1615-0092 - E-Verify - Supporting Statement (c)

SUPPORTING STATEMENT

E-Verify Program

(No Agency Form Number; File OMB-18)

OMB Control No. 1615-0092

1. Justification.

1. Explain the circumstances that make the collection of information necessary. Identify any legal or administrative requirements that necessitate the collection. Attach a copy of the appropriate section of each statute and regulation mandating or authorizing the collection of information.

E-Verify is an Internet-based system that allows enrolled employers to confirm the eligibility of their employees to work in the United States. E-Verify employers electronically verify the employment eligibility of newly hired employees by matching information provided by employees on the Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification (Form I-9), against existing information accessed by the Verification Information System (VIS), a composite information system that checks the data entered by the employer against data from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Social Security Administration (SSA), the U.S. Department of State (DOS), and certain state Department of Motor Vehicle divisions. This Supporting Statement describes E-Verify enhancements that will assist E-Verify employers with preventing document fraud and with electronically verifying the employment authorization of employees with expiring temporary work authorization.

Employers create an E-Verify case by entering the information collected on Form I-9 into E-Verify. E-Verify then returns an initial case result. Over 98 percent of cases are returned as “Employment Authorized.” A Tentative Nonconfirmation (TNC) may be issued if the information entered by the employer does not match government records during the initial electronic check. The employer must notify the employee when a TNC is received and advise the employee of his or her right to contest the TNC with the appropriate government agency (either SSA or DHS). If the employee chooses to contest the TNC, he or she must notify the employer. The employer is instructed to record the employee’s decision to contest the TNC and refer the case in E-Verify. The employer must then provide the employee with a Referral Date Confirmation, which advises the employee that he/she has eight Federal Government workdays from the referral date to visit or call the appropriate agency to begin resolving the TNC.

During the TNC resolution process, the employee continues to work, and the employer may not terminate or take other adverse actions against the employee because of the TNC. Once the employee resolves the TNC, or visits an SSA office or calls the USCIS E-Verify Employee Hotline to start the process of resolving the TNC, E-Verify will notify the employer of the case status. If, after receiving and choosing to contest the TNC, the employee cannot resolve the TNC or does not contact the appropriate government agency within the required time frame, E-Verify will issue a Final Nonconfirmation (FNC). The FNC indicates that the employee’s employment authorization was not confirmed or that the employee failed to take action on the TNC in the required time frame. After receiving the FNC, the employer may terminate the employee or choose to retain the employee. If the employer chooses to retain the employee after receiving the FNC, the employer must report the employee’s continued employment to DHS through E-Verify.

Streamlined TNC Process

E-Verify is designed to assist employers with verifying the employment authorization of their employees. Because it is the employer and not the employee that uses E-Verify, communication from E-Verify has generally been directed to the employer. As a result, until now the employee had to rely on the employer to provide the employee with E-Verify case-related information. If the employer failed to provide this information or did so inaccurately, the employee may have lost his or her opportunity to contest an E-Verify TNC, resulting in a FNC.

To address this situation, USCIS, as part of its continuing commitment to provide employees with greater access to E-Verify information, has simplified the TNC process to streamline the notice an employer provides to the employee, and designed new e-mail messages to communicate directly with the employee. E-Verify is able to use these messages to communicate with the employee only when the employee provides an email address in the optional email field on Form I-9, and the employer correctly enters the email address into E-Verify. If the employee does not provide the email address or the employer fails to correctly enter it into E-Verify, E-Verify is unable to use email messages to communicate with the employee.

E-Verify has added, in total, three potential email communications with employees:

• Notification from E-Verify – Tentative Nonconfirmation. This message is sent to notify an employee that a TNC case result has been returned by E-Verify, and that the employee should contact their employer for more information.

• Reminder from E-Verify. This message is sent four days after a TNC is referred to the employer if the employee has not contacted DHS or SSA. The message reminds the employee of the eight Federal Government workday timeline to initiate TNC resolution and provides instructions for contacting DHS or SSA.

