If the reader actually reads through the entire text below, he or she may be one of no more than five or six in the entire nation who have bothered to do so. This is taken from the widely circulated (on the internet) Federal Register of the United States. It relates to the naturalization of aliens.
We invite our readers to glance over the notice briefly (the emphasis toward the end is added), and then pick up the rest of our posting below it:
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
[OMB Control Number 1615-0078]
Agency Information Collection Activities; Revision of a Currently Approved Collection: Application To File Declaration of Intention
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 January 2, 2018. This process is conducted in accordance with 5 CFR 1320.10.
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 [email protected]. All submissions received must include the agency name and the OMB Control Number 1615- 0078 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 (202) 272-8377 (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 Web site at http://www.uscis.gov, or call the USCIS National Customer Service Center at (800) 375-5283; TTY (800) 767-1833.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Comments
The information collection notice was previously published in the Federal Register on September 15, 2017, at 82 FR 43395, allowing for a 60-day public comment period. USCIS did not receive any comments in connection with the 60-day notice.
You may access the information collection instrument with instructions, oradditional information by visiting the Federal eRulemaking Portal site at: http://www.regulations.gov and enter USCIS- 2008-0007 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: Revision of a Currently Approved Collection.
(2) Title of the Form/Collection: Application to File Declaration of Intention.
(3) Agency form number, if any, and the applicable component of the DHS sponsoring the collection: N-300; USCIS.
(4) Affected public who will be asked or required to respond, as well as a brief abstract: Primary: Individuals or households. The Form N-300 is used by lawful permanent residents to file a Declaration of Intention to become a United States citizen (``Declaration of Intention''). Although the Declaration of Intention is not required for naturalization, some lawful permanent residents find it necessary to file Form N-300 to fulfill requirements of states that mandate specific documentation from resident aliens seeking to work in certain occupations or professions, or to obtain various licenses. The Form N- 300 facilitates this process.
(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-300 is 18 and the estimated hour burden per response is .75 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 13.5 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 $508.50.
Dated: November 24, 2017.
Samantha Deshommes,
Chief, Regulatory Coordination Division, Office of Policy and Strategy, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Department of Homeland Security.
[FR Doc. 2017-25890 Filed 11-30-17; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 9111-97-P
Believe it not, all this verbiage is both required by something called the Federal Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, and relates to a form used by — wait for it — 18 people a year, and it takes each of them 45 minutes to fill out the form.
All of this shows the power of tradition in the U.S. government. The Paperwork Reduction Act requires periodic reviews of government forms, which is commendable. But this form itself should have been eliminated, so no further reviews would be needed.
What is the form in question? It is the ancient N-300, and it relates to a century or so ago, when aliens often filed a form indicating that they were intending to become citizens, (i.e., first papers) before they got around to actually applying for citizenship (second papers).
No one currently is, and maybe no one ever was, required to file the first papers, and there was no follow-on action if one did not actually file for citizenship. It was a gesture document, maybe a foreign-born groom would be more acceptable to the bride's citizen family if he filed it; maybe it was needed to secure some state-level license at some time. With 18 customers a year, it is high time for termination.
If there is any lingering need for this documentation there could be, instead, an exchanges of letters with a USCIS district director.
But instead of termination, it is easier, if more wasteful, to continue the tradition. And we do.