Justification for Emergency Review

JUSTIFICATION FOR EMERGENCY REVIEW

DS-7699 Affidavit of Relationship (AOR) for Minors from Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala

The Department of State Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM) is responsible for coordinating and managing the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP). PRM coordinates within the Department of State, as well as with the Department of Homeland Security U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (DHS/USCIS), in carrying out this responsibility. A critical part of the State Department’s responsibility is determining which individuals, from among millions of refugees worldwide, will have access to U.S. resettlement consideration. PRM and DHS/USCIS are now assisting with the preparation of a White House directive to initiate an in-country program to provide a means for certain persons in the United States who are lawfully present (“anchor parents”) to claim a relationship with child(ren) in Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala and to assist the U.S. Department of State in determining whether those child(ren) are qualified to apply for access to the USRAP for family reunification purposes. This form also assists DHS/USCIS to verify parent-child relationships during refugee case adjudication. The main purpose of the DS-7699 is for the anchor parent to provide biographical information about children overseas who may subsequently seek access to the USRAP for verification by the U.S. government. This form is necessary for implementation of this program, which the White House is preparing to announce on November 13 or 14 with a December 1 start date.

The Department has therefore determined that:

1. This collection is needed prior to the expiration of time periods normally associated with a routine submission for review under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act;

2. This collection is essential to the mission of the Department of State; and

3. The use of normal clearance procedures will prevent the Department obtaining this information

The normal clearance process will severely impact PRM’s ability to respond to the Presidential decision to implement in-country refugee resettlement programs as outline above.

Therefore, the Department of State requests emergency OMB approval for this collection immediately.