• Courtesy Reminder from E-Verify – Update Records with SSA. This message is sent when DHS confirms employment authorization for a recently naturalized citizen, but also finds that SSA records need to be updated to reflect the employee’s naturalized status.

The new email notices do not replace the current TNC process, but are designed to better support employee awareness and understanding of the TNC process. Employers must continue to follow all the procedures for TNCs found in the E-Verify Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and Employer User Manuals.

Improved FNC Process

Although the initial Supporting Statement associated with this PRA notice contained information about and requested comments regarding an improved E-Verify final nonconfirmation (FNC) review process, this amended Supporting Statement does not address that process. USCIS is further studying potential improvements to the E-Verify FNC review process and intends to publish a later PRA approval request containing information regarding those improvements.

Reverification

When an employee’s temporary employment authorization expires, Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) § 274A and USCIS implementing regulations require an employer to verify that the employee is still authorized to work. Currently, the employer verifies continuing employment authorization by obtaining the necessary employment authorization documentation from the employee and updating Form I-9. No actions are required in E-Verify. In order to align E-Verify with Form I-9 and to provide electronic verification of continuing employment authorization, USCIS proposes to add reverification functionality to E-Verify, and require participating employers to update existing cases or create new cases, if applicable, for all employees requiring reverification.

Since its inception, the E-Verify program has largely limited its verification processes to new hires. Regulations under INA § 274A define “hire” as “the actual commencement of employment of an employee for wages or other remuneration.” 8 C.F.R. 274a.1(c). USCIS’s implementing regulations for the employment verification process under INA § 274A (i.e., the Form I-9 process), require reverification of expired temporary work authorization on Form I-9.  8 C.F.R. 274a.2(b)(1)(vii). USCIS implementing regulations thus impose a continuing obligation on the employer to verify that an employee with temporary work authorization continues to be work authorized.

For technical and programmatic reasons, E-Verify has not, to date, included an electronic reverification process as a complement to the I-9 reverification requirement. E-Verify system upgrades and extensive experience with E-Verify administration now permit USCIS to expand electronic verification to reverification processes in the context of expiring temporary work authorization. Electronic reverification is not prohibited by the E-Verify statute or any other law, and logically matches the reverification process long-established under the Form I-9 regulations.

Unlike cases created for new employees, but similar to the current reverification I-9 process, in the E-Verify reverification process, the employer would not collect identity documents or verify identity during reverification. Instead, employers will be required to collect updated employment authorization documentation from the employee and enter that information into E-Verify. The proposed E-Verify reverification process does not change the employer’s obligation to update Form I-9 with the required reverification information and retain Form I-9 as required by law. Employers will have the option of choosing which group of employees they want to reverify. Employers have the option of only creating reverification cases for employees hired after their enrollment in E-Verify or for all employees whose reverification is required by 8 C.F.R. § 274a.2(b)(vii). Employers that are already enrolled in E-Verify will select which group of employees to reverify when prompted by E-Verify. New employers will select which group of employees to reverify at the time of enrollment.

To reverify an employee, the employer will access the previously created E-Verify case or create a new case where no previous case exists. Employers will be able to update existing cases or create new cases as soon as Section 3 of Form I-9 has been completed. The employer must update the existing case or create the new case no later than three days after the expiration of the previous employment authorization. E-Verify will provide a response once the E-Verify case has been submitted.

If the information entered matches government records, an ‘Employment Authorized’ result will be provided. A Tentative Nonconfirmation (TNC) may be issued if the information entered by the employer does not match government records during the initial electronic check.

During this proposed reverification process, USCIS will be requesting and collecting the following information not already covered by an existing OMB approval for employees with existing cases:

• Information in Section 3 of Form I-9. The document name, expiration date (if applicable) and new name (if applicable).

