Final PRA Supporting Statement 1-7-2015

SUPPORTING STATEMENT FOR

PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT SUBMISSION

OMB No. 1405-0147

Recording, Reporting and Data Collection Requirements – Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS)

Forms DS-3036, DS-3037 and DS-7000

A. JUSTIFICATION

1. The Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) of the U.S. Department of State (“the Department”) administers the Exchange Visitor Program (J-Nonimmigrant) under the provisions of the Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act of 1961, also known as the Fulbright-Hays Act, as amended (Public Law 87-256, 22 U.S.C. 2451 et seq.). This program enables U.S. government agencies and public and private organizations to conduct a variety of educational and cultural exchange activities.

This collection of information required under 22 CFR Part 62 utilizes Form DS-7000 - the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS), Form DS-3036 - Exchange Visitor Program Application, and Form DS-3037 - Update of Information on Exchange Visitor Program Sponsor.

DS-3036 and DS-3037 (Exchange Visitor Program Application and the Update of Information on Exchange Visitor Program Sponsor) provide a means for interested organizations to apply for designation by the Department of State to become a sponsor, for designated sponsors to keep the Department abreast of changes in their program, and to request DS-2019 forms and brochures. Form DS-7000 is a log of recording, reporting and data collection requirements that are noted in 22 CFR Part 62. Without these forms and the information they provide, the activities conducted under the Exchange Visitor Program could not be continued.

2. Form DS-7000 is a catalogue of all of the information/data collections that occur as part of 22 CFR 62 Subparts A and B and their related numbers of responses and hour/cost burden accounting per provision. This information collection revision applies only to those information/data collections in section 62.24 – Teachers. The current proposed changes apply only to Form DS-7000.

Form DS-3036 (Exchange Visitor Program Application) is used by U.S. federal, state and local government agencies and public and private organizations to apply to the Department of State to become designated to administer an exchange visitor program. Approximately 60 applications are received per year. The information provided is used to determine whether the interested organization meets the requirements to receive designation as a sponsor and, if approved, to create a database entry for tracking purposes. Form DS-3037 (Update of Information on Exchange Visitor Program Sponsor) is used by designated sponsors (currently numbering approximately 1,415) to notify the Department of changes in their addresses, telephone numbers, fax numbers, etc., and to request a change in Responsible Officer or Alternate Responsible Officers. There are no current requested changes to Forms DS-3036 or DS-3037.

3. The data collections listed on Form DS-7000 are handled partly using electronic means and partly in paper format; those for which amendments are sought here are handled in paper formats. The Department has incorporated Forms DS-3036 and DS-3037 electronically into the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS). SEVIS is administered by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to meet the legislative mandate established by Subtitle D, Section 641 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (Public Law 104-208).

4. No. This collection is not duplicative of any other collection.

5. This collection does not have a significant economic impact on small business entities.

6. If the collection of information is not conducted, the Department could not administer the Exchange Visitor Program. Sponsors would be unable to provide the Department with essential information to maintain the Exchange Visitor Program and its databases, including sponsor reporting activities.

7. There are no special circumstances for this collection.

8. The Department received 60 comments on the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for the Teacher Rule (22 CFR 62.24), published on May 2, 2013, to which this collection is tied. Topics raised by the comments included the following: Cultural component; length of teaching experience requirement; change in eligibility requirement; English proficiency requirement; program dates; exclusion of pre-kindergarten and daycare from program; program extensions; repeat participation; and additional information collection and fee transparency. No comments received were specifically related to information collected on Forms DS-3036, DS-3037 or DS-7000, although comments made on Teacher rule provisions and the Department’s response to them do affect the information collected on Form DS-7000.

Additionally, in November 2014, the Department published both 60- and 30-day notices in the Federal Register to solicit public comments on the renewal of this collection because the collection would otherwise have expired before the Teacher rule was finalized. The Department received one comment in response, which was determined not to be germane to this collection. The collection was approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on March 21, 2014.

9. Respondents are not provided with any gifts or payments.

10. No promises of confidentiality are made.

11. There are no questions of a sensitive nature included in the data required.

12. Form DS-7000 contains the Department’s recordkeeping, reporting and data collection information required under 22 CFR Part 62, and information relevant to the many functions performed through SEVIS by program sponsors. A detailed breakdown of the respondents, number of responses and burden figures is attached in table format. The spreadsheet in Attachment 1 contains a detailed burden accounting of data collection and reporting activities conducted through SEVIS; these SEVIS-collected data amounts have not changed in this amended information collection.

