain information on: (Please check all that apply)
DHS Employees.
Contractors working on behalf of DHS.
The Public.
The System does not contain any such information.

1

Projects can relate to individuals in a number of ways. For example, a project may include a camera for
the purpose of watching a physical location. Individuals may walk past the camera and images of those
individuals may be recorded. Projects could also relate to individuals in more subtle ways. For example,
a project that is focused on detecting radioactivity levels may be sensitive enough to detect whether an
individual received chemotherapy.

The Privacy Office
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Washington, DC 20528
703-235-0780, [email protected]
www.dhs.gov/privacy

Privacy Threshold Analysis
Version date: April 27, 2010
Page 5 of 7
5.

Do you use or collect Social Security Numbers (SSNs)? (This includes truncated SSNs)
No.
Yes. Why does the program collect SSNs? Provide the function of the SSN and the
legal authority to do so:
The primary legal
authority supporting the collection of information derives from 8 U.S.C. Section 1101; and 8
U.S.C. Section 1103 charges the DHS Secretary with the duty of administering and enforcing all
laws relating to the immigration and naturalization of aliens.

6.

What information about individuals could be collected, generated or retained?
Name, A-Number, Address, date of birth, social security number, country of birth, and
country of citizenship.

7.

If this project is a technology/system, does it relate solely to infrastructure? [For example, is
the system a Local Area Network (LAN) or Wide Area Network (WAN)]?
No. Please continue to the next question.
Yes. Is there a log kept of communication traffic?
No. Please continue to the next question.
Yes. What type of data is recorded in the log? (Please choose all that apply.)
Header.
Payload Please describe the data that is logged.

8.

Does the system connect, receive, or share Personally Identifiable Information with any other
DHS systems 2?
No.
Yes.

2

PII may be shared, received, or connected to other DHS systems directly, automatically, or by manual processes.
Often, these systems are listed as “interconnected systems” in TAFISMA.

The Privacy Office
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Washington, DC 20528
703-235-0780, [email protected]
www.dhs.gov/privacy

Privacy Threshold Analysis
Version date: April 27, 2010
Page 6 of 7
Please list:

9.

Is there a Certification & Accreditation record within OCIO’s FISMA tracking system?
Unknown.
No.
Yes. Please indicate the determinations for each of the following:
Confidentiality:

Low

Moderate

High

Undefined

Integrity:

Low

Moderate

High

Undefined

Availability:

Low

Moderate

High

Undefined

The Privacy Office
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Washington, DC 20528
703-235-0780, [email protected]
www.dhs.gov/privacy

Privacy Threshold Analysis
Version date: April 27, 2010
Page 7 of 7
PRIVACY THRESHOLD REVIEW
(TO BE COMPLETED BY THE DHS PRIVACY OFFICE)
DATE reviewed by the DHS Privacy Office: October 26, 2011
NAME of the DHS Privacy Office Reviewer: Rebecca J. Richards
DESIGNATION
This is NOT a Privacy Sensitive System – the system contains no Personally Identifiable
Information.
This IS a Privacy Sensitive System
Category of System
IT System.
National Security System.
Legacy System.
HR System.
Rule.
Other: Form
Determination
PTA sufficient at this time.
Privacy compliance documentation determination in progress.
PIA is not required at this time.
PIA is required.
System covered by existing PIA: DHS/USCIS/PIA-016 CLAIMS 3 PIA
New PIA is required.
PIA update is required.
SORN not required at this time.
SORN is required.
System covered by existing SORN: DHS/USCIS-007 BIS SORN
New SORN is required.
DHS PRIVACY OFFICE COMMENTS