Unaccompanied Refugee Minors Program Application, and Withdrawal of Application or Declination of Placement Form

Forms and Documents

Document	Type	Status	Availability
Form 1 Withdrawal of URM Program Application or Declination of URM Program Placement Forms	Form	Modified	Available
Form 1 URM Program Application	Form	Modified	Available
National Center for Youth Law Comment re URM Application_email 6.8.26.pdf	Public Comments	Uploaded 2026-06-08	Available
Immigrant Defenders Law Center (ImmDef) Comment Re URM Forms June 2026_email 6.8.26.pdf	Public Comments	Uploaded 2026-06-08	Available
2026.6.8 Young Center Comment URM Application Form.pdf	Public Comments	Uploaded 2026-06-08	Available
OMB #0970-0550_Response to Public Comments_7.8.2026.docx	Supplementary Document	Uploaded 2026-07-13	Available
FINAL - OMB #0970-0550_Supporting Statement A_ORR URM Program Application_7.8.2026.docx	Supporting Statement A	Uploaded 2026-07-13	Available

IC Document Collections

IC ID	Collection	Type	Status	Form
241922	Withdrawal of URM Program Application or Declination of URM Program Placement Forms	Form	Modified	Withdrawal of URM Program Application or Declination of URM Program Placement Forms
241921	Unaccompanied Refugee Minors Program Application	Form	Modified	URM Program Application

ICR Details

OMB Control No: 0970-0550	ICR Reference No: 202607-0970-005
Status: Received in OIRA	Previous ICR Reference No: 202505-0970-010
Agency/Subagency: HHS/ACF	Agency Tracking No: ORR-Ref
Title: Unaccompanied Refugee Minors Program Application, and Withdrawal of Application or Declination of Placement Form
Type of Information Collection: Revision of a currently approved collection	Common Form ICR:  No
Type of Review Request: Regular	Date Submitted to OIRA: 07/15/2026

	Requested	Previously Approved
Expiration Date	36 Months From Approved	07/31/2026
Responses	390	500
Time Burden (Hours)	416	685
Cost Burden (Dollars)	0	0

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Abstract: The Refugee Act of 1980, Pub. L. No. 96-212, 8 U.S.C. 1522, amended the Immigration and Nationality Act to create a domestic refugee resettlement program that provides assistance and services to refugees resettling in the United States. With the enactment of this legislation, the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) established comprehensive requirements for a State-administered refugee resettlement program including child welfare services to unaccompanied refugee minors. The Unaccompanied Refugee Minors (URM) Program currently operates in 14 states and the District of Columbia and provides the same range of child welfare benefits and services available to other foster children in those states as well as services required by ORR regulation and policy guidance. Originally, the URM Program provided services for refugee minors arriving from overseas unaccompanied by a parent or adult relative. Over the years, Congress passed laws making other special populations already in the United States eligible for the URM Program. A completed URM Program application must be submitted to ORR for eligibility determination, initiation of placement efforts, and approval to enter the URM Program. The current OMB expiration date for this information collection is July 31, 2026. We are requesting approval for a three-year extension with proposed revisions to the information collection. The proposed revisions are intended to improve the data collection through streamlining, clarification, and updates to ensure the request is up-to-date. See section A15 for additional information on the changes. We are proposing a 12-month implementation timeframe for executing revisions, during which time we will continue to use the currently approved forms. The implementation timeframe is necessary to allow the database contractor sufficient time to build, test, and execute the form revisions.

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Authorizing Statute(s): US Code: 8 USC 1522(d) Name of Law: Refugee Act of 1980
  

Citations for New Statutory Requirements: None

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Associated Rulemaking Information
RIN:	Stage of Rulemaking:	Federal Register Citation:	Date:
	Not associated with rulemaking

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Federal Register Notices & Comments
60-day Notice:	Federal Register Citation:	Citation Date:
	91 FR 17973	04/09/2026
30-day Notice:	Federal Register Citation:	Citation Date:
	91 FR 43374	07/15/2026
Did the Agency receive public comments on this ICR? No

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

IC Title	Form No.	Form Name
Unaccompanied Refugee Minors Program Application	1	URM Program Application
Withdrawal of URM Program Application or Declination of URM Program Placement Forms	1	Withdrawal of URM Program Application or Declination of URM Program Placement Forms

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ICR Summary of Burden

	Total Request	Previously Approved	Change Due to New Statute	Change Due to Agency Discretion	Change Due to Adjustment in Estimate	Change Due to Potential Violation of the PRA
Annual Number of Responses	390	500	0	-110	0	0
Annual Time Burden (Hours)	416	685	0	-269	0	0
Annual Cost Burden (Dollars)	0	0	0	0	0	0

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

Burden Increase Due to:

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

Burden Reduction Due to: Miscellaneous Actions

Short Statement: The proposed revisions to the URM application form include multiple changes to reduce burden. First, the number of open-ended text box questions has been reduced by 67%. Second, additional questions have been changed to check box format to allow for quicker responses. Third, unnecessary questions have been cut. Finally, some instructions and questions in the form have been revised to enhance clarity. Proposed revisions are expected to reduce the average burden hours per respondent and lead to faster processing of URM Program applications by the government. The number of anticipated annual respondents has been decreased from 450 to 350 for the URM Program application form and from 50 to 40 for the withdrawal and declination forms. ORR is currently seeing a reduction in the number of minors being referred to the URM Program and anticipates that this trend will continue over the next three years.

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Annual Cost to Federal Government: $365,356

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: 07/15/2026

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