Justification Document in Support of OMB Form 83-C

Supporting Detail in Support of a Change Request for OMB Control Number 1615-0122, USCIS Electronic Immigration System (USCIS ELIS)

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), is seeking approval of a Change Request to the information collection OMB Control Number 1615-0122, USCIS Electronic Immigration System (USCIS ELIS). This request is to separate the currently combined account set-up process and the form generation process into two distinct activities. There will be no change to the data collected; the purpose of this request is to define the steps for creating an account creation and separate them from the form generation process.

The reason to separately establish these processes in USCIS ELIS is that USCIS is currently developing a single account creation tool that would allow identity verified single-sign-on entry into multiple USCIS systems to which the public has access. This tool is being developed in accordance with the Federal Identity, Credential, and Access Management (FICAM and, for USCIS’ purposes, ICAM) guidance of December 2, 2011. At the present time, the ICAM account creation tool will be available exclusively for access to USCIS ELIS. USCIS is also working to update USCIS ELIS. The update to USCIS ELIS will be ready for use before USCIS would have a separate ICAM collection approval, and therefore USCIS seeks to ensure that USCIS ELIS does not duplicate any of the information collected in ICAM. This Change Request would allow the agency to move future USCIS ELIS form releases into the new format instead of referring to the currently-approved version of USCIS ELIS. The existing USCIS ELIS all-in-one account set-up and form generation architecture will be maintained for currently approved forms I-539 (OMB Control Number 1615-0003), I-526 (OMB Control Number 1615-XXXX), Document Library (OMB Control Number 1615-XXXX), and the Immigrant Visa Fee Payment process. USCIS will submit separate Change Requests for these processes at a later date, when the architecture for these collection processes can be updated within USCIS ELIS.

The overall data collected to establish accounts and complete forms within USCIS ELIS will not change, nor will there be any modification to the number of respondents or time/cost burdens incurred. There will be a slight modification to the order of data collection, with the respondent’s name, email address, and mobile phone number being collected during the account creation process. Once the respondent confirms the account in ICAM, he or she will be able to move on to the form generation pages in USCIS ELIS. There is one minor addition to this account set-up process, which is the request for identification of the respondent’s cell phone carrier if the respondent elects to receive notifications via SMS text message. This is necessary to allow the SMS text message to be successfully sent to the respondent. USCIS is working to update its programming to make this step unnecessary as soon as possible. USCIS has included, in support of this Change Request, screenshots that detail both the account creation and the form generation processes as well as the new System of Records Notice and Privacy Impact Assessment documents.

As stated above, USCIS intends to eventually utilize ICAM to allow for account creation for persons who wish to interact with USCIS systems other than USCIS ELIS. Prior to this use, USCIS will submit a separate New Information Collection request to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) requesting approval for a stand-alone ICAM account creation process. USCIS is currently working on a Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) package supporting this proposed collection.