Change Request - ROWI (Inc Respondents and Add Contact Info Form)

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To:	Kelsi Feltz
	Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA)
	Office of Management and Budget (OMB)

From:	Office of Refugee Resettlement
	Administration for Children and Families (ACF)

Date:	June 25, 2026

Subject:	Change Request – Refugee Outreach and Well-Being Initiative (ROWI) (OMB #0970-0531) 


This memo requests approval of changes to the approved generic information collection, Refugee Outreach and Well-Being Initiative (ROWI), approved under the Formative Data Collections for Program Support (OMB #0970-0531). 

Background
In March 2026, OMB approved a request for the ORR ROWI under the Generic for Program Support (0970-0531). The purpose of this data collection is to inform ORR program support activities, including improvements to pre-arrival orientation content, post-arrival support coordination, and communication with service providers. 

Through this questionnaire, ORR asked the following question:
 
Do you have additional family members in South Africa who are currently seeking or who intend to seek refugee status in the United States? 
    a. Yes
    b. No

787 respondents answered “Yes” to this question. 

At the direction of the White House, in June 2026, ACF is updating this information collection to gather additional information on cases currently remaining in South Africa and to continue data collection with additional arrivals.

Overview of Requested Changes
Through this change request, ORR proposes to: 
    1. Field the originally approved ROWI questionnaire with about 6,000 additional arrivals to account for the 1,799 cases that have arrived since February 2026 and to allow for continued data collection from new arrivals over the next few months. This is expected to cover projected arrivals over the next few months and ORR will continue to monitor projections with a plan to submit a future request to continue data collection, as needed.
 
    2. Add a contact information form to request up-to-date contact information for individuals identified as in South Africa who are currently seeking or who intend to seek refugee status in the United States.
        a) ORR would conduct the follow up with the 787 previously contacted individuals who answered yes to this question.

The survey and contact information form include the following new items: 
    • Case number (if known)
    • Contact name
    • Contact date of birth
    • Contact phone
    • Contact email
    • Current Initial Resettlement Provider (IRP)
    • Contact physical address
    • Location in South Africa
    • Processing stage (e.g., unknown; expressed interest; paperwork initiated; first interview complete; medical complete)\
 
Burden has been adjusted to reflect future responses to the ROWI questionnaire and to account for the additional contact information form. 


Time Sensitivities 
The White House has requested that ORR begin this work by June 26, 2026.