During this proposed reverification process, USCIS will be requesting and collecting the following information not already covered by an existing OMB approval for employees with new cases:

• Information in Section 1 and 3 of Form I-9. The document name, expiration date (if applicable), the employee’s name, date of birth, Form I-94 Number or Alien Registration Number, and Social Security Account Number.

Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) Updates

Because E-Verify is a complex system dealing with sensitive information—and employer misuse of the system could have serious consequences such as loss of employment for U.S. citizens and work authorized aliens, privacy breaches, pre-employment screening, lost employment and/or wages, and illegal discrimination, E-Verify uses an MOU to outline the terms and conditions of E-Verify use as well as the shared and agreed-upon responsibilities of the employer and DHS.

E-Verify periodically updates the language of the MOU to reflect changes to E-Verify requirements and to advise employers about their responsibilities in using E-Verify. In order to implement the revised TNC process and add the new Reverification process, E-Verify is updating the MOU to add specific language for this process. New and updated language outlines the TNC and Reverification process and provides specific terms and conditions governing employer and DHS actions in implementing these processes. These changes will not affect the E-Verify enrollment process or the need for the employer to sign a new MOU.

Specific proposed changes to the E-Verify MOUs are included in redline documents submitted with this supporting statement.

2. Indicate how, by whom, and for what purpose the information is to be used. Except for a new collection, indicate the actual use the agency has made of the information received from the current collection.

Streamlined TNC Process

E-Verify has simplified and improved its TNC process by combining the TNC Notice and Referral Letter into one document – the Further Action Notice. E-Verify also redesigned its interface to have fewer screens to click through within E-Verify, resulting in a clearer process and decreased case processing time.

• As of September 9, 2013, E-Verify combined the TNC Notice and Referral Letter into one document—the Further Action Notice.

• The Further Action Notice simplifies the TNC communication process by combining the employee’s biographical information (name, document number, and case verification number), the reason for the TNC, the employee’s decision to contest, and instructions for contesting a TNC into a single document.

• Employers should follow the updated screens in E-Verify to guide them through the TNC process which now uses the Further Action Notice to facilitate employer/employee communication about a TNC.

• Employers will have fewer screens to click through in E-Verify, resulting in decreased case processing time. The SSA TNC process will be reduced from six screens to three.

• E-Verify will update existing help text and add new help text for the Further Action Notice.

• Employers must notify employees of a TNC, print the Further Action Notice, allow employees to contest a TNC, and may not take an adverse action against an employee because of the TNC while the employee is contesting a TNC and the E-Verify case is pending.

• When employers refer a TNC case to SSA or DHS, they must print the Referral Date Confirmation and provide it to the employee. This is a one-page document that provides the date by which the employee must visit SSA or contact DHS.

E-Verify has updated the existing email notifications that were released in July 2013 and included an additional notification.

• In addition to notifying the employer, E-Verify will send an email notification to employees whose TNC cases are referred to SSA or DHS. The email will provide the date by which the employee must visit SSA or contact DHS.

• E-Verify will only send employees email notifications if the employee provides an email address on Form I-9 and if the employer enters the email address correctly in E-Verify when creating the case. Employers must enter the employee’s email address in E-Verify if it was provided in Section 1 of Form I-9.

• E-Verify has updated existing email notifications:

• References to the Further Action Notice will replace references to the TNC Notice.

• E-Verify logo will appear as the header on the emails.

• Emails will include “E-Verify Notification” in the “from” field.

• Source email address will appear as “noreply.E-Verify@dhs.gov”

• “Do not reply” message will appear in the body of the email.

Reverification

Employers will be required to update existing cases or create new cases, if applicable, for employees whose temporary employment authorization documents have expired and whose work authorization is being reverified in E-Verify. When the employee’s temporary employment authorization expires, employers update Form I-9 with updated employment authorization documentation. Once Form I-9 is updated, employers will then enter information provided on Form I-9 into E-Verify. If the employee previously had an E-Verify case, the employer will add the updated employment authorization documentation to the previous E-Verify case and submit the case for reverification. If the employee never had an E-Verify case, the employer will create a new case in E-Verify using the information provided on Form I-9.

