Inter-Country Adoption SORN

[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 107 (Tuesday, June 5, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31086-31090]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office
[www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 07-2783]

[[Page 31086]]
----------------------------------------------------------------------DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Office of the Secretary
[Docket No. DHS-2007-0019]
Privacy Act; Inter-Country Adoptions
AGENCY: Privacy Office, Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
ACTION: Notice of Privacy Act system of records notice.
----------------------------------------------------------------------SUMMARY: Pursuant to the Privacy Act of 1974, the Department of
Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is
updating and re-issuing a legacy system of records, Department of
Justice DOJ/Immigration and Naturalization (INS)--007 SORN known as
Orphan Petitioner Index and Files that was published on July 27, 2001,
66 FR 39199. This system of records will now be referred to as DHS/
USCIS-005 Inter-Country Adoptions.
DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before July 5, 2007.
ADDRESSES:
You may submit comments, identified by DOCKET NUMBER DHS-2007-0019
by one of the following methods:
Federal e-Rulemaking portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
Follow the instructions for submitting comments via docket number DHS
2007-0019. All comments received will be posted without change to
http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information
provided.
Fax: 1-866-466-5370.
Mail: Hugo Teufel III, DHS Chief Privacy Officer,
Department of Homeland Security, Washington, DC 20528.
Docket: For access to the docket to read background
documents or comments received go to http://www.regulations.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general questions, please contact:
Patrick Kernan, 20 Massachusetts Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20529, by
telephone (202) 272-9522. For privacy issues, please contact: Hugo
Teufel III (571-227-3813), Chief Privacy Officer, Privacy Office, U.S.
Department of Homeland Security, Washington, DC 20528.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
DHS implements United States immigration law and policy through the
USCIS's processing and adjudication of applications and petitions
submitted for citizenship, asylum, and other immigration benefits.
USCIS also supports national security by preventing individuals from
fraudulently obtaining immigration benefits and by denying applications
from individuals who pose national security or public safety threats.
United States Immigration policy and law is also implemented through
Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) law enforcement activities
and Customs and Border Protection's (CBP) inspection process and
protection of our borders.
USCIS is embarking on an enterprise-wide ``Transformation Program''
that will transition the agency from a fragmented, form-centric, and
paper-based operational environment to a centralized, person-centric,
consolidated environment utilizing electronic adjudication. The new
operational environment will employ the types of online customer
accounts used in the private sector. This ``person-centric'' model will
link information related to an individual in a single account in order
to facilitate customer friendly transactions, track activities, and
reduce identity fraud.
The Secure Information Management Service (SIMS) is a web-based,
information and case management service that enables authorized USCIS
representatives to perform end-to-end processing of applications while
providing the agency with the ability to better associate and manage
relationships with those seeking immigration related benefits.
To support this effort, USCIS is deploying a series of pilots to
validate key concepts of the program's mission. One of the key
functions of the SIMS deployment is to demonstrate the overall benefits
of the USCIS Transformation Project. Using the inter-country adoption
caseload as a ``proof-of-concept'' of the SIMS, this pilot will
demonstrate the case processing capability of the case management
system, verify that an enumerator (unique identifier based on
biometrics) supports the USCIS person-centric business process, and
verify that the case management system can be used to view digitized
files.
The SIMS will utilize the Enumeration Services of DHS's US-VISIT
Program, when deployed, to establish a unique identity for each
individual interacting with USCIS. Enumeration Services will establish
an enterprise-wide unique personal identifier, known as the enumerator,
based on 10 fingerprints and limited biographic information of an
individual. An enumerator is a randomly generated alphanumeric unique
identifier that is used to link disparate records associated with an
individual for the purpose of identification. Enumeration will allow
USCIS to consolidate information on an individual and facilitate
identity verification, risk evaluation, and benefit eligibility.
