Mini-Supporting Statement

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

TITLE OF INFORMATION COLLECTION: Department of Homeland Security – Satisfaction Survey of Resettlement Support Centers.

PURPOSE:

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Refugee, Asylum, and International Operations Directorate (RAIO) would like to conduct a customer satisfaction survey directed at Resettlement Support Centers (RSCs) to gather feedback about the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP). The RSCs facilitate the USRAP by:

• preparing the necessary casework for individuals interviewed by USCIS refugee officers,

• working closely with USCIS refugee officers on overseas circuit rides, and

• assisting those who are approved to complete the requirements for admission to the U.S.

RSC employees work for nonprofit organizations and international organizations that are funded by the Department of State through cooperative agreements. Click here for more information regarding RSCs.

In order to gauge the quality of refugee adjudications and to maintain a good working relationship with the RSCs, USCIS would like to gather feedback from the RSCs to identify areas in which USCIS is doing well and areas for improvement.

The survey will be conducted online. The survey link and invitation will be sent to RSC employees by email. Participation will be voluntary and all responses will be captured anonymously so that individual responses cannot be attributed to any particular person. Email addresses will be used for distribution of the survey only, and will not be linked to individual responses. USCIS will not save or use the email addresses for any other purpose. USCIS has worked with the USCIS and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Privacy Offices to ensure that applicable privacy requirements have been met.

The survey will be available only in English. This survey consists of 10 multiple choice questions with one open-ended question. It is anticipated that it will take approximately 10-15 minutes to complete.

Survey results

Survey results will be collected online through SurveyMonkey®. Both individual and aggregate data will be available through an online portal. However, as mentioned above, the survey data will be anonymous and cannot be attributed to any particular individual. The survey will not collect any personally identifiable information (PII) from respondents; space will neither be given within the survey for respondents to identify themselves, nor will they be requested to provide any information that would allow them to be personally identified. Additionally, the survey provider will not collect Internet Protocol (IP) addresses or any other electronic identifiers. While RAIO will be able to see individual records of responses, RAIO will not be able to query the data by a specific identifier (e.g., email address, IP address, etc.) to identify the responses of a particular individual.

The survey data will be summarized and published in a report, which will be distributed internally within the relevant portions of USCIS and Department of State. The report will outline what the USRAP is doing well and where it can make improvements. The report will also analyze the respondents’ open-ended comments. RAIO will retain the survey data until it is no longer needed; at that point, all records related to raw and aggregate data will be deleted/destroyed.

If open-ended comments contain any identifying information, that information will be stripped before any survey results are reported or shared internally. . Once all responses are received, the results will be compiled and the data will presented to the relevant mangers within USCIS and Department of State.

DESCRIPTION OF RESPONDENTS:

The respondents will be employees of the RSCs who have direct interaction with USCIS refugee officers in connection with the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP). There are nine RSCs worldwide; all RSCs are funded by the Department of State through cooperative agreements. The survey will be disseminated to all RSC employees who work with the USCIS Refugee Affairs Division and refugee officers in their performance of any aspect of USRAP. The survey will be conducted anonymously. Completion of the survey is optional.

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:________________________________________________

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

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	150	15 minutes per respondent	37.5 hours

FEDERAL COST: The estimated annual cost to the Federal government is $300.

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?

Department of State has estimated that there are approximately 100-150 individuals from RSCs who interact directly with USCIS during refugee circuit rides. Due to the small universe of potential respondents, USCIS plans to send the survey to all individuals identified rather than selecting a sample.

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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