SUPPORTING STATEMENT-EOIR Form-59 Cert Release -signed-11-28-23

SUPPORTING STATEMENT
Certification and Release of Records
(Form EOIR-59)
______________________________________________________________________________
Part A. Justification
1. Necessity of Information –
Background. Regulations prescribe how to make a request for access to
Department of Justice (DOJ) records under the Privacy Act of 1974, 5 U.S.C. § 552a.
Generally, an individual may make a request for access to his or her own records by
appearing in-person or by writing to the Privacy Act Office of the DOJ component
that maintains the records. 28 C.F.R. § 16.41(a). The regulations require that the
requestor describe the records in sufficient detail to enable department personnel to
locate the applicable system of records containing the information with a reasonable
amount of effort. 28 C.F.R. § 16.41(b). The request should include, whenever
possible, a description of the records sought, the time periods they were compiled,
and the name or identifying number of each system of records where they are kept.
Id. Privacy Act requests are subject to applicable fees. 28 C.F.R. § 16.41(c).
Furthermore, the request must contain a verification of identity, including the
requestor’s full name, current address, and date and place of birth, and be signed
under penalty of perjury or notarized. 28 C.F.R. § 16.41(d). Finally, parents and
guardians making a request on behalf of a minor or of someone determined by a court
to be incompetent must also provide proof of their relationship to the minor or
individual determined to be incompetent. 28 C.F.R. § 16.41(e).
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Information Collection. The Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR)
has created the Form EOIR-59, Certification and Release of Records, to standardize
and streamline Privacy Act and Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests for
records related to cases or proceedings before EOIR. The form allows parties who
are, or were, in immigration proceedings before EOIR to disclose or release their
records to an attorney, accredited representative, qualified organization, or other third
party. To prevent the unauthorized disclosure of records of individuals maintained by
the DOJ as required under the Privacy Act of 1974, 5 U.S.C. § 552a, the Form EOIR59 collects personal, identifying information about the subject of the records sought,
the recipient of the records sought, and a parent or guardian completing the form on
behalf of a minor or individual determined to be incompetent by a court.
With respect to the subject of the record, Part A of the form prompts the
respondent 1 to provide the following information: alien registration number (Anumber) (if any), the record subject’s current legal name, other names by which the
subject of the records has been known, the current address and telephone number, the
previous address and telephone number (if applicable), date of birth, country of
nationality or citizenship, and place of birth. Importantly, the respondent must
identify whether the Department is permitted to release all of the records pertaining to
the respondent or to release particular records as specified by the respondent.
EOIR has made several changes to the information collection fields in Part A.

In the context of this supporting statement, “respondent” refers to the individual completing the Form EOIR-59
and does not necessarily refer to the individual noncitizen who is the subject of EOIR immigration proceedings.

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First, EOIR made the following non-substantive changes:
•

Changed “Alien” in the section title to “Noncitizen” to comply with DOJ
policy.

•

Included the abbreviation “A-numbers” for “Alien registration numbers.”

•

Rephrased for clarity “Other Names You Have Been Known By Since Birth”
to “Other Names By Which You Have Been Known Since Birth.”

EOIR also made the following substantive changes to Part A of the Form EOIR-59:
•

Edited the Current Address and Previous Address fields to enable the
respondent to enter addresses outside of the United States. An address within
the United States is not required to make a request for records under the
Privacy Act or the FOIA.

•

Included a reminder to noncitizen respondents to complete the Form EOIR33, Change of Address/Contact Information Form, in the event that the current
address entered on the Form EOIR-59 differs from the official address
currently on file with EOIR. The Form EOIR-33 is the official notice of a
change of address or contact information. The reminder in Part A makes clear
that the entry of a new address or contact information on the Form EOIR-59
does not serve as an official notice to EOIR of a change of address or contact
information.

With respect to the records recipient information, Part B of the form prompts the
respondent to provide the recipient’s full name, the organization associated with the
recipient (if applicable), the recipient’s contact information (mailing address, telephone
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number, and email address), the recipient’s relationship to the subject of the records
sought, and the recipient’s EOIR ID number (if any). EOIR made the following
substantive changes to Part B of the form:
•

Edited the Mailing Address fields to enable the respondent to enter addresses
outside of the United States. An address within the United States is not required
to make a request for records under the Privacy Act or the FOIA.