Please see the spreadsheet in Attachment 2 for Non-SEVIS recordkeeping and data collection activities. These computations would change under the amended Teacher rule, as noted in the current proposed entries under section 62.24. In the past, the Department has used non-weighted wage amounts for its SEVIS and non-SEVIS spreadsheets. As the Department amends the rules under 22 CFR Part 62, it will be updating the SEVIS and non-SEVIS spreadsheets to use weighted wages. Changes to the Teacher rule are registered on the non-SEVIS spreadsheet only. All sponsor calculations for the Teacher rule burden and costs now use a weighted wage of $31.50 based on average earnings, including benefits in the educational non-profit sector; all teacher calculations for the Teacher rule burden and costs now use a weighted wage of $26.26 based on average earnings, including benefits for teachers having under ten years of teaching experience (the primary type of applicants to the Teacher category of exchange); and all host school calculations for the Teacher rule burden and costs now use a weighted wage of $43.12, the average weighted wage for a middle level school administrator. Items relating to the Teacher rule are reflected only on the non-SEVIS spreadsheet.

Responses to Form DS-3036, which has not changed in this amended information collection, number approximately 60 applications per year. The respondents complete the form if they wish to be considered for designation as an Exchange Visitor Program sponsor. This form takes approximately 1 hour to complete and an additional 7 hours to gather supporting application documentation. The annual burden for this form is estimated to be 480 hours. The average sum for hourly civilian earnings is $22.50, resulting in a total wage cost of $15,120. ($22.50 x the 1.4 multiplier based on FTE wage scales x 480 hours). No changes have been made to this collection with this notice.

Form DS-3037, which also has not changed in this amended information collection, is used by designated sponsors to notify the Department of any changes in contact information for the sponsor, to request brochures, and to request a change in Responsible Officer or Alternate Responsible Officers. This form takes approximately 20 minutes to complete. It is estimated that approximately 1,415 respondents will submit a minimum of two requests annually, for a total 2,830 submissions (i.e., responses). The annual burden for this form is approximately 943 hours. The average mean for hourly civilian earnings is $22.50, resulting in a total wage cost of $29,704.50 ($22.50 x 1.4 x 943 hours). The total hour cost burden for this collection is $15,120 (Form DS-3036) + $20,704.50 (Form DS-3037) = $44,824 (rounded). No changes have been made to this collection with this notice.

Overall respondents for this collection include designated program sponsors, applicants/potential sponsors, host families, exchange visitors, and schools and universities, for an estimated total of 191,675 (Form DS-3036 – 60; Form DS-3037 – 1,415; Form DS-7000 – 190,200) respondents per year. (For the particular section under amendment, respondents would include sponsors, exchange visitors, and host schools.)

The annual number of responses for Form DS-7000 is approximately 1,577,052 (21,083 for the SEVIS and 1,555,969 for the non-SEVIS method of gathering responses). The total aggregate annual hour burden is estimated to be 1,326,784 hours. Table 1 below, which summarizes both spreadsheets (Attachments 1 and 2), displays the aggregate burden figures for all requirements under 22 CFR Part 62 for Form DS-7000; the total annual cost to respondents is estimated to be $20,139,487, which is based on an hourly cost burden.

Table 1: SEVIS and Non-SEVIS accounting

Component	Respondents	Responses	Annual hour burden	Annual cost burden
SEVIS	200	21,083	9,319 hours	$2,856,710
Non-SEVIS	190,000	1,555,969	1,317,465 hours	$17,282,777
Total	190,200*	1,577,052	1,326,784 hours	$20,139,487

* There is an overlap of respondents for SEVIS and Non-SEVIS component.

Table 2: Summary of Forms DS-3036, DS-3037, and DS-7000

	DS-7000	DS-3036	DS-3037	Total
Respondents	190,200	60	1,415	191,675
Responses	1,555,969	60	2,830	1,558,859
Hours	1,326,784	480	943	1,328,207
Hour burden	$20,139,487	$15,120	$44,824	$20,199,431

Use of the weighted wage in the Non-SEVIS spreadsheet for the Teacher category increased the Total Annual Cost Burden for the collection for Teacher category sponsors by $129,379 ($390,629 minus $261,250) and is summarized in Table 3 below. The total new Annual Cost Burden for sponsors due to the use of the new weighted wage is $55,775 ($189,025 minus $133,250) and also is noted in Table 3.

Table 3: Total sponsor costs under DS-7000

Regulatory provision	Wage used formerly in collection - $20	Weighted wage - $31.50
62.24(d), (e), (f) – Sponsor check of teacher eligibility and host school match	$48,000	$75,600
62.24(f)(4) and (5) – Written offers of fulltime teaching before DS-2019	$12,000	$18,900
62.24(g) – Program disclosure	$80,000	$126,000
62.24(h) – Cross-cultural activities*	$115,000	$161,000
62.24(k) – Program extensions*	$6,250	$9,125
Total	$261,250	$390,629

* Includes recordkeeping costs as noted on Non-SEVIS spreadsheet.

