Rules and Regulations. Request for public comments

Agency: Office of Refugee Resettlement, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Action: Request for public comments
Citation: FR Doc. 2026-06809 · Office of Management and Budget #: 0970-0033

Summary

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services seeks an extension to the existing data collection for the Annual Survey of Refugees (ASR) (Office of Management and Budget #: 0970-0033; Expiration Date: October 30, 2026) through 2027. The ASR is a yearly sample survey of refugee households entering the U.S. in the previous 5 fiscal years (FYs). There are no changes currently requested to the form, but ACF intends to submit a revision request in 2027 for future annual requests.

Dates

Comments due June 8, 2026.

Supplementary Information

Description: Data from the ASR are used to meet the Office of Refugee Resettlement's (ORR) congressional reporting requirements, as set forth in the Refugee Act of 1980, section 413(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. ORR makes survey findings available to the public and uses findings for the purposes of program planning, policy-making, and budgeting. There are no changes to the survey. Information collection materials will be translated into 20 languages. ACF acknowledges that English is the official language and authoritative version of all federal information and will note this on the translated material. This request is for an extension to allow ORR to complete the 2025 ASR and to field the 2026 ASR. Changes to the 2025 ASR, which is currently in process, at this time would be problematic for data quality and cost efficiencies. Maintaining the current survey safeguards compliance with congressional requirements, preserves the validity of the data, and avoids operational disruptions that could undermine the completion and credibility of the 2025 ASR. There are ongoing efforts to test the feasibility of an online survey and based on the findings of these tests, revisions will be proposed to the ASR that are expected to reduce burden. While those efforts are completed and integrated for future years, ORR proposes to use the current version of the ASR for 2025 and 2026. A revision request will be submitted in 2027 to implement changes. Respondents: The ASR secures a nationally representative sample of refugee households arriving in the United States in the previous 5 FYs. Annual Burden Estimates Instrument Annual number of respondents Total number of responses per respondent Average burden hours per response Annual burden hours Introduction Letter and Postcard 1,500 1 .05 75 Annual Survey of Refugees 1,500 1 .83 1,245 Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours 1,320 Comments: The Department specifically requests comments on (a) whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information shall have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information; (c) the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents, including through the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology. Consideration will be given to comments and suggestions submitted within 60 days of this publication. (Authority: Section 413 [8 U.S.C. 1523].) Mary C. Jones, ACF/OPRE Certifying Officer. [FR Doc. 2026-06809 Filed 4-8-26; 8:45 am]