60-Day Public Comment Response Matrix

Form I-191-012 Revision Responses to 60-day FRN Public Comments
Public Comments (regulations.gov): USCIS-2006-0070
30-day FRN Citation (federalregister.gov): 88 FR 1087
Publish Dates: January 6, 2023 – March 7, 2023
Comment #
1.

2.

Commenter ID

0059

Comment
Commenter: jean publieee
there shoujdl be no relief for any
foreigner. they should be found illegal
if they committed an illegal act of
entering this country without proper
adherence to americanlaws. there is no
reason to allow lawbreakers like the
filthy biden is dong in ignoring laws
that are on our books on immigation
and how you may enter the country
legally. we have so many illegals here
now we shoudl have a moritorium to
keep all foreigners out of this counytry.
we are being overrrun with the world
population because they get freebies
whent hey get here. american
taxpaeeyrrs are being bankrupted by
the costs of these lawbfreaking
invaders coming here and gettnig free
food, free rent, free medical care and
frees school, all of which we pay
throught he hose for, what the hell is
ghoing on here where a country
penbalizes its own citizens for foreign
freeloaders. get them all out. eveyr
single onew of them that invaded this
coutnry. get them out on their
bcksides. throw thgem out.,there is no
reason to make any amendments of
any kind.
Commenter: Hikmat Agha Sadat
pleas help with me thanks for you

0060

Commenter: Neighborhood Defender
Service of Harlem
See attached file(s)

0058

3.
(see attachment)

USCIS Response
Response: This comment is out of
scope for the proposed revision.

Response: This comment is out of
scope for the proposed revision.
Response: See Comment Responses
below labeled with Commenter ID:
0060. The information in the
attachment from the public comment
(0060) was separated into different
sections in this comment matrix to

Form I-191-012 Revision Responses to 60-day FRN Public Comments
Public Comments (regulations.gov): USCIS-2006-0070
30-day FRN Citation (federalregister.gov): 88 FR 1087
Publish Dates: January 6, 2023 – March 7, 2023
address each portion of information
individually.
4.
0060

Commenter: Neighborhood Defender
Service of Harlem
Form I-191, Part 9.:
NDS Recommendation: First, the
proposed revisions to Form I-191
Sections 9, 10, and 11 promote clarity
that will reduce the burden on
applicants and enhance accessibility for
immigrants like NDS’s clients. First, the
proposed revisions to Part 9 of Form I191, ”Contact Information,
Certification, and Signature” and the
corresponding instructions should be
adopted because it minimizes the
burden to applicants, by eliminating
confusing language and promotes
utility by focusing the requested
information on the applicant, collecting
only information that is both useful and
necessarily for capturing the signature
and contact information of the
applicant or their guardian. The
purpose of Part 9 is to collect the
signature and person information of
the application. However, current
language confuses this simple purpose
in that it uses complex language and
references a preparer and interpreter,
despite the fact that this information is
collected in Parts 10 and 11
respectively. Removing this redundant,
confusing information and streamlines
the provision of information for the
applicant, while ensuring relevant
information is still collected.

See Comment # 4. – 6.
Response: Part 9. Applicant’s
Contact Information, Certification,
and Signature references the
interpreter to provide the applicant
the ability to certify that they
understood the information
contained in and submitted with
their application and provided and
authorized all responses, and that all
responses and information are
complete, true, and correct through
the use of an interpreter in the
language in which the applicant is
fluent in. The person preparing the
application, if other than the
applicant, is not referenced in the
applicant’s certification in Part 9.

Form I-191-012 Revision Responses to 60-day FRN Public Comments
Public Comments (regulations.gov): USCIS-2006-0070
30-day FRN Citation (federalregister.gov): 88 FR 1087
Publish Dates: January 6, 2023 – March 7, 2023
5.
0060

6.
0060

Commenter: Neighborhood Defender
Service of Harlem
Form I-191, Part 11.:
NDS Recommendation: While the
proposed revisions to Form I-191 are in
large part beneficial to applicants like
NDS’s client, the one proposed revision
NDS opposes is the elimination, in Part
11, of the warning to attorneys who act
as a preparer for an applicant. This
warning instructs attorneys and
accreditive representatives that a G-28
Notice of Appearance may be required.
Failure to include this warning may
result in the unnecessary denial of
applications, creating an additional
administrative burden for USCIS and
unfairly prejudicing applicants.
Commenter: Neighborhood Defender
Service of Harlem
NDS Recommendation: In addition to
the proposed revisions, NDS calls on
DHS to propose a new regulation that
adopts the language of former Section
212(c) to provide relief for Lawful
Permanent Residents convicted of a
crime after April 1, 1997. Currently,
Section 212(c) relief is limited to Lawful
Permanent Residents who were
convicted of or pled guilty to a crime
before April 1, 1997. For those who
qualify, this is an effective avenue of
relief. For example, many of our clients
are decades-long Lawful Permanent
Residents, parents and grandparents of
U.S. citizens, who have only a single
drug conviction from the 1990’s,
sometimes only due to being at the
wrong place at the wrong time near the
site of a drug sweep; whether they
even have the chance to apply for relief
from removal often depends on the

Response:
The note regarding the possible
obligation to submit a G-28 in the
preparer section was removed as
duplicative because the applicability
of a G-28 to be completed by an
Attorney or Accredited
Representative (if any) is notated on
page 1 of 18.

Response: USCIS cannot expand the
opportunity for section 212(c) relief
through this form revision.

Form I-191-012 Revision Responses to 60-day FRN Public Comments
Public Comments (regulations.gov): USCIS-2006-0070
30-day FRN Citation (federalregister.gov): 88 FR 1087
Publish Dates: January 6, 2023 – March 7, 2023
arbitrary factor of whether the
conviction was prior to April 1, 1997.
The effectiveness of this relief is
supported by data. In 1989 to 1995,
about 51.5% applicants were approved,
resulting in over 10,000 instances of
relief granted. In 2004 to 2008,
approximately 7,000 applications for
212(c) relief were granted. In that time
frame, 212(c) relief held about one
third of the relief from removal granted
to Lawful Permanent Residents, other
than grants of asylum. Reopening this
avenue of relief through new
regulation could make a significant
difference for longtime Lawful
Permanent Residents facing removal.

7.

0063

(see attachment)

Expanding the opportunity for relief
under Section 212(c) is particularly
crucial as criminal and immigration
enforcement become every more
intertwined. Coinciding with the repeal
of Section 212(c), more grounds for
removability were applied against
people convicted of criminal offenses.
These changes in the law were a
response to growing national
resentment toward noncitizens and a
“tough on crime” approach which has
proved largely ineffective. As a result,
more people than ever are swept into
the criminal justice system, and more
noncitizens than ever face separation
from their homes, families and
communities as a result of these often
symbiotic systems. Under these
circumstances, the opportunity for
relief under an expanded 212(c) is ever
more pressing.
Commenter: The Legal Aid Society
See attached file(s)

Response: See Comment Responses
below labeled with Commenter ID:
0063. The information in the

Form I-191-012 Revision Responses to 60-day FRN Public Comments
Public Comments (regulations.gov): USCIS-2006-0070
30-day FRN Citation (federalregister.gov): 88 FR 1087
Publish Dates: January 6, 2023 – March 7, 2023
attachment from the public comment
(0063) was separated into different
sections in this comment matrix to
address each portion of information
individually.
8.

