No
material or nonsubstantive change to a currently approved
collection
No
Regular
06/02/2025
Requested
Previously Approved
10/31/2026
10/31/2026
3,000
3,000
1,320
1,320
0
0
The Annual Survey of Refugees (ASR)
helps the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) Office of
Refugee Resettlement (ORR) meet its congressional reporting
requirements, as specified in The Refugee Act of 1980 (Section 413
of the Immigration and Naturalization Act, [8 U.S.C. 1523]). From
the time of their arrival in the United States, refugees are
eligible for social services, including means-tested public
assistance, according to eligibility criteria established by the
locality in which they are resettled. Following an initial 90-day
reception period funded by the U.S. Department of State, ACF,
through ORR, provides transitional resettlement assistance through
a network of national non-profit grantees and their local
affiliates. In many cases, these services are expected to end after
an 8-month resettlement period. By that time, refugees are expected
to be transitioned to mainstream social services or to
self-sufficiency. The design of the resettlement program means that
ORR has limited administrative information on refugees’ experiences
after the 8-month resettlement period. The information collected
through the ASR generates national population estimates of refugee
labor force participation, public benefits receipt, English
language acquisition, and conversion to legal permanent residency
to meet Congressional reporting requirements. Given that ORR does
not have access to cross-program administrative data on refugees’
participation in state-provided services, a representative survey
is the most resource-efficient way to meet ORR’s annual reporting
requirements, laid out in the Refugee Act of 1980. In particular,
descriptive information from the survey is used to meet the
requirement of 413(b)(1): “an updated profile of the employment and
labor force statistics for refugees who have entered the United
States within the five-fiscal-year period immediately preceding the
fiscal year within which the report is to be made.” Descriptive
information from the survey is also used alongside quantitative and
qualitative data collected during program administration to meet
the requirements of 413(b)(5): “the extent to which (A) the
services provided under this chapter are assisting refugees in
achieving economic self-sufficiency, achieving ability in English,
and achieving employment commensurate with their skills and
abilities.” This request covers the following administrations of
the ASR: ASR 2023 (to be fielded spring 2024), ASR 2024 (to be
fielded spring 2025), and ASR 2025 (to be fielded spring 2026). In
January 2025, the current Administration released multiple
Executive Orders (EO) and memoranda requiring updates to
information collections that request gender and/or gender identity,
to only request “Sex” with the options Male/Female. Additionally,
presidential actions focused on the removal of diversity, equity,
and inclusion (DEI)-specific activities. To be responsive to the
new administration, ACF is submitting change requests for a number
of implicated information collections. This request is specific to
updates related to a recent presidential action, as detailed in the
accompanying Justification for a NonSubstantive Change
Memo.
PL:
Pub.L. 96 - 212 413(a) Name of Law: Refugee Act of 1980,
Section 413(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (Sec. 413 [8
U.S.C. 1523]
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that
the collection of information encompassed by this request complies
with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR
1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding
the proposed collection of information, that the certification
covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a
benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control
number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of
these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked
and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.
NonSub Change - Update to ACF ICs - EO Updates May 2025.docx
ORR-9 Annual Survey of Refugees