In addition, the SIMS will utilize digitized Alien Registration
Files (A-Files) generated through USCIS's Integrated Digitization
Document Management Program (IDDMP). System of Records Notice for AFiles and the Central Index System was published on January 16, 2007,
72 FR 1755. IDDMP enables USCIS to scan, store and view immigration
paper files and related documents while integrating to person-centric
records, making them electronically available to USCIS and other
agencies.

Current Adoption Process
The current adoption process is a form-centric approach that
focuses on a series of forms and independent processes, rather than a
consolidated set of transactions focusing on the customer's primary
request. Currently, a customer must file multiple applications to, (1)
obtain parent qualification and approval, (2) adopt a child, and (3)
obtain citizenship for a child.
Generally, customers residing in the U.S. must file adoption
applications with the local USCIS office with jurisdiction over their
place of residence in the U.S. Customers residing outside of the U.S.
must contact the nearest American consulate or embassy that will take
action on their application. Should a customer move during the adoption
process, USCIS must transfer his case to a different jurisdiction,
resulting in longer processing times and limiting access to the file to
a single adjudicator. Utilizing paper-based files results in high
transmittal costs and requires a complex record management system.
Customers may be engaged in the adoption process over a multi-year
period depending upon the country from which they seek to adopt because
of the differences in legal requirements in each foreign country. USCIS
regulations dictate that applications expire in 18 months in order to
ensure that home studies are current. As a result, customers may be
required to re-file their applications. Currently, re-filing is the
same as starting the process all over again. This process results in
additional cost and time to complete the filing requirements.
New Operational Concept
The new operational concept will facilitate interactions between
USCIS and adoptive parents or their
[[Page 31087]]
representatives. Each adoption application request will link to an
existing SIMS account or trigger the creation of a new SIMS account
that contains personally identifiable information. All adoption
requests related to an individual will be contained in a SIMS case that
tracks the actions required to adjudicate the adoption or
naturalization request. The priorities of the new concept are as
follows:
Establish a person-centric view for individuals associated
with a case, utilizing the Enumeration Service of the US-VISIT program
to establish a unique identity for each individual that is required by
USCIS to be fingerprinted.
Provide a centralized, web-based repository for the data
that provides access to all the documents related to a case, thereby
eliminating the need for a paper application or a case file. However,
for purposes of this pilot and to ensure continuity of operations,
USCIS will maintain the paper file as a backup to the newly created
electronic file.
If it is determined that this new operational concept is valid,
USCIS will consider adding additional application types and
functionality to the SIMS and as appropriate, update the relevant
system of records notices for those programs that use this new
technology. As part of DHS's ongoing efforts to increase transparency
and update legacy system of records notices, USCIS reviewed and is

updating and re-issuing Department of Justice DOJ/Immigration and
Naturalization (INS)-007 SORN, known as Orphan Petitioner Index and
Files that was published on July 27, 2001, 66 FR 39199 to account for
the new capabilities that SIMS offers that were not previously covered
by the legacy SORN. The legacy SORN will be retired and replaced with
the DHS/USCIS-005 Inter-country Adoptions system of records.
Consistent with DHS's information sharing mission, information
stored in the Adoptions portion of SIMS may be shared with other DHS
components, as well as appropriate federal, state, local, tribal,
foreign, or international government agencies. This sharing will only
take place after DHS determines that the receiving component or agency
has a need to know the information to carry out national security, law
enforcement, immigration, intelligence, or other functions consistent
with the routine uses set forth in this system of records notice.
Types of information sharing that may result from the routine uses
outlined in this notice include: (1) Disclosure to social worker or
federal, state, or local government agency to determine the applicants'
suitability for adopting a child; (2) disclosure to individuals who are
working as a contractor or with a similar relationship working on
behalf of DHS; (3) sharing when there appears to be a specific
violation or potential violation of law, or identified threat or
potential threat to national or international security, such as
criminal or terrorist activities, based on individual records in this
system; (4) sharing with the National Archives and Records
Administration (NARA) for proper handling of government records; (5)
sharing when relevant to litigation associated with the Federal
government; and (6) sharing to protect the individual who is the
subject of the record from the harm of identity theft in the case of a
data breach affecting this system.