0063

Commenter: The Legal Aid Society
Over the last two decades, the Form I191 has grown from a simple, one-page
application to the lengthy current
version, which extends eighteen
pages.1 The questions are increasingly
complex,
and they call for detailed factual
responses as well as legal analysis and
judgment. USCIS estimates that
completing the Form I-191 will take, on
average, an hour and twenty-three
minutes to complete. See Proposed
Instructions at 13 (estimating burden
on applicants under the Paperwork
Reduction Act). Based on the
experience of LAS attorneys, the form
will require much more time. For
example, USCIS estimates that the
reporting burden for the current form
is one hour and forty-five minutes, but
in our experience, itis not atypical for
an attorney to spend 10 to 30 hours
completing this form and collecting all
of the requested documentation. The
burden on applicants is particularly
taxing because this form is most
typically prepared under short 30 or
60-day deadlines imposed by
immigration courts. The proposed
changes are welcome, but they reduce
the burden on applicants only at the
margins.
In light of LAS’s serious concerns about
the burdens placed on applicants by
this form, we have identified certain

See Comment # 8. – 14.
Response: USCIS appreciates the
commenter's concern regarding the
burden estimates. USCIS
acknowledges that it may take some
respondents more or less time to
complete the Form I-191 than the
current reports estimate. However,
USCIS makes some basic assumptions
about how respondents are likely to
interact with this information
collection and only analyzes burden
based on the applicant's completion
of the information collection. USCIS
assumes that if the form contains
simple requests for information, such
as name, biographic information,
address, then the applicant may not
read the instructions in its entirety.
Additionally, the time burden analysis
is an estimation that may not capture
every applicants experience when
completing this form and collecting
evidence, as it may take some
respondents less or more less time
based on the amount of information
required to enter into the form
applicable to the applicant.
In regards to documentation
collection for evidence, USCIS makes
a basic assumption that this
documentation is available to the
applicant. The timeline in which it
takes other entities to provide the
documentation is not accounted for
in the USCIS's time burden due to the

Form I-191-012 Revision Responses to 60-day FRN Public Comments
Public Comments (regulations.gov): USCIS-2006-0070
30-day FRN Citation (federalregister.gov): 88 FR 1087
Publish Dates: January 6, 2023 – March 7, 2023

9.

0063

issues and recommendations for the
form and instructions. Additional
changes in the instructions may be
needed in order to ensure consistent
implementation of the
recommendations.
Commenter: The Legal Aid Society
Recommendations Regarding the
Instructions:
The instructions do not specify what
type of signature would be accepted
with the interpreter certification. This is
an issue for applicants who may use
telephonic or virtual language
interpretation.

10.

11.

0063

0063

Commenter: The Legal Aid Society
Recommendations Regarding the
Instructions:
On page 10, under “What Is the Filing
Fee,” the instructions note twice, in
quick succession, that the filing fee and
biometric services fee are not
refundable. One of those mentions can
be removed from the instructions.
Commenter: The Legal Aid Society
Recommendations Regarding the
Instructions:
We recommend that USCIS elaborate
on Point 1 of “How to Check if the Fees
Are Correct.”

varying degrees of time it may take
for an entity to provide requested
evidence to the applicant or
attorney(s).

Response: The updated certification
language is consistent among all
USCIS forms and instructions and the
signature requirements were not
detailed in the updated language for
the interpreter certification section.
The specific information regarding
the type of signature that would be
accepted with the interpreter section
was not included due to the signature
requirements already being included
under the General Instructions
section (see Signature and Validity of
Signatures sections). It would be
duplicative to include this
information in the interpreter
certification section.
Response: This edit has been made
to remove the duplicative
information.

Response: USCIS fees can change
periodically, and the instructions
account for that possibility. USCIS
notes that it has recently published a
notice of proposed rulemaking that,
once implemented, would impact
changes in fees.

Form I-191-012 Revision Responses to 60-day FRN Public Comments
Public Comments (regulations.gov): USCIS-2006-0070
30-day FRN Citation (federalregister.gov): 88 FR 1087
Publish Dates: January 6, 2023 – March 7, 2023

12.

