Application for Waiver of the Foreign Residence Requirement of Section 212(e) of the Immigration and Nationality Act

Forms and Documents

Forms and supporting documents for this ICR

Document	Type	Status	Availability

No forms / supporting documents in this ICR. Check IC Document Collections.

IC Document Collections

Information collection document groups

IC ID	Collection	Type	Status	Form
277133	Biometrics Processing		New
20297	Application for Waiver of the Foreign Residence Requirement of Section 212(e) of the Immigration and Nationality Act		Modified

ICR Details

OMB Control No: 1615-0030	ICR Reference No: 202508-1615-020
Status: Historical Inactive	Previous ICR Reference No: 202401-1615-053
Agency/Subagency: DHS/USCIS	Agency Tracking No: I-612
Title: Application for Waiver of the Foreign Residence Requirement of Section 212(e) of the Immigration and Nationality Act
Type of Information Collection: Revision of a currently approved collection	Common Form ICR:  No
Type of Review Request: Regular
OIRA Conclusion Action: Comment filed on proposed rule and continue	Conclusion Date: 12/05/2025
Retrieve Notice of Action (NOA)	Date Received in OIRA: 11/10/2025
Terms of Clearance: In accordance with 5 CFR 1320, the information collection is not approved at this time. Prior to publication of a final rule, the agency should provide to OMB a summary of all comments received on the proposed information collection and identify any changes made in response to these comments.

table that charts list comparision

	Inventory as of this Action	Requested	Previously Approved
Expiration Date	03/31/2027	36 Months From Approved	03/31/2027
Responses	7,200	0	7,200
Time Burden (Hours)	1,080	0	1,080
Cost Burden (Dollars)	882,000	0	882,000

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Abstract: Certain aliens admitted to the United States as exchange visitors are subject to the foreign residence requirements of section 212(e) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. Section 212(e) of the Act also provides for a waiver of the foreign residence requirement in certain instances. This information will be used by the USCIS to determine eligibility for a waiver.

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Authorizing Statute(s): US Code: 8 USC 1182 Name of Law: U.S. Code
  

Citations for New Statutory Requirements: None

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Associated Rulemaking Information
RIN:	Stage of Rulemaking:	Federal Register Citation:	Date:
1615-AC99	Proposed rulemaking

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Federal Register Notices & Comments

Did the Agency receive public comments on this ICR? No

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Number of Information Collection (IC) in this ICR: 2

table that charts list of burden

IC Title	Form No.	Form Name
Application for Waiver of the Foreign Residence Requirement of Section 212(e) of the Immigration and Nationality Act	I-612
Biometrics Processing

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Burden increases because of Program Change due to Agency Discretion: Yes

Burden Increase Due to: Changing Regulations

Burden decreases because of Program Change due to Agency Discretion: No

Burden Reduction Due to:

Short Statement: USCIS is reporting an increase in the estimated annual hour burden to respondents for this information as a result of this change. Respondents of this information collection will be required to submit biometrics. USCIS is accounting for the estimated average burden per response in this revision action for submission of biometrics. USCIS estimates the average burden per response for biometric processing is 1.17 hours. There is no change to the estimated annual cost burden to respondents for this information collection as a result of the proposed rulemaking. We are also correcting the data entry of the time burden estimate for I-612 filings. The time burden estimate is .25 hours and was inadvertently entered as .15 hours.

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Annual Cost to Federal Government: $7,920,000

Does this IC contain surveys, censuses, or employ statistical methods? No

Does this ICR request any personally identifiable information (see OMB Circular No. A-130 for an explanation of this term)? Please consult with your agency's privacy program when making this determination.     Yes

Does this ICR include a form that requires a Privacy Act Statement (see 5 U.S.C. §552a(e)(3))? Please consult with your agency's privacy program when making this determination.     Yes

Is this ICR related to the Affordable Care Act [Pub. L. 111-148 & 111-152]? No

Is this ICR related to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, [Pub. L. 111-203]? No

Is this ICR related to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA)? No

Is this ICR related to the Pandemic Response? No

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Common Form ICR:  No

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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:

(a) It is necessary for the proper performance of agency functions;

(b) It avoids unnecessary duplication;

(c) It reduces burden on small entities;

(d) It uses plain, coherent, and unambiguous language that is understandable to respondents;

(e) Its implementation will be consistent and compatible with current reporting and recordkeeping practices;

(f) It indicates the retention periods for recordkeeping requirements;

(g) It informs respondents of the information called for under 5 CFR 1320.8 (b)(3) about:

(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;

(h) It was developed by an office that has planned and allocated resources for the efficient and effective management and use of the information to be collected.

(i) It uses effective and efficient statistical survey methodology (if applicable); and

(j) It makes appropriate use of information technology.

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.

Certification Date: 11/10/2025

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