II. The Privacy Act
The Privacy Act embodies Fair Information principles in a statutory
framework governing the means by which the United States Government
collects, maintains, uses, and disseminates personally identifiable
information. The Privacy Act applies to information that is maintained
in a ``system of records.'' A ``system of records'' is a group of any
records under the control of an agency from which information is
retrieved by the name of an individual or by some identifying number,
symbol, or other identifying particular assigned to the individual.
Individuals may request their own records that are maintained in a
system of records in the possession or under the control of DHS by
complying with DHS Privacy Act regulations, 6 CFR 5.21.
The Privacy Act requires that each agency publish in the Federal
Register a description denoting the type and character of each system
of records in order to make agency recordkeeping practices transparent,
to notify individuals about the use to which personally identifiable
information is put, and to assist the individual to more easily find
files within the agency.
In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552a(r), DHS has provided a report of
this revised system of records to the Office of Management and Budget
and to the Congress.
System of Records: DHS-USCIS-005
System name:
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Inter-country Adoptions
Security Classification:

Sensitive; Unclassified.
System location:
The Inter-country Adoptions information is maintained in the SIMS
database, which is physically located within USCIS's data center in the
Washington, DC metropolitan area. Backups are maintained in an
undisclosed offsite location. Inter-country Adoptions will be
accessible world-wide from designated USCIS domestic and international
field offices and service centers that are part of the DHS Network.
Categories of individuals covered by the system:
A. All individuals seeking an inter-country adoption pursuant to
the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. Section 1101(b)(1)(F);
B. All individuals over the age of 18 residing in a prospective
adoptive parent's household whose principal or only residence is the
home of the prospective adoptive parents pursuant to 8 CFR Section
204.3.
C. Representatives of the adoptive parents may be contained in this
system of records;
D. Minors being adopted pursuant to the Immigration and Nationality
Act, 8 U.S.C. Section 1101(b)(1)(F); and
E. Biological mothers, fathers, or custodians of adopted minors.
Categories of records in the system:
A. Applicant/Petitioner information includes biographic information
associated with each applicant/petitioner including, but not limited
to; name, date of birth, country of birth, address, phone numbers,
family member names, citizenship status, marital status, employment
status, gender, height, biometrics, and results of background
investigations (inclusive of home study checks, Federal Bureau of
Investigation (FBI) checks, Treasury Enforcement Communication System
(TECS)/Interagency Border Inspection System (IBIS) Name Checks, and FBI
Fingerprint Checks). The applicant/petitioner information also includes
uniquely identifiable numbers, including but not limited to: Alien
Number, Receipt Number, and Social Security Number.
B. Information related to other individuals over the age of 18
residing in a prospective adoptive parent's household would be derived
from newly created inter-country adoption applications. The information
collected about these individuals includes: full name and date of
birth.
C. Information related to the representatives of the adoptive
parents may include: full name, date of birth, and place of birth.
D. Information related to the minor(s) being adopted may include
full name, date of birth, country of birth, and Social Security Number.
[[Page 31088]]
E. Information related to the minor's biological mother, father, or
custodian may include full name, date of birth, and country of birth.
Authority of maintenance for the system:
Sections 103 and 290 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as
amended (8 U.S.C. 1103 and 1360), and the regulations issued pursuant
thereto; and section 451 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (Pub. L.
107-296).
Purpose(s):

USCIS collects the information on adoptive parents and other
associated individuals in order to assess the physical, mental, and
emotional capabilities of the prospective adoptive parents and those
residing in the house. USCIS also collects information pertaining to
the minor to be adopted so that he or she can complete the
naturalization process. Information will be collected on organizations
that have facilitated the adoption process to include law firms,
adoption home study providers, adoption placement agencies and adoption
non-profit organizations so that USCIS will be able to track and verify
those entities that are authorized to participate in the adoption
process. Finally, where available USCIS collects biographic information
relating to the biological parents and the custodians of the minor
being adopted so that USICS will be able to identify potential
incidence of fraud.