Once the case is submitted in E-Verify, E-Verify will provide an initial case result. The reverification process will be identical to the current E-Verify process except the employee’s identity will not be verified.

MOU Update

Employers participating in the E-Verify Program must first agree to the requirements stated in the MOU. The E-Verify Program has four different employer access methods: Employer, E-Verify Employer Agent, Corporate Administrator, and Web Services.

There are four different MOUs that correspond to each type of access method. Every MOU provides the specific terms and conditions governing the rights and responsibilities of all parties involved, as well as specific information on the employer.

The E-Verify enrollment process begins with an employer agreeing to the terms of the MOU; and after executing the MOU, the employer completes the process by entering employer and other relevant information into the system.

Specific proposed changes to the E-Verify MOUs are included in redline documents submitted with this supporting statement.

3. Describe whether, and to what extent, the collection of information involves the use of automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic submission of responses, and the basis for the decision for adopting this means of collection. Also describe any consideration of using information technology to reduce burden.

Streamlined TNC Process

The method by which USCIS collects information through E-Verify will not change under this approval. USCIS will provide employees with notification of a TNC through an additional method—by email—if an employee provides a valid email address on Form I-9 and the employer correctly inputs the email address as required into E-Verify. No other E-Verify TNC information collection points are changing.

Reverification

The reverification process will collect information in the same manner E-Verify currently collects information. Employers will continue to complete Form I-9 and input the information provided by the employee on Form I-9 into E-Verify.

MOU Updates

The MOU is a signed agreement between DHS and the employer and provides the most efficient means for collecting and processing the required data. The MOU is available to the public online on the E-Verify website at: E-Verify Employer MOU and electronic enrollment is also available online at: E-Verify enrollment.

Specific proposed changes to the E-Verify MOUs are included in redline documents submitted with this supporting statement.

4. Describe efforts to identify duplication. Show specifically why any similar information already available cannot be used or modified for use for the purposes described in Item 2 above.

A review of USCIS’ Forms Inventory Report revealed no duplication of effort and there is no other similar information currently available that can be used for these purposes.

5. If the collection of information impacts small businesses or other small entities (Item 5 of OMB Form 83-I), describe any methods used to minimize burden.

This collection of information does not appear to have a significant impact on a substantial number of small businesses or other small entities. This is a voluntary program for employers wishing to participate and a condition of contracting for certain contractors and subcontractors that choose to do work for the Federal government. In addition, some state and local laws require that employers participate in E-Verify as a condition of business licensing. This program is intended to benefit these small entities by allowing them to quickly verify and reverify whether an employee is legally eligible to work, and therefore comply with INA § 274A.

6. Describe the consequence to Federal program or policy activities if the collection is not conducted or is conducted less frequently, as well as any technical or legal obstacles to reducing burden.

If this information collection is not conducted many of the enhancements to the E-Verify program otherwise described in this Supporting Statement and associated documents would not take place. In particular, implementation of reverification of expiring temporary work authorization may not take place if the agency does not conduct the collections described in this supporting statement.

7. Explain any special circumstances that would cause an information collection to be conducted in a manner

• Requiring respondents to report information to the agency more often than quarterly;

• Requiring respondents to prepare a written response to a collection of information in fewer than 30 days after receipt of it;

• Requiring respondents to submit more than an original and two copies of any document;

• Requiring respondents to retain records, other than health, medical, government contract, grant-in-aid, or tax records for more than three years;

• In connection with a statistical survey, that is not designed to produce valid and reliable results that can be generalized to the universe of study;

• Requiring the use of a statistical data classification that has not been reviewed and approved by OMB;

• That includes a pledge of confidentiality that is not supported by authority established in statute or regulation, that is not supported by disclosure and data security policies that are consistent with the pledge, or which unnecessarily impedes sharing of data with other agencies for compatible confidential use; or

• Requiring respondents to submit proprietary trade secret, or other confidential information unless the agency can demonstrate that it has instituted procedures to protect the information's confidentiality to the extent permitted by law.

