Evidence of Lawful Admission for Permanent Residence in the United States (U.S.)

SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION

20 CFR Part 416

[Regulations No. 16]

RIN 0960-AD90

Evidence of Lawful Admission for Permanent Residence in the

United States (U.S.)

AGENCY: Social Security Administration.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: This proposed regulation sets forth the type of documentation

required for an alien to establish the status of lawfully admitted for

permanent residence for eligibility purposes under the Supplemental

Security Income (SSI) program. The Immigration and Naturalization

Service (INS), the Agency responsible for determining alien status and

issuing documents certifying alien status in the U.S., is changing its

policy with regard to what constitutes definitive evidence of lawful

permanent resident alien status. In this proposed SSI regulation, we

are removing references to specific INS form numbers and substituting a

general reference to an Alien Registration Receipt Card issued under

current INS regulations. Thus, SSA's regulations will be broad enough

not only to be consistent with the new INS policy when it becomes

operational, but also to accommodate future INS regulatory changes

regarding acceptable documentary evidence of lawful permanent resident

alien status. In the future, SSA will not have to revise its

regulations to conform to changes in INS policy unless the form name

changes. Historically, the form name has remained the same.

DATES: To be sure that your comments are considered, we must receive

them no later than October 30, 1995.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be submitted in writing to the Commissioner

of Social Security, P.O. Box 1585, Baltimore, MD 21235, sent by telefax

to (410) 966-2830, sent by E-Mail to ``[email protected],'' or

delivered to the Division of Regulations and Rulings, Social Security

Administration, 3-B-1 Operations Building, 6401 Security Boulevard,

Baltimore, MD 21235, between 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. on regular

business days. Comments received may be inspected during these same

hours by making arrangements with the contact person shown below. If

you have any comments or suggestions on the estimate shown for the

Paperwork Reduction Act, write to the Social Security Administration,

ATTN: Reports Clearance Officer, 1-A-21 Operations Building, Baltimore,

MD 21235, and to the Office of Management and Budget, Paperwork

Reduction Project (0960-0451), Washington, D.C. 20503.

The electronic file of this document is available on the Federal

Bulletin Board (FBB) at 9 a.m. on the date of publication in the

Federal Register. To download the file, modem dial (202) 512-1387. The

FBB instructions will explain how to download the file and the fee.

This file is in WordPerfect and will remain on the FBB during the

comment period.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lois Berg, Legal Assistant, Division

of Regulations and Rulings, Social Security Administration, 6401

Security Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21235, (410) 965-1713.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: To be eligible for SSI benefits, an

individual must be either a citizen or national of the U.S. or an alien

lawfully admitted for permanent residence or otherwise permanently

residing in the U.S. under color of law. Our regulation at

Sec. 416.1615(a)(1) sets forth the types of alien registration

documents issued by INS which constitute valid evidence of lawful

permanent residence status.

INS is responsible for determining alien status and issuing

documents certifying alien status within the U.S. INS does, when

necessary, revise its regulations specifying acceptable documentation

of alien status.

Aliens who are lawfully admitted for permanent residence and who

apply for SSI benefits are required to submit evidence of lawful

permanent residence status to be eligible for benefits. Such evidence

must be a valid document issued by INS under current INS policy.

On September 20, 1993, INS published a final rule at 58 FR 48775 to

terminate the validity of several older versions of the Alien

Registration Receipt Card and to establish the Alien Registration

Receipt Card, I-551, as the exclusive alien registration card for the

use of permanent resident aliens. This INS rule originally was to have

been effective on September 20, 1994. However, INS subsequently

published two notices in the Federal Register (on September 14, 1994 at

59 FR 47063 and on March 17, 1995 at 60 FR 14353, to delay the

effective date of this rule. The rule is now scheduled to become

effective on March 20, 1996. As a result of the INS regulatory change,

lawful permanent resident aliens must replace previously issued

obsolete forms, such as the I-151, AR-3, AR-3a and AR-103, with the

current Alien Registration Receipt Card, Form I-551 by March 20, 1996.

SSA's current regulation on evidence of lawful permanent resident

status specifies the form numbers of all currently acceptable versions

of the INS Alien Registration Receipt Card. Thus, any INS policy which

changes acceptable documentation of alien status, such as the change

presently effective March 20, 1996, requires SSA to revise its

regulation to conform to those changes. We want to ensure that our

regulation not only reflects current INS policy on alien status

documentation but is broad enough to encompass changes INS might make

in the future.

Therefore, in this proposed regulation, we are removing references

in Sec. 416.1615(a)(1) to specific INS form numbers which will be

obsolete as of the effective date of INS' new regulatory change, and

substituting a single reference to the Alien Registration Receipt Card

issued under current INS regulations. As revised, our regulation simply

indicates that the individual must submit an Alien Registration Receipt

Card which is issued by INS in accordance with that Agency's current

regulations.

Regulatory Procedures

Regulatory Flexibility Act

We certify that this proposed regulation will not have a

significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities

because it only affects individuals who claim benefits under title XVI

of the Social Security Act. Therefore, a regulatory flexibility

analysis as provided in Pub. L. 96-354, the Regulatory Flexibility Act,

is not required.

Executive Order 12866

We have consulted with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)

and determined that this proposed rule does not meet the criteria for a

significant regulatory action under Executive Order 12866. Thus, it was

not subject to OMB review.

[[Page 45111]]

Paperwork Reduction Act

This proposed regulation revises paragraph (a)(1) of Sec. 416.1615.

Section 416.1615 of the regulations contains reporting requirements. We

would normally seek approval of these requirements (under the Paperwork

Reduction Act) from OMB. We are not doing so because we already have

clearance from OMB to collect this information under OMB No. 0960-0451.

Public reporting burden for this collection of information is

estimated to average 5 minutes per response. This includes the time it

will take to read the instructions, gather the necessary facts, and

provