Justification of Changes for DS-4085

Explanation of Changes to Approved Collection

Application for Additional Visa Pages or Miscellaneous Passport Services

OMB No. 1405-0159, Form DS-4085

Expires 08/31/2008

Form DS-4085, currently titled Application for Additional Visa Pages, is used by U.S. citizens and non-citizen nationals to request additional visa pages for a traditional U.S. passport. The changes reflect significant reformatting for more efficient processing and a more accurate title for the collection. The new format matches the new format of the passport card-inclusive forms. Also, the DS-4085 is a form that may be used to obtain miscellaneous passport services for which no other application form is appropriate. The revised DS-4085 has been re-titled Application for Additional Visa Pages or Miscellaneous Passport Services in order to reflect this.

The total annual time burden has been adjusted due to the significant increase in passport demand following the implementation of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI). The first phase of the WHTI required that all travelers present a passport to re-enter the United States at air ports of entry as of January 23, 2007. As early as January 1, 2008, all adult U.S. citizens and nationals will be required to show a passport or similar acceptable document to re-enter the United States at land and sea ports of entry. There is currently no accurate count of expected number of new passport applications due to this WHTI initiative, but a very rough estimate is that 60,000 applications for the passport services will be submitted annually using form DS-4085. This would cause an increase of 10,000 hours from the current OMB totals. Final projections based on the Department’s recent Passport Demand Survey are currently being calculated, which will more accurately estimate future passport application requests.

There is no fee associated with the use of Form DS-4085 unless expedited service is requested. The fee for expedited service has not changed. The $421,000 increase in cost burden is a reflection of the increased number of respondents, an estimated 22% of which will request the expedited service.