The special circumstances contained in item seven of the supporting statement are not applicable to this information collection. Once the employer is enrolled in E-Verify, the employer is required to create a case each time a new employee is hired or an employee’s temporary employment authorization expires. Certain Federal contractors and their subcontractors, in addition to being required to create an E-Verify case for each new hire, must also create an E-Verify case for all existing employees assigned to a covered contract or all existing employees of the contractor.

8. If applicable, provide a copy and identify the data and page number of publication in the Federal Register of the agency’s notice, required by 5 CFR 1320.8(d), soliciting comments on the information collection prior to submission to OMB. Summarize public comments received in response to that notice and describe actions taken by the agency in response to these comments. Specifically address comments received on cost and hour burden.

On June 8, 2015, USCIS published a 60-day notice in the Federal Register at 80 FR 32408. USCIS received comments from 104 comments from 15 commenters on the 60-day notice. The attached appendix contains a discussion of the comments and USCIS’ response.

On May 20, 2016, USCIS published a 30-day notice in the Federal Register at 81 FR 31956. USCIS has not received any comments to date on the 30-day notice.

9. Explain any decision to provide any payment or gift to respondents, other than remuneration of contractors or grantees.

USCIS does not provide payments or gifts to E-Verify respondents.

10. Describe any assurance of confidentiality provided to respondents and the basis for the assurance in statute, regulation or agency policy.

USCIS assures E-Verify users (employers) in the E-Verify MOU that it will safeguard the information they provide in E-Verify, and will limit access to such information to individuals responsible for the verification process, for evaluation of E-Verify, or to such other persons or entities as may be authorized by applicable law. The E-Verify MOU also states, “the Employer understands that its participation in E-Verify is not confidential information and may be disclosed as authorized or required by law and DHS or SSA policy, including but not limited to, Congressional oversight, E-Verify publicity and media inquiries, determinations of compliance with Federal contractual requirements, and responses to inquiries under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).”

The system used to support the E-Verify Program is operated and maintained according to DHS and privacy requirements. Information about the employee to be verified including the result of the E-Verify query (e.g., Employment Authorized, TNC, etc.) is handled in accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974. The system of records notice associated with this information collection is the E-Verify Program System of Records. Published in the Federal Register on August 11, 2014 at 79 FR 46852. The associated privacy impact assessment is the DHS/USCIS/PIA-030 E-Verify Program available on the DHS Privacy Office website http://www.dhs.gov/privacy. DHS/USCIS/PIA-030 E-Verify Program requires an update to streamline notice to the public of the several enhancements made to E-Verify since the original PIA was completed in 2010. The INA and IIRIRA also provide specific privacy protections to workers who complete Form I-9 and have their data entered into the E-Verify program.

11. Provide additional justification for any questions of a sensitive nature, such as sexual behavior and attitudes, religious beliefs, and other matters that are commonly considered private. This justification should include the reasons why the agency considers the questions necessary, the specific uses to be made of the information, the explanation to be given to person’s for whom the information is requested, and any steps to be taken to obtain their consent.

There are no questions of a sensitive nature.

12. Provide estimates of the hour burden of the collection of information. The statement should:

• Indicate the number of respondents, frequency of response, annual hour burden, and an explanation of how the burden was estimated. Unless directed to do so, agencies should not conduct special surveys to obtain information on which to base hour burden estimates. Consultation with a sample (fewer than 10) of potential respondents is desirable. If the hour burden on respondents is expected to vary widely because of differences in activity, size, or complexity, show the range of estimated hour burden, and explain the reasons for the variance. Generally, estimates should not include burden hours for customary and usual business practices.