The Inter-country Adoptions SORN stores information on individuals
and organizations associated with the following activities:
Filing of the Office and Management and Budget (OMB)approved versions of USCIS adoption related forms and applications:
Form I-600, Petition to Classify Orphan as an Immediate
Relative.
Form I-600A, Application for Advance Processing of Orphan
Petition.
Form N-600, Application for Certificate of Citizenship.
Form N-600K, Application for Citizenship and Issuance of
Certificate under Section 322.
Account setup data for each individual seeking to adopt
and organization involved in an adoption case.
FBI Name Checks, TECS/IBIS Name Checks, and FBI
Fingerprint Checks on other individuals over the age of 18 residing in
a prospective adoptive parent's household.
Consistent with DHS's information sharing mission, information
stored in SIMS may be shared with other DHS components, as well as
appropriate federal, state, local, tribal, foreign, or international
government agencies. This sharing will only take place after DHS
determines that the receiving component or agency has a need to know
the information to carry out national security, law enforcement,
immigration, intelligence, or other functions consistent with the
routine uses set forth in this system of records notice.
Routine uses of records maintained in the system, including categories
of users and the purposes of such uses:
In addition to those disclosures generally permitted under 5 U.S.C.
Section 552a(b) of the Privacy Act, all or a portion of the records or
information contained in this system may be disclosed to authorized
entities, as is determined to be relevant and necessary, outside DHS as
a routine use pursuant to 5 U.S.C. Section 552a(b)(3) as follows:
A. To clerks and judges of courts exercising naturalization
jurisdiction for the purpose of filing petitions for naturalization and
to enable such courts to determine eligibility for naturalization or
grounds for revocation of naturalization.
B. To the Department of State (DoS) in the processing of visas,
applications, or petitions for benefits under the Immigration and
Nationality Act, and all other immigration and nationality laws
including treaties and reciprocal agreements.
C. To appropriate federal, state, tribal, and local government law
enforcement and regulatory agencies, foreign governments, and
international organizations, for example the Department of Defense, the

DoS, the Department of the Treasury, the Central Intelligence Agency,
the Selective Service System, the United Nations, and INTERPOL, and
individuals and organizations during the course of an investigation by
DHS or the processing of a matter under DHS's jurisdiction, or during a
proceeding within the purview of the immigration and nationality laws,
when necessary to elicit information required by DHS to carry out its
functions and statutory mandates.
D. To an appropriate federal, state, tribal, local, or foreign
government agency or organization, or international organization,
lawfully engaged in collecting law enforcement intelligence, whether
civil or criminal, or charged with investigating, prosecuting,
enforcing or implementing civil or criminal laws, related rules,
regulations or orders, to enable these entities to carry out their law
enforcement responsibilities, including the collection of law
enforcement intelligence and the disclosure is appropriate to the
proper performance of the official duties of the person receiving the
disclosure.
E. To the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) (including
United States Attorneys' offices) or other Federal agency conducting
litigation or in proceedings before any court, adjudicative or
administrative body, or to the court or administrative body, when it is
necessary to the litigation and one of the following is a party to the
litigation or has an interest in such litigation: (1) Any employee of
DHS in his/her official capacity; (2) any employee of DHS in his/her
individual capacity where DOJ or DHS has agreed to represent said
employee; or (3) the United States or any agency thereof.
F. To an appropriate federal, state, local, tribal, territorial,
foreign, or international agency, if the information is relevant and
necessary to a requesting agency's decision concerning the hiring or
retention of an individual, or issuance of a security clearance,
license, contract, grant, or other benefit, or if the information is
relevant and necessary to a DHS decision concerning the hiring or
retention of an employee, the issuance of a security clearance, the
reporting of an investigation of an employee, the letting of a
contract, or the issuance of a license, grant or other benefit and when
disclosure is appropriate to the proper performance of the official
duties of the person making the request.
