[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 134 (Monday, July 14, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37604-37620]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-18347]
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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Immigration and Naturalization Service
Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection;
Comment Request
ACTION: Ninety-day emergency extension request to a currently approved
emergency extension for a revision of a currently approved collection;
Application for Asylum and Withholding of Removal.
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The Department of Justice, Immigration and Naturalization Service
has submitted the following information collection request (ICR)
utilizing emergency review procedures, to the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) for review and clearance/approval in accordance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. Additionally, this notice will serve
as the 60-day public notification for comments as required by the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. The new streamlined information
collection is published to obtain comments from the public and affected
agencies. Comments are encouraged and will be accepted for sixty days
until September 12, 1997.
Written comments and suggestions from the public and affected
agencies concerning the proposed collection of information 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 agencies 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: Revision of a currently
approved collection.
(2) Title of the Form/Collection: Application for Asylum and
Withholding of Removal.
(3) Agency form number, if any, and the applicable component of the
Department of Justice sponsoring the collection: Form I-589. Office of
International Affairs, Asylum Division, Immigration and Naturalization
Service.
(4) Affected public who will be asked or required to respond, as
well as a brief abstract: Primary: Individuals or Households. The
information collected is used by the INS and EOIR to access eligibility
of persons applying for asylum and withholding of deportation.
(5) An estimate of the total number of respondents and the amount
of time estimated for an average respondent to respond: 80,000
responses at three and one half (3.16) hours per response.
(6) An estimate of the total public burden (in hours) associated
with the collection: 252,800 annual burden hours.
Comments and questions about the emergency extension of this
information collection should be forwarded to OMB, Office of
Information and Regulatory Affairs, Attention: Ms. Debra Bond, 202-395-
7316, Department of Justice Desk Officer, Room 10235, Washington, DC
20503.
If you have additional comments, suggestions, or need a copy of the
proposed information collection instrument with instructions, or
additional information, please contact Richard A. Sloan 202-616-7600,
Director, Policy Directives and Instructions Branch, Immigration and
Naturalization Service, U.S. Department of Justice, Room 5307, 425 I
Street, NW., Washington, DC 20536. Additionally, comments and/or
suggestions regarding the item(s) contained in this notice, especially
regarding the estimated public burden and associated response time may
also be directed to Mr. Richard A. Sloan.
If additional information is required contact: Mr. Robert B.
Briggs, Clearance Officer, United States Department of Justice,
Information Management and Security Staff, Justice Management Division,
Suite 850, Washington Center, 1001 G Street, NW., Washington, DC 20530.
Dated: July 9, 1997.
Robert B. Briggs,
Department Clearance Officer, United States Department of Justice.
Amendments to Form I-589 Application for Asylum and for Withholding of
Removal
In an effort to streamline the Form I-589, Application for Asylum
and for Withholding of Removal (OMB No. 1115-0086), the Immigration and
Naturalization Service, Office of International Affairs established a
Working Group. The Working Group consisted of input from members from
the following programs: Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR);
Office of International Affairs; Office of General Counsel; Benefits
Division; Field Manual Project and the Policy Directives and
Instructions Branch. Outlined below are the findings as a result of the
I-589 Working Group. The Form I-589 has been revised accordingly.
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Part E--Background Information About You
Former Part E of the I-589 application was not deleted as
previously requested by OMB. Part E was included in Part A because it
was felt this information was necessary to adjudicate this application.
The more information asked on the form, the more information the
applicant will provide and the easier it is for the asylum officer to
conduct a fair appraisal of the claim. The intent of a non-
confrontational interview is to obtain a complete, clear view of the
manner in which the applicant has lived and functioned in his home
country. Many applicants are intimidated by being questioned and they
may react in a manner which is not conducive to a non-confrontational
interview. Having the applicant provide the majority of the information
relieves the officer of the need to ask these questions. This puts the
officer in a less confrontational position in the applicant's eyes.
An additional section was added which requests the applicant to
list ALL children regardless of age or civil status or whether they are
in the United States or not. Providing this information will prompt the
applicant to think of every member within his family at one time,
rather than one by one as is done formerly in Part B of the form, and
will help him or her to include every child eligible to be included in
the application. This information will also assist the Service in
future requests the applicant may make for benefit at a future date.
The form also asks the applicant to provide information about his
or her parents, past residences and employments and education. The
Service believes it is necessary to ask the applicant to provide this
information on the application form for several important reasons.
Having the applicant provide specific details to these questions
helps the applicant to articulate more thoroughly different forms of
persecutory treatment. Additionally, by engaging in the process of
answering the questions, the applicant is prompted to remember and cite
facts which he or she might otherwise not recall during an oral
recounting of circumstances and occurrences in their home country
regarding the claim to asylum. Likewise, for the asylum officer, seeing
the information, at a glance, patterns of mistreatment would be
revealed. This would enable the officer to quickly determine whether
certain areas need to be developed further or could suggest other lines
of questioning which would provide additional, essential information.
For example: the information the applicant provides about his or
her education indicates to the asylum officer whether the applicant was
denied benefits in his or her home country. This point is necessary in
developing a pattern of persecutor treatment. If a person is denied
education, this opens for the asylum officer additional possibilities
for developing the applicant's claim. Education is an important element
of persecution in communist societies.
Repeated changes in residence and employment during the previous
five years provide the officer with a clearer view of the life pattern
of the applicant and assist the asylum officer in developing the
reasons for those changes. The asylum officer can identify any
necessity for identifying additional areas of persecution which could
influence positively the outcome of the applicant's claim. For example;
why did they move, were they forced by the government to move, did they
feel the necessity to move in order to get out from under the control
of certain government or military authorities, or did they have to
receive permission to move, and whether they were forced into menial
labor by the authorities.
By asking the applicant for information about his or her parents,
the applicant is provided a means of giving evidence he or she might
not otherwise consider pertinent to their situation in their home
country. The status afforded to and the location of the residence of
the applicant's parents can easily reflect a pattern of persecution if
it shows the asylum officer, for example that, if the parents are
outside the country of nationality, where they are and what status they
have.
Photographs
The Service has changed the photograph requirement from ADIT-type
photos to passport-style photos. The Service believes that there are
more photographers who take passport-style photographs than do ADIT
photographs. This will make it easier for the applicant to comply with
the photograph requirement. Also, the requirement of two photographs
has been changed to one photograph.
Organization of the Form
The form has been reorganized to have all information about the
applicant in Part A rather than scattered throughout the application.
The Service believes that this should make it easier for the applicant
to complete the form and thus may cut down on the time required to
answer all the questions.
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[FR Doc. 97-18347 Filed 7-11-97; 8:45 am]
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