• If this request for approval covers more than one form, provide separate hour burden estimates for each form and aggregate the hour burdens in Item 13 of OMB Form 83-I.

• Provide estimates of annualized cost to respondents for the hour burdens for collections of information, identifying and using appropriate wage rate categories. The cost of contracting out or paying outside parties for information collection activities should not be included here. Instead, this cost should be included in Item 14.

Annual Reporting Burden.

Information Collection Activity	No. of Respondents	# Responses per Respondent	Avg. Burden per Response (in hours)	Total Annual Burden (in hours)	Avg. Hourly Wage Rate	Total Annual Respondent Cost
New Users Entry (Enrollment)	65,000	1	2.26	146,900	$32.52	$4,777,188
Yearly Training	425,000	1	1	425,000	$32.52	$13,821,000
Init. Cases	425,000	55	0.129	3,015,375	$32.52	$98,059,995
Rever Cases	232,900	1	0.06	13,974	$32.52	$454,434
				3,601,249		$117,112,617

*The above Average Hourly Wage Rate is the May 2015 Bureau of Labor Statistics average wage for All Occupations of $23.23 times the wage rate benefit multiplier of 1.4 (to account for benefits provided) equaling $33.45. The selection of “All Occupations” was chosen as the expected respondents for this collection could be expected to be from any occupation.

**During the 60-day comment period USCIS received one (1) comment asking us to add to the burden statement costs associated with software and training development for Employer Agents using Web Services. The commenter provided a set of estimated totals of these costs for Web Services users based on their software development process. After reviewing the comment, USCIS does agree that there are software development costs associated with the changes proposed in this information collection. However because of the various sizes, activity levels, and software development processes of Employer Agents using Web Services, USCIS did not find that the estimates provided by the commenter could be generally applied to the population of Employer Agents using Web Services. USCIS attempted, within the constraints of the Paperwork Reduction Act, to obtain reliable data from a cross-section of additional Web Service providers that could be used in conjunction with figures provided by the commenter to develop a more representative cost estimate. However, we were unable to acquire sufficient data. Moving forward, USCIS plans to seek sufficient information from Employer Agents using Web Services to construct a burden estimate that accurately represents these costs in future information collection requests.

The total number of respondents for this information collection is as follows:

• New Enrollment 65,000

• Yearly Training 425,000

• Cases 23,246,667

23,736,667

The projected hours per response for this collection of information were derived as follows:

• New Enrollment 2 hours 15 minutes

• Yearly Training 1 hour

• Cases 8 minutes

Annual Reporting Burden.

Total annual reporting burden hours are 3,601,249. This figure was derived by multiplying:

• Multiplying the number of newly enrolling respondents (65,000) * number of responses (1) * 2.26 hours (2 hours 15 minutes) per response (enrollment time includes review and signing of the MOU, registration, new user training, and review of the user guides); plus

• Multiplying the number of already-enrolled respondents receiving training on new features and system updates (425,000) * number of responses (1) * 1 hour per response; plus

• Multiplying the number of respondents submitting initial (“Init.”) Cases (425,000) * average number of Cases (or “responses”) per respondent (55) * .129 hours (approximately 8 minutes) per query. Please note that the response time is the weighted average of the time required for the initial query and the time required to assist an employee with the Tentative Non-Confirmation (TNC) contestation process when necessary¹. The weighted average was calculated as follows: {(98.8% (percent of Cases resolved without TNC) * .12 (time, in hours, to submit the initial query)} + {(1.03% (percent of Cases that receive a TNC) * 0.5 (time, in hours, spent assisting employee with the TNC contestation process)} = .129 (7.74 minutes) per query.

• Multiplying the number of respondents submitting reverification (“Rever”) Cases (425,000) * average number of re-verification Cases (or “responses”) per respondent (0.548) * 0.06 hours (approximately 3.6 minutes) per query. Please note that the response time is the weighted average of the time required for the initial query and the time required to assist an employee with the Tentative Non-Confirmation (TNC) contestation process when necessary. The weighted average was calculated as follows: {98.8% (percent of Cases resolved without TNC) * 0.05 (time, in hours, to submit the query)} + {1.2% (percent of Cases that receive a TNC) * 0.62 (time, in hours, spent assisting employee with the TNC contestation process)} = 0.06 hours (3.6 minutes) per query.

