SUPPORTING STATEMENT FOR
PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT SUBMISSION
Border
Crossing Survey – U.S. Embassy Jerusalem Reporting Form
OMB
Number 1405-XXXX
Why is this collection necessary and what are the legal statutes that allow this?
This collection is related to the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the United States and the Government of Israel (GOI) on the Extension of Reciprocal Privileges and the Visa Waiver Program, and is for the purposes of monitoring the GOI’s implementation of its commitments in the MOU to treat all U.S. citizens seeking to enter Israel without regard to national origin, religion or ethnicity.
What business purpose is the information gathered going to be used for?
The information collected will allow the United States Government to monitor the GOI’s implementation of its commitments as outlined in the MOU. Information collected since July 20, 2023, has allowed the Department of State to identify issues in the GOI’s implementation of its commitments in the MOU which led to U.S. engagement with the GOI and improvements in treatment and processing of U.S. citizens seeking to enter Israel.
Is this collection able to be completed electronically (e.g. through a website or application)?
The collection is completed electronically through the U.S. Embassy Jerusalem website, with follow-up provided via e-mail or phone number to cases as requested.
Does this collection duplicate any other collection of information?
No.
Describe any impacts on small business.
There are no impacts on small businesses.
What are consequences if this collection is not done?
If this collection is not done, the United States will be unable to collect information which is a necessary component of ensuring full implementation of the MOU, determining whether Israel is meeting the reciprocity requirement of the Visa Waiver Program, and generally meeting laws as specified in the legal authorities.
Are there any special collection circumstances?
The collection of aggregate data is anonymized for review by Department officials to determine trends of mistreatment for the purpose of following up with Israeli authorities and for the purpose of monitoring Israel’s implementation of its commitments in the MOU. This survey is one of several data pools – with the other two provided by the Government of Israel - that assists with monitoring Israel’s actions to meet the reciprocity requirement necessary for Israel to join the Visa Waiver Program. Due to the survey’s 100% voluntary nature, the data collected in the survey is not the determining factor in assessing reciprocity.
Document publication (or intent to publish) a request for public comments in the Federal Register
The Department will publish a 60-day notice soliciting public comment within 30 days after OMB approval of the Control Number.
Are payments or gifts given to the respondents?
There will be no gifts to the respondents and respondents will be able to voluntarily offer their information.
Describe assurances of privacy/confidentiality
In line with the Privacy Act of 1974, a Privacy Act Statement is included at the top of the survey. As a matter of policy, information voluntarily reported in this survey will not be shared outside of the agency without the person’s express consent. Aggregate data will be anonymized for review by Department officials and will not be published.
Are any questions of a sensitive nature asked?
Questions will pertain to biographic information provided on the U.S. passport, to include a voluntary provision of name and date of birth, other biographic data including possession of dual nationality and travel documents, as well as relevant information regarding the date of incidents of disparate treatment.
Describe the hour time burden and the hour cost burden on the respondent needed to complete this collection
We expect the average respondent will need 20 minutes for survey completion. In general, there are anywhere from 5-10 responses per day. The projection of annual number of responses is 3293 respondents per year, with 3293 responses (1 completed survey per respondent). Hour burden is 1098 hours (3293 x 20 minutes / 60).
This request only covers one form.
There government does not charge for the survey.
Average hourly wage for all respondents is $31.09 per hour, based on BLS data. Total cost burden = 1098 hours x $31.09 = $34,137. Data: https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ecec.t02.htmOnce the survey is submitted online, there are no further costs to the respondent.
Describe the monetary burden to respondents (out of pocket costs) needed to complete this collection.
There is no monetary burden to respondents.
Describe the cost incurred by the Federal Government to complete this collection.
There are two separate costs:
The survey results are automatically downloaded to a centralized spreadsheet as a master copy. Five times per week, the submissions from the master copy are copied to a shared document, and then officers and local staff review the new submissions to generate emails to those respondents that require and/or requested follow-up. It takes about 15 minutes to read and process. (75 minutes x $90 for combined time of officer and local staff time). No printing or extra databases are required, and the computers are a sunk cost.
Data is collected and shared back with Washington DC for reference. Officers review the results daily to sort the submissions into categories -- a process that takes 10 minutes. This data is then added to a larger set of data points from other databases that are not part of the survey. (10 minutes x $7 usd for 10 minutes at $42/hr for an officer)
The total calculation of these costs is: 85 minutes x 97 usd or $8245 USD/minute per week.
Explain any changes/adjustments to this collection since the previous submission.
This is the first formal submission. The questions asking for name and date of birth are now optional, and a Privacy Act statement was added to the top of the form to comply with the Privacy Act of 1974.
Specify if the data gathered by this collection will be published.
The data collected will not be published.
If applicable, explain the reason(s) for seeking approval to not display the OMB expiration date. Otherwise, write “The Department will display the OMB expiration date.”
The Department will display the OMB expiration date for the form.
Explain any exceptions to the OMB certification statement below. If there are no exceptions, write “The Department is not seeking exceptions to the certification statement”.
This collection does not employ statistical methods.
| File Type | application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document |
| Author | Canfield, Danielle P |
| File Modified | 0000-00-00 |
| File Created | 2023-09-13 |