•

Incorporated check boxes to assist the respondent in identifying the recipient’s
relationship to the subject of the records sought and more clearly direct the
respondent to provide the information required for recipients with an attorneyclient or parent-guardian relationship with the subject of the record. The
respondent can now specify whether the recipient of the records is the subject’s
attorney, legal representative, parent, or guardian, or if the relationship does not
fit into the enumerated categories. If the respondent identifies the recipient as the
subject’s attorney or legal representative, the instruction under the check box
directs the respondent to Part B, Item 6 to provide the EOIR ID Number of the
attorney or legal representative. If the respondent identifies the recipient as the
subject’s parent or guardian, the instruction under the check box directs the
respondent to Part C to provide further identity and guardianship verification.
In addition, the entirety of Part C constitutes a substantive change to the Form
EOIR-59. The purposes of the newly-created Part C are: (1) to more effectively
collect the information required by 28 C.F.R. § 16.41(e) relating to parents or
guardians who complete the Form EOIR-59 on behalf of the subject of the
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records; and (2) to increase the efficiency of the EOIR Privacy Act and FOIA
request process by ensuring the respondent provides and EOIR receives the
identity and guardianship verification that is required to release records when the
parent or guardian completes the form. Since its inception, the Form EOIR-59
has included instructions to consult the EOIR website for the requirements to
submit a Privacy Act or FOIA request, including the identity and guardianship
verification requirements of 28 C.F.R. § 16.41(e). However, respondents do not
appear to take the extra step to consult the website as many parents and guardians
who complete the form on behalf of a record’s subject fail to provide the EOIR
FOIA Office with the information required to fulfill records requests. For this
reason, the EOIR FOIA Office denies a significant number of Privacy Act and
FOIA requests, which results in a parent or guardian having to re-submit a request
for records. The absence of Part C has therefore increased the burden to both the
public and the government to efficiently engage in the records request and
fulfillment process. To reduce these burdens and inefficiencies, EOIR now
proposes to collect the following information in Part C of Form EOIR-59 relating
to the parent or guardian completing the form on behalf of the record’s subject:
date of birth, place of birth, current address, relation to the record’s subject, and
acknowledgement by the parent or guardian that they must submit proof of their
relationship to the record’s subject.
EOIR also proposes a non-substantive change in the format of the information
collected by Part D. The Form EOIR-59 has always included statements for the
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respondent to consent to the release of records, understand that there may be a fee
associated with some records requests, and declare under penalty of perjury that the
information provided in the form is true and correct. With the addition of Part C, EOIR
determined that the form could be better organized if these statements and the signature
collection were grouped into a separate section of the form. Additionally, the title of Part
D clarifies to respondents that only the subject of the record or the parent or guardian of
the records subject may sign the Form EOIR-59.
Finally, EOIR made some non-substantive edits to the instructions for the form
for clarity and updated links to EOIR web pages referenced in the instructions.

2. Needs and Uses - The certification and release of records form (Form EOIR-59) is
optional and voluntary. Careful review of the information provided in the form is
necessary to prevent wrongful disclosure of DOJ records.

3. Use of Technology - The use of this form will provide the most efficient means for
collecting and processing the required data. The Form EOIR-59 will be available as a
fillable pdf on EOIR’s website. Information can be typed into the online form, which is
then printed out for submission to EOIR either by electronic or physical mail, where
appropriate. In addition, an applicant may print the form in its entirety for completion by
typing or printing legibly.

4. Efforts to Identify Duplication – There is no other EOIR form to request a release of
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records. The only other method for an individual to request release of their own records
is by submitting a DOJ-361 Form, Certification of Identity. The DOJ-361 includes a field
for social security numbers, which EOIR does not need to collect to locate and identify a
requestor’s records. Rather, EOIR makes the EOIR-59 available to requestors to avoid
unnecessary and inadvertent collection of social security numbers. The EOIR-59 provides
a field for the alien registration number (a field the DOJ-361 does not have), which in
turn will enable EOIR to accurately and efficiently locate the requested records, without
having to unnecessarily collect social security numbers. A review of EOIR’s forms
revealed no duplication of effort, and there is no other similar information currently
available that can be used for this purpose.