0063

The current instructions do not easily
lead to clear and obvious information
about the latest cost of this specific
form. This lack of clarity could create
unnecessary costs for applicants and
complicate the filing process for both
applicants and the adjudicating agency.
Commenter: The Legal Aid Society
Recommendations Regarding Part 6.
Information About Your Family and its
Instructions:

Responses:

•

The instructions for this section of
the form should indicate whether
applicants are expected to include
information about deceased family
members. If that is required, the
instructions should specify how to
indicate if the family member is
deceased.

The revisions proposed through this
action were limited to updating the
certification section and minor
grammar and formatting changes.
USCIS may consider this
recommendation in a separate
comprehensive revision action of the
I-191 instructions.

•

To be inclusive of nonbinary
individuals, Item Numbers 1.-56 of
the instructions should read,
“Provide information about your
spouse, all children, and your
parents, including their current
legal name, A-number, USCIS
online account number, date of
birth, country of birth, country of
citizenship or nationality, and
physical address…”, rather than
using “his or her”.

This edit has been made in Part 6. Of
the Instructions.

•

“X” should be an option to checkoff as a gender everywhere that
gender specifications are requested
on this form so that it may align
with the laws of certain states of
the United States.

At this time, we will not make this
change. USCIS may consider this
update in a separate comprehensive
revision action of Form I-191.

•

The placement of the subheadings
for “other information for” various

Form I-191-012 Revision Responses to 60-day FRN Public Comments
Public Comments (regulations.gov): USCIS-2006-0070
30-day FRN Citation (federalregister.gov): 88 FR 1087
Publish Dates: January 6, 2023 – March 7, 2023

13.

0063

family members in this section of
the form is confusing. The
information should be streamlined
so that all the questions regarding
the applicant’s spouse come under
the sub-heading, “Information
About Your Spouse.” The subsections for each child and each
parent should be formatted the
same way so that all the questions
about Child 1 are under the subheading, “Information for Child 1,”
which can be printed in pale grey
similarly to how “other information
for Child 1” currently appears All
information for Child 1, including
their legal name would then appear
under the subheading etc.
Commenter: The Legal Aid Society
Recommendations for Part 3.
Information About Your Criminal
Convictions and Part 7. Other Grounds
For Removal:
•

The questions around the criminal
convictions, grounds of removability,
and discretion require legal analysis.
The formatting and phrasing of this
form may be prohibitively complicated
to individuals completing this form pro
se. This confusion may give rise to
discrepancies and possible
mischaracterizations that could be
detrimental to the applicant.

•

We recommend the questions
requiring listing criminal convictions in
part 3 and part 7 be streamlined into a
request for the applicant to attach a
criminal history chart. This would allow
for more clarity and ease for both the
applicant (particularly pro se
applicants) and the adjudicator. It
would also shorten the length of the
form and, often, the time necessary to
complete it since applicants who are in
removal proceedings often have to

The recommended formatting edits
have been made in Part 6. of Form I191.

Response: The revisions proposed
through this action were limited to
updating the certification section and
minor grammar and formatting
changes. USCIS may consider these
recommendations in a separate
comprehensive revision action of the
I-191 form and instructions.

Form I-191-012 Revision Responses to 60-day FRN Public Comments
Public Comments (regulations.gov): USCIS-2006-0070
30-day FRN Citation (federalregister.gov): 88 FR 1087
Publish Dates: January 6, 2023 – March 7, 2023
prepare a criminal Page 4 history chart.
See Sample Criminal History Chart,
Immigration Court Manual, Appendix
O, www.justice.gov/eoir/office-chiefimmigration-judge-1. We recommend
adding a question where the applicant
can affirm, “I am seeking a waiver of
removability for any conviction that
may render me removable.” This
would also prevent accidental
discrepancies and mischaracterizations
for individuals completing this form
pro se.

