2019-05986. Agency Information Collection Activities; Extension, Without Change, of a Currently Approved Collection: Application for Naturalization

AGENCY:

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Department of Homeland Security.

ACTION:

30-Day notice.

SUMMARY:

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will be submitting the following information collection request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. The purpose of this notice is to allow an additional 30 days for public comments.

DATES:

The purpose of this notice is to allow an additional 30 days for public comments. Comments are encouraged and will be accepted until April 29, 2019.

ADDRESSES:

Written comments and/or suggestions regarding the item(s) contained in this notice, especially regarding the estimated public burden and associated response time, must be directed to the OMB USCIS Desk Officer via email at [e-mail]. All submissions received must include the agency name and the OMB Control Number 1615-0052 in the subject line.

You may wish to consider limiting the amount of personal information that you provide in any voluntary submission you make. For additional information please read the Privacy Act notice that is available via the link in the footer of http://www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

USCIS, Office of Policy and Strategy, Regulatory Coordination Division, Samantha Deshommes, Chief, 20 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20529-2140, Telephone number [phone] (This is not a toll-free number; comments are not accepted via telephone message.). Please note contact information provided here is solely for questions regarding this notice. It is not for individual case status inquiries. Applicants seeking information about the status of their individual cases can check Case Status Online, available at the USCIS website at http://www.uscis.gov,, or call the USCIS National Customer Service Center at [phone]; TTY [phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Comments

The information collection notice was previously published in the Federal Register on November 21, 2018, at 83 FR 58781, allowing for a 60-day public comment period. USCIS did receive 33 comment(s) in connection with the 60-day notice.

In the previously published Federal Register Notice, USCIS indicated that the proposed action was Revision of a Currently Approved Collection. As a result of the comments received from the publication, USCIS has determined that to properly consider and respond to all comments, it will request that the current information collection be considered by OMB for an extension of the approval. Therefore, USCIS will be submitting this information collection as an Extension, Without Change, of an Approved Collection. USICS will publish a separate 60-day Federal Register Notice when it is ready to proceed with the revision of the information collection.

You may access the information collection instrument with instructions, or additional information by visiting the Federal eRulemaking Portal site at: http://www.regulations.gov and enter USCIS-2008-0025 in the search box. Written comments and suggestions from the public and affected agencies should address one or more of the following four points:

(1) Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information will have practical utility;

(2) Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used;

(3) Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and

(4) Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic submission of responses.

Overview of This Information Collection

(1) Type of Information Collection Request: Extension, Without Change, of a Currently Approved Collection.

(2) Title of the Form/Collection: Application for Naturalization.

(3) Agency form number, if any, and the applicable component of the DHS sponsoring the collection: N-400; USCIS.

(4) Affected public who will be asked or required to respond, as well as a brief abstract: Primary: Individuals or households. USCIS uses the information gathered on Form N-400 to make a determination as to a respondent's eligibility to naturalize and become a U.S. citizen.

(5) An estimate of the total number of respondents and the amount of time estimated for an average respondent to respond: The estimated total number of respondents for the information collection N-400 (paper) is 567,314 and the estimated hour burden per response is 9.17 hours; the estimated total number of respondents for the information collection N-400 (electronic) is 214,186 and the estimated hour burden per response is 3.5 hours; and the estimated total number of respondents for the information collection biometrics is 778,000 and the estimated hour burden per response is 1.17 hours.

(6) An estimate of the total public burden (in hours) associated with the collection: The total estimated annual hour burden associated with this collection is 6,862,180.38 hours.

(7) An estimate of the total public burden (in cost) associated with the collection: The estimated total annual cost burden associated with this collection of information is $346,768,927.50.

Dated: March 25, 2019.

Samantha L. Deshommes,

Chief, Regulatory Coordination Division, Office of Policy and Strategy, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Department of Homeland Security.