13. The estimate of the total new annual cost burden for sponsors for the Teacher rule is 2.5 hours, as follows:

Table 4: Sponsor new cost burden under Teacher rule

Regulatory provision	Calculation	Total cost burden at $31.50 weighted wage ($20)
62.24(d), (e), (f) – Sponsor check of teacher eligibility and host school match	1,200 responses x 0.5 hours x $31.50	$18,900 ($12,000)
62.24(f)(4) and (5) – Written offers of fulltime teaching before DS-2019	No new burden	0
62.24(g) – Program disclosure	4,000 responses x 0.5 hours x $31.50	$63,000 (40,000)
62.24(h) – Cross-cultural activities	4,000 responses x 0.5 hours x $31.50	$63,000 (40,000) + $35,000 for recordkeeping, for a total of $98,000 ($75,000)
62.24(k) – Program extensions	250 responses x 1 hour x $31.50	$7,875 (5,000) + $1,250 for recordkeeping, for a total of $9,125 ($6,250)
Total	2.5 hours	$189,025 ($133,250)

Note: Previously a non-weighted wage of $20 was used to calculate sponsor costs for the Teacher category within Form DS-7000. Therefore, some of the cost increases indicated in the above table stem from using the higher weighted wage figure of $31.50 in this submission. Each cost figure noted is based on the weighted wage; the figure for the non-weighted wage of $20 is indicated in parentheses. Teacher and host school costs were not previously calculated.

Table 5: Teacher costs

Regulatory provision	Calculation	Total cost burden
62.24(d) and (e) – Teacher proof of eligibility	1,200 responses x 6 hours x $26.26	$189,072
62.24(d)(1)(ii) – Additional documentation if qualifying over advanced degree	50 responses x 2 hours x $26.26	$2,626
62.24(h) – Cultural component	4,000 responses x 3 hours x $26.26	$315,120
Total	11 hours	$506,818

Table 6: Host school costs

Regulatory provision	Calculation	Total cost burden
62.24(f)(1), (4) and (5) – offer letter content by host schools and attestations of temporary positions, equivalent compensation, etc.	1,200 responses x 1 hour x $43.12	$51,744
62.24(k) – Host school application for Teacher extensions	250 responses x 1 hour x $43.12	$10,780
Total	1.5 hours	$62,524

14. The cost incurred by the Department consists of the staff time necessary for reviewing and analyzing requests, and for maintaining information in office files and databases.

The estimated cost to the Federal Government of the total collection is approximately $288,645. This estimate is based on the number of responses (Form DS-3036 – 60; Form DS-3037 – 2,830), the average hourly processing time (Form DS-3036 - 4 hours; Form DS-3037 – 20 min.), and the average hourly salary (Form DS-3036 – $44.00 at the GS-13/5 x 1.4 = $61.60; Form DS-3037 –$25.00 at the GS-9 x 1.4 = $35.00). These calculations have not changed from previous submissions.

The wage cost for Form DS-3036 is $14,784 (60 respondent x 4 hours = 240, x $61.60). There is an application fee of $3,982 for an organization to complete and file an application for designation as an Exchange Visitor Program sponsor (Form DS-3036), resulting in a total cost of $238,920 ($3,982 x 60 respondents). The printing costs are $1,200 (60 responses x $20). The total cost for Form DS-3036 is $254,904 ($14,784 in wages + $238,920 aggregate sponsor application fees + $1,200 in printing costs). These calculations have not changed from previous submissions.

The wage cost for Form DS-3037 is $33,005 (1415 responses x twice 20 minutes equals 943 x $35.00 = $33,005). The printing costs are $735.80 (2830 responses x $0.26). The total cost for Form DS-3037 is $33,741 ($33,741 in wages + $736 in printing costs). These calculations have not changed from previous submissions.

The total wage cost to the Federal Government for these two forms is $288,645 ($254,904 for Form DS-3036 + $33,741 for Form DS-3037). These costs have not changed from previous submissions.

15. The non-SEVIS spreadsheet includes proposed collections regarding increased eligibility requirements and implementation of a required annual cultural component that Teacher category participants must carry out as part of their program. These were the subject of a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for section 62.24 (Teachers) that was published in the Federal Register on May 2, 2013 (RIN 1400-AC60), with a comment period that ended on July 1, 2013.

The number of responses for the non-SEVIS spreadsheet, the only part of the collection affected under this notice, is 1,555,969, up from 1,548,219; an increase of 7,750. The number of responses for the SEVIS and non-SEVIS spreadsheets totals 1,557,052, down from 1,569,302; a decrease of 12,250. The estimated total burden is 1,328,207 (Form DS-3036 – 480 hours (unchanged); Form DS-3037 – 943 hours (unchanged); Form DS-7000 – 1,326,784 hours).

For figures on the cost increase to respondents, please refer to the tables in the Department’s response to question 13.

16. The Department will not publish the collected information.

17. The Department will display the OMB expiration date.

18. The Department is not requesting any exceptions to the certification.

2. COLLECTIONS OF INFORMATION EMPLOYING STATISTICAL METHODS.

This collection does not employ statistical methods.