ORR Data Submission Web Site Process

OFFICE OF REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT

Instructions for Submitting Social Services, Targeted Assistance,

and Secondary Migrant Data via the

Refugee Data Submission System for Formula Funds Allocations

PURPOSE:

The purpose of these instructions is to describe the standardized process and format for voluntary data submission by States to ORR via the data submission website for Social Services (SS) and Targeted Assistance Formula (TAG) allocations.

States are invited to submit data files, as described in this document, to ORR via the ORR Data Submission Website system. Once data are submitted, ORR will group data files into tables and then match the files against the ORR Refugee Arrivals Data System (RADS) per an established procedure.

INSTRUCTIONS:

Each State is invited to:

• Submit separate asylee/entrant files for Social Services and separate asylee/entrant files for Targeted Assistance. Separate files are required because different date parameters are used in the formulas determining funding allocations for Targeted Assistance (TAG) and Social Services (SS).

  • For SS allocations, submit a file containing data on asylees you have served who arrived in the U.S in the three years prior to the end of the last fiscal year.

  • For SS allocations, submit a file containing data on entrants you have served who arrived in the U.S in the three years prior to the end of the last fiscal year.

  • For TAG allocations, submit a file containing data on asylees you have served who arrived in the U.S. during the 5-year period prior to the end of the last fiscal year.

  • For TAG allocations, submit a file containing data on entrants you have served who arrived in the U.S. during the 5-year period prior to the end of the last fiscal year.

• Secondary Migrant File: Submit a file containing data on refugees and entrants who were resettled in the U.S. for 36 months or less as of the reporting date (September 30 of the last fiscal year), and who had initially been resettled in another State. This is the ONLY file format in which refugee records should be included. DO NOT include asylees in this file.

States are invited to voluntarily submit these data to ORR via the website so that the asylee and entrant data matching for Social Services and Targeted Assistance can be completed by ORR and reflected in the Notice of Final Allocations for Social Services and Targeted Assistance Formula Allocations.

DATA FORMAT:

States are to submit data in EXCEL spreadsheet format. Submit no more than three spreadsheets per Excel workbook, and no more than one Excel workbook per State for each file type (SS Asylee, SS Entrant, Targeted Assistance Asylee, Targeted Assistance Entrants, and Secondary Migrant).

File Naming Convention

Use a file naming convention as follows:

• For Asylee SS and TAG files: CAFYXXSS.xls, where CA = State Abbreviation, FYXX = current federal fiscal year, and SS= Social Services

OR

CAFYXXTA.xls, where TA = Targeted Assistance.

• For Entrant SS and TAG files: CAENTRANTSSFYXX.xls, where CA = State Abbreviation, FYXX = Federal fiscal year, and SS = Social Services

OR
CAENTRANTTAGFYXX.xls, where TA = Targeted Assistance.

• For Secondary Migrant files: CAORR11FYXX, where CA = State Abbreviation, FYXX = Federal fiscal year and ORR11 = Secondary Migrant.

Data Field Requirements by file type

Column headings for each file type must be in Row 1 in the Excel spreadsheet and must be exactly as specified in the samples provided. If data are not submitted in the correct format, or if certain fields are missing, files will be rejected and States will need to resubmit corrected files.

• Asylee SS: (sample name – CAFYXXSS.xls)

1. County – required, must be first column in Asylee SS Excel spreadsheet. Provide complete county name, do not include word “County” in the field. Examples: Snohomish, San Joaquin, or King. Note to Florida: please use MiamiDade for county instead of Miami.

2. Alien Number – required, enter an eight digit number without any hyphens or spaces between the numbers. Do not enter an A at the beginning of the number. Do not enter any extra or leading zeroes. If you have asylees who have received nine digit Alien numbers, you may submit nine digit Alien numbers in the same file with eight digit Alien numbers.

3. Asylum Grant Date – required, all fields must be entered in the mm/dd/yyyy format. Must be in the three years prior to the end of the last fiscal year.

4. Full Name – required, use only one field for the entire name. Enter the full name of the individual without any commas. Enter the last name (space) first name. If the last name is hyphenated use a hyphen. Do not use a comma, hyphen, or forward slash (/) between the last and first names.

5. Date of Birth – required, date of birth is now required in mm/dd/yyyy format.

• Asylee TAG: (Sample name – CAFYXXTA.xls)

NOTE: Only the States that are qualified to receive Targeted Assistance formula funds should report data for Targeted Assistance formula award purposes. No State other than the qualified states should submit Targeted Assistance Asylee files for formula allocations because no other State is qualified to receive Targeted Assistance formula awards. The qualification for Targeted Assistance takes place every three years.

1. County – required, must be first column in Asylee TAG Excel spreadsheet. Provide complete county name, do not include word “County” in the field. Examples: Snohomish, San Joaquin, or King. Note to Florida: please use MiamiDade for county instead of Miami.

2. Alien Number – required, enter an eight digit number without any hyphens or spaces between the numbers. Do not enter an A at the beginning of the number. Do not enter any extra or leading zeroes. If you have asylees who have received nine digit Alien numbers, you may submit this data in the same file with eight digit Alien numbers.

3. Asylum Grant Date – required, all fields must be entered in the mm/dd/yyyy format. Must be in the five years prior to the end of the last fiscal year.