5. Impact on Small Businesses - This collection does not have an impact on small
businesses or other small entities. The form is optional and voluntary and may be used at
the discretion of individuals who are, or have been, parties in proceedings before EOIR.
EOIR estimates that it will take approximately ten (10) minutes to complete the form.
When used, this collection does not impose an undue burden on the requesting
individuals or the recipients of the records, as the requested information is necessary to
identify the subject of the records, parents or guardians completing the form on behalf of
the subject of the records, and the records’ recipient, and to prevent wrongful disclosure
of DOJ records. The use of this form should make it easier for individuals to request
records and for EOIR to more efficiently process those requests, as it is intended to
collect all of the information needed to process the request, and to avoid having to follow
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up with individuals to provide any missing information.

6. Consequences of Less Frequent Collection - Failure to collect this information would
deprive an individual of an efficient method to request the release of their records specific
to their case or immigration proceedings before EOIR.

7. Special Circumstances Influencing Collection - None of the eight special
circumstances identified in OMB instruction number 7 apply to this collection.

8. Federal Register Publication and Consultation – A 60-day notice covering this
collection was published in the Federal Register on September 7, 2023, at 88 FR 61615.
EOIR did not receive any comments in response to the 60-day notice. A 30-day notice
covering this collection was published in the Federal Register on November 22, 2023, at
88 FR 81434. Copies of these notices are attached. If comments are received in response
to the 30-day notice, they will be considered and incorporated where appropriate.

9. Payment or Gift to Claimants - EOIR does not provide any payment or gifts to parties
to cases or immigration proceedings, attorneys, accredited representatives, qualified
organizations, or other third parties.

10. Assurance of Confidentiality – The EOIR component processing the request will
maintain the original application. For example, requests received by the immigration
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court for records from a noncitizen’s removal proceedings will maintain the request in the
administrative portion of the file associated with that individual record of proceedings.
Those EOIR staff members processing the application may access the Form EOIR-59.
EOIR protects the confidentiality of the contents of the Form EOIR-59, to the extent
permitted by law, including the Privacy Act and the FOIA.

11. Justification for Sensitive Questions - There are no questions of a sensitive nature.

12. Estimate of Hour Burden
a. Number of Respondents

55,475

b. Number of Responses per Respondent

1 each

c. Total Annual Responses

55,475

d. Hours per Response

10 minutes
(0.17 hours)

e. Total Annual Hourly Reporting Burden

9,246 hours

55,475 respondents x 1 response per respondent x 10 minutes per response = 9,246
burden hours.

13. Estimate of Cost Burden - There are no capital or start-up costs associated with this
information collection. The estimated public cost is zero.

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For informational purposes only, there may be additional costs to respondents should
they elect to use this optional form. Respondents may incur a cost if they hire an attorney
to assist them with completing the Form EOIR-59. The Bureau of Labor Statistics
reports that the national average hourly wage for lawyers is $78.74. For those
respondents who proceed without an attorney, there is an estimated cost of $10 per hour
for completing the form (the individuals’ time and supplies) in lieu of the practitioner
cost. There are also no fees associated with filing the Form EOIR-59.

14. Estimated Cost to the Federal Government – It is estimated that the annual
government cost for printing, distributing, stocking, processing and maintaining the Form
EOIR-59 will be $588,534. This amount includes printing costs of $11,095, which was
derived by multiplying the 2 pages of the Form EOIR-59 by an estimated $.10 per copy
by the estimated 55,475 respondents per year. This amount also includes stocking,
processing, and maintenance costs of $577,439, which was obtained by calculating the
personnel and overhead costs to EOIR for processing the form.

15. Plans for Publication - The information from this collection will be used internally to
locate and release records of individuals who are, or were, involved in cases or
immigration proceedings before EOIR.

16. Exceptions to the Certification Statement - EOIR does not request an exception to the
certification of this information collection.
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Part B. Collection of Information Employing Statistical Methods
This collection does not employ statistical methods.

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PAPERWORK CERTIFICATION

In submitting this request for Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval, I certify that
the requirements of the Privacy Act and OMB directives have been complied with, including
paperwork regulations, any applicable statistical standards or directives, and any other
information policy directives promulgated under 5 C.F.R. § 1320.

signed by
ALEXANDER Digitally
ALEXANDER HARTMAN
Date: 2023.11.28
HARTMAN 11:27:55 -05'00'

_____________________
Alexander Hartman
Senior Associate General Counsel
Executive Office for Immigration Review

November 28, 2023
Date

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