13. Provide an estimate of the total annual cost burden to respondents or record keepers resulting from the collection of information. (Do not include the cost of any hour burden shown in Items 12 and 14).

• The cost estimate should be split into two components: (a) a total capital and start-up cost component (annualized over its expected useful life); and (b) a total operation and maintenance and purchase of services component. The estimates should take into account costs associated with generating, maintaining, and disclosing or providing the information. Include descriptions of methods used to estimate major cost factors including system and technology acquisition, expected useful life of capital equipment, the discount rate(s), and the time period over which costs will be incurred. Capital and start-up costs include, among other items, preparations for collecting information such as purchasing computers and software; monitoring, sampling, drilling and testing equipment; and record storage facilities.

• If cost estimates are expected to vary widely, agencies should present ranges of cost burdens and explain the reasons for the variance. The cost of purchasing or contracting out information collection services should be a part of this cost burden estimate. In developing cost burden estimates, agencies may consult with a sample of respondents (fewer than 10), utilize the 60-day pre-OMB submission public comment process and use existing economic or regulatory impact analysis associated with the rulemaking containing the information collection, as appropriate.

• Generally, estimates should not include purchases of equipment or services, or portions thereof, made: (1) prior to October 1, 1995, (2) to achieve regulatory compliance with requirements not associated with the information collection, (3) for reasons other than to provide information or keep records for the government or (4) as part of customary and usual business or private practices.

(a) Capital or Start-Up Costs:

E-Verify is a voluntary program and thus imposes no start-up costs.

(b) Operation, Maintenance and Purchase of Service costs:

E-Verify is a free, web-based service for employers.

14. Provide estimates of annualized cost to the Federal government. Also, provide a description of the method used to estimate cost, which should include quantification of hours, operational expenses (such as equipment, overhead, printing, and support staff), and any other expense that would not have been incurred without this collection of information. Agencies also may aggregate cost estimates from Items 12, 13, and 14 in a single table.

Reverification

The estimated cost to the Government is $61,415. This figure is calculated by:

• Multiplying the total estimated number of Cases 236,214 x $.26 (estimated average cost per query);

The estimated cost to the Government is 61,415. This is figure is calculated by:

• Adding the estimated cost of Reverification.

15. Explain the reasons for any program changes or adjustments reporting in Items 13 or 14 of the OMB Form 83-I.

Adjustments were made to include existing employees with expiring temporary work authorization. Previously, with the exception of certain Federal contractors, employers used E-Verify only for new hires. Employers would now use E-Verify for new hires and for reverification of existing employees with expiring temporary work authorization. This represents a 13,974 increase in the burden hours.

Item 14 adjustments were made to include the cost to the government for the new process of Reverification.

16. For collections of information whose results will be published, outline plans for tabulation, and publication. Address any complex analytical techniques that will be used. Provide the time schedule for the entire project, including beginning and ending dates of the collection of information, completion of report, publication dates, and other actions.

USCIS does not intend to employ the use of statistics or the publication thereof for this collection of data.

17. If seeking approval to not display the expiration date for OMB approval of the information collection, explain the reasons that display would be inappropriate.

USCIS will display the expiration date of OMB approval for this information collection.

18. Explain each exception to the certification statement identified in Item 19, “Certification for Paperwork Reduction Act Submission,” of OMB 83-I.

USCIS does not request an exception to the certification of this information collection.

2. Collection of Information Employing Statistical Methods.

There is no statistical methodology involved with this collection.

1 The E-Verify process has more steps than these here, but these are the only steps that will require non-negligible amounts of time on the part of the respondent, the employer.

14