4. Full Name – required, use only one field for the entire name. Enter the full name of the individual without any commas. Enter the last name (space) first name. If the last name is hyphenated use a hyphen. Do not use a comma, hyphen, or forward slash (/) between the last and first names.

5. Date of Birth – required, date of birth is now required in mm/dd/yyyy format.

• Entrant SS: (Sample name – CAENTRANTSSFYXX.xls)

1. County – required, must be first column in Entrant SS Excel spreadsheet. Provide complete county name, do not include word “County” in the field. Examples: Snohomish, San Joaquin, or King. Note to Florida: please use MiamiDade for county instead of Miami.

2. Full Name – Use only one field for the entire name. Enter the full name of the individual without any commas. Enter the last name (space) first name. If the last name is hyphenated use a hyphen. Do not use a comma, hyphen, or forward slash (/) between the last and first names.

3. Alien Number – required, enter an eight digit number without any hyphens or spaces between the numbers. Do not enter an A at the beginning of the number. Do not enter any extra or leading zeroes. If you have asylees who have received nine digit Alien numbers, you may submit this data in the same file with eight digit Alien numbers.

4. Status – required, the following values may be entered:

   1. Parole

   2. Asylum applicant

   3. In removal

   4. Final order-cannot deport

Do not enter any other values.

5. Arrival Date – required, date of entry into the U.S. All fields must be in mm/dd/yyyy format. Must be in the three years prior to the end of the last fiscal year.

6. Gender – required, M, F or U (Unknown).

7. Country of Birth – required, enter Cuba or Haiti, no other entries will be allowed.

8. Date of Birth – required, date of birth is now required in mm/dd/yyyy format.

• Entrant TAG: (Sample name – CAENTRANTTAGFYXX.xls)

NOTE: Only the States that are qualified to receive Targeted Assistance formula funds should report data for Targeted Assistance formula award purposes. No State other than the qualified states should submit Targeted Assistance Asylee files for formula allocations because no other State is qualified to receive Targeted Assistance formula awards. The qualification for Targeted Assistance takes place every three years.

1. County – required, must be first column in Entrant TAG Excel spreadsheet. Provide complete county name, do not include word “County” in the field. Examples: Snohomish, San Joaquin, or King. Note to Florida: please use MiamiDade for county instead of Miami.

2. Full Name – Use only one field for the entire name. Enter the full name of the individual without any commas. Enter the last name (space) first name. If the last name is hyphenated use a hyphen. Do not use a comma, hyphen, or forward slash (/) between the last and first names.

3. Alien Number – required, enter an eight digit number without any hyphens or spaces between the numbers. Do not enter an A at the beginning of the number. Do not enter any extra or leading zeroes. If you have asylees who have received nine digit Alien numbers, you may submit nine digit Alien numbers in the same file with eight digit Alien numbers.

4. Status – required, the following values may be entered:

   1. Parole

   2. Asylum applicant

   3. In removal

   4. Final order-cannot deport

Do not enter any other values.

5. Arrival Date – required, date of entry into the U.S. All fields must be in mm/dd/yyyy format. Must be the five years prior to the end of the last fiscal year..

6. Gender – required, M, F or U.

7. Country of Birth – required, enter Cuba or Haiti, no other entries will be allowed.

8. Date of Birth – required, date of birth is now required in mm/dd/yyyy format.

• Secondary Migrant: (Sample name – CAORR11FYXX.xls)

1. Alien Number - required, must be first column in Secondary Migrant Excel spreadsheet. Must be labeled as A_NUMBER in the column heading. Enter an eight digit number without any hyphens or spaces between the numbers. Do not enter an A at the beginning of the number. Do not enter any extra or leading zeroes. If you have an asylees who have received nine digit Alien numbers, you may submit nine digit Alien Numbers in the same file with eight digit Alien numbers.

2. Arrival Date – required, date of entry into the U.S. All fields must be in mm/dd/yyyy format. Must be the three years prior to the end of the last fiscal year..

3. Date of Birth – required, date of birth is now required in mm/dd/yyyy format.

4. Full Name – Use only one field for the entire name. Enter the full name of the individual without any commas. Enter the last name (space) first name. If the last name is hyphenated use a hyphen. Do not use a comma, hyphen, or forward slash (/) between the last and first names.

FEEDBACK ON DATA SUBMISSIONS:

Feedback on the matching results of data submissions will be provided to States after the data submission period is complete, and will be available to States via the website system. Due to the stipulations of Refugee Arrivals Data System (RADS) data use agreements and the fact that RADS operates as a Privacy Act System of Records, ORR is unable to share data that contains individual identifiers. Instead, ORR will provide aggregate feedback detailing how many records were matched to RADS data, as well as the reasons why particular categories of records were not accepted for data matching for formula allocations. Types of feedback could include the following:

• Unable to verify record against any data source;

• Submission is ineligible status;

• Person has been claimed by two or more states;

• Record already exists in arrivals table;

• Record is valid but was previously inserted; duplicate record was submitted;

• Submission could not be matched based on name or birth date;

• Submission is an asylee, but grant date falls outside of applicable range (the 36-month (Social Services) or 60-month (Targeted Assistance) date parameters for FY 2009 allocations);

• Alien number does not exist