•

We also recommend narrowing the
scope of the criminal contacts with law
enforcement that this form requests
the applicant to list in part 7 question
2. Listing and providing a full
explanation of every arrest, citation,
detainment, or investigation the
applicant was involved in and requiring
“an original official statement by the
arresting or detaining agency or
applicable court order confirming that
no charges were filed” is unduly
burdensome. The request for an
original official statement regarding
foreign criminal contacts may not be
possible for certain applicants because
of their relationship to the country
where the contact took place.
Applicants who fear returning to their
home country may have good reason
not to request such documents from
their home country. Even individuals
who do not have such a fear are likely
to find this request very burdensome.
Additionally, given the difficulty of
establishing the reliability of foreign
documents, it is unclear that these
documents would be helpful to USCIS.
This requirement can be burdensome
even in U.S. jurisdictions, particularly
where criminal records have been
sealed, archived, or destroyed.

Form I-191-012 Revision Responses to 60-day FRN Public Comments
Public Comments (regulations.gov): USCIS-2006-0070
30-day FRN Citation (federalregister.gov): 88 FR 1087
Publish Dates: January 6, 2023 – March 7, 2023
14.

0063

Commenter: The Legal Aid Society
Recommendations for Part 8.
Discretion:
•

The instructions should specify that
the applicant is welcome to include
information about the lawful status
of their spouse, children and
parents.

•

15.

0061

(see attachment)

16.

0061

The instructions should also include
anon-exhaustive list of the types of
evidence that would highlight the
provided list of favorable factors in
the applicant’s case.
Commenter: Immigrant ARC
See attached file(s)

Commenter: Immigrant ARC
I-ARC Recommendation for form and
instructions:
We believe Part 11 should retain the
warning to attorneys who act as a
preparer for an applicant as it may
result in unintended consequences of a
denial of an application. The
statements in Part 11 of the
Instructions for Form I-191 that notifies
an attorney acting as a preparer that
they may need to submit a completed
Form G-28, Notice of Entry of
Appearance as Attorney or Accredited
Representative, should remain. It is a
simple and clear statement that does
not place undue burden on the
applicant, and supports the proper

Response: The revisions proposed
through this action were limited to
updating the certification section and
minor grammar and formatting
changes. USCIS may consider these
recommendations in a separate
comprehensive revision action of the
I-191 form and instructions.

Response: See Comment Response
below labeled with Commenter ID:
0061. The information in the
attachment from the public comment
(0061) was separated into a different
section in this comment matrix to
address the information individually.
See Comment # 16.
Response: See Comment # 5. for
response to this recommendation.

Form I-191-012 Revision Responses to 60-day FRN Public Comments
Public Comments (regulations.gov): USCIS-2006-0070
30-day FRN Citation (federalregister.gov): 88 FR 1087
Publish Dates: January 6, 2023 – March 7, 2023

17.
0062

(see attachment)

18.
0062

performance of the function of the
agency.
Commenter: Brooklyn Defender
Services
Attached please find Brooklyn
Defender Services' comment in
response to the U.S. Citizenship and
Immigrant Services’ Agency
Information Collection Activities
relating to Form I-191, Application for
Relief Under Former Section 212(c) of
the Immigration and Nationality Act,
published on January 4, 2023, OMB
Control Number 1615-0016, USCIS
Docket ID USCIS-2006-0070.
Commenter: Brooklyn Defender
Services
B. USCIS should propose new
regulations or guidance incorporating
former §212(c) in order to provide
relief to lawful permanent residents
with convictions after April 1, 1997.
In addition to revising Form I-191,
USCIS should propose new regulations
or create new guidance that adopts the
language of former section 212(c),
which would create a much-needed
opportunity for relief for noncitizens
who were convicted of or pled to a
crime after April 1, 1997.

Response: See Comment Response
below labeled with Commenter ID:
0062. The information in the
attachment from the public comment
(0062) was separated into a different
section in the comment matrix to
address the information individually.
See Comment # 18.

Response: The revisions proposed
through this action were limited to
updating I-191 form and instructions,
including the certification section
and minor grammar and formatting
changes. USCIS may consider
suggestions not related to the form
revision in the future through other
actions.