G. To an attorney or representative (as defined in 8 CFR 1.1(j))
who is acting on behalf of an individual covered by this system of
records in connection with any proceeding before USCIS or the Executive
Office for Immigration Review.
H. To a Congressional office from the record of an individual in
response to an inquiry from that Congressional office made at the
request of that individual.
I. To NARA or other Federal government agencies pursuant to records
management inspections being conducted under the authority of 44 U.S.C.
Sections 2904 and 2906.
J. To a Federal, state or local government agency seeking to verify
or ascertain the citizenship or immigration status of any individual
within the jurisdiction of the agency for any purpose authorized by
law.
K. To contractors and their agents, grantees, experts, consultants,
and others performing or working on a contract, service, grant,
cooperative agreement, or other assignment for DHS, when necessary to
accomplish an agency function related to this system of records. Those
provided information under this routine use are subject to the

[[Page 31089]]
same Privacy Act limitations as are applicable to DHS officers and
employees.
L. To the appropriate federal, state, local, tribal, territorial,
or foreign, or international agency responsible for investigating,
prosecuting, enforcing, or implementing a statute, rule, regulation, or
order, where DHS becomes aware of, or in conjunction with other
information determines, that a violation or potential violation of
civil or criminal law has occurred.
M. To the Social Security Administration (SSA) for the purpose of
issuing a Social Security number and card to an alien who has made a
request for a Social Security number as part of the immigration process
and in accordance with any related agreements in effect between the
SSA, DHS, and the DoS entered into pursuant to 20 CFR 422.103(b) (3);
422.103(c); and 422.106(a), or other relevant laws and regulations.
N. To Federal and foreign government intelligence or
counterterrorism agencies or components where DHS becomes aware of an
indication of a threat or potential threat to national or international
security, or when the information is needed to assist in anti-terrorism
efforts and disclosure is appropriate to the proper performance of the
official duties of the person making the disclosure;
O. To appropriate agencies, entities, and persons when:
(1) It is suspected or confirmed that the security or
confidentiality of information in the system of records has been
compromised;
(2) It is determined that as a result of the suspected or confirmed
compromise there is a risk of harm to economic or property interests,
identity theft or fraud, or harm to the security or integrity of this
system or other systems or programs (whether maintained by DHS or
another agency or entity) that rely upon the compromised information;
and
(3) The disclosure is made to such agencies, entities, and persons
when reasonably necessary to assist in connection with efforts to
respond to the suspected or confirmed compromise and prevent, minimize,
or remedy such harm.
P. To officials of other federal, state, and local government
agencies and adoption agencies and social workers to elicit information
required for making a final determination of the petitioner's ability
to care for a beneficiary.
Disclosure to Consumer Reporting Agencies:
None.
Policies and practices for storing, retrieving, accessing, retaining
and disposing of records in the system: Storage:
Records in the system will be stored in an electronic database
repository housed in USCIS's data center.
Retrievability:
The following data elements may be used to initiate a query in
order to retrieve data from the Inter-country Adoptions System of
Records within SIMS. These data elements include an individual's Name
and Date of Birth, Enumerator, SIMS Account Number, and SIMS Case
Number.
Safeguards:

USCIS offices are located in secure, guarded buildings and access
to premises requires official identification. Information in this
system is also safeguarded in accordance with applicable laws, rules
and policies including the DHS Information Technology Security Programs
Handbook. All records are protected from unauthorized access through
appropriate administrative, physical, and technical safeguards
including restricting access to authorized personnel who require
information in the records for the performance of their official
authorized duties, using locks, and password protection identification
features.
Information in this system is safeguarded in accordance with
applicable laws and policies, including the DHS information technology
security policies and the Federal Information Security Management Act
(FISMA). All records are protected from unauthorized access through
appropriate administrative, physical, and technical safeguards. These
safeguards include restricting access to authorized personnel who have
a need-to-know through the use of locks and password protection
features. The system is also protected through a multi-layer security
approach. The protective strategies are physical, technical,
administrative and environmental in nature, which provide access
control to sensitive data, physical access control to DHS facilities,
confidentiality of communications, authentication of sending parties,
and personnel screening to ensure that all personnel with access to
data are screened through background investigations commensurate with
the level of access required to perform their duties.
Retention and Disposal:
USCIS is working with NARA to develop a retention and disposal
schedule for data contained within SIMS. USCIS's proposal for retention
and disposal of these records is to store and retain adoption related
records for 75 years, during which time the records will be archived.
The 75 year retention period is derived from the length of time USCIS
may interact with a customer. The proposed retention and disposal
schedule is based upon a holistic adoption ``case'' which will contain
each of the USCIS adoption related applications and supporting
documentation. It should be noted that for purposes of the SIMS pilot a
hardcopy record of all adoption related applications and supporting
documentation will be maintained by USCIS. The SIMS retention and
disposal schedule will be reviewed and updated accordingly as
additional USCIS applications and system functionalities are added to
SIMS.
System manager(s) and address:
Robert Genesoni, Pilot Branch Chief, Transformation Program Office,
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Transformation
Program Office, Department of Homeland Security, 111 Massachusetts
Avenue, NW., Fifth Floor, Washington, DC 20529.
Notification procedure:
In order to gain access to one's information stored in the Intercountry Adoptions portion of the SIMS database, a request for access
must be made in writing and addressed to the Freedom of Information
Act/Privacy Act (FOIA/PA) officer at USCIS. Individuals who are seeking
information pertaining to themselves are directed to clearly mark the
envelope and letter ``Privacy Act Request.'' Within the text of the
request, the subject of the record must provide his/her account number
and/or the full name, date and place of birth, and notarized signature,

and any other information which may assist in identifying and locating
the record, and a return address. For convenience, individuals may
obtain Form G-639, FOIA/PA Request, from the nearest DHS office and
used to submit a request for access. The procedures for making a
request for access to one's records can also be found on the USCIS Web
site, located at www.uscis.gov.
An individual who would like to file a FOIA/PA request to view
their USCIS record may do so by sending the request to the following
address:
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, National Records Center,
FOIA/PA Office, P.O. Box 648010, Lee's Summit, MO 64064-8010.
[[Page 31090]]
Record access procedures:
See procedures as stated in the ``Notification procedure'' section
above.
Contesting records procedures:
See procedures as stated in the ``Notification procedure'' section
above.
Record source categories:
Information contained in this system of records is primarily
supplied by individuals, seeking to adopt, on the OMB-approved versions
of the following USCIS applications and forms:
Form I-600, Petition to Classify Orphan as an Immediate
Relative.
Form I-600A, Application for Advance Processing of Orphan
Petition.
Form N-600, Application for Certificate of Citizenship.
Form N-600K, Application for Citizenship and Issuance of
Certificate under Section 322.
Information contained in this system of records is also obtained
from:
SIMS account registration data obtained from each
individual seeking to adopt, representatives of prospective adoptive
parents and other organizations involved in an adoption case;
Home study reports prepared by State-certified home study
providers submitted to USCIS in furtherance of the adoption process;
Memoralizations of interviews performed by authorized
USCIS personnel of individuals seeking to adopt; and
Data obtained from other DHS and non-DHS Federal agency's
systems and databases including the FBI, DoS, ICE, and CBP.
Exemptions claimed for the system:
None.
Dated: May 25, 2007.
Hugo Teufel III,
Chief Privacy Officer.
[FR Doc. 07-2783 Filed 5-31-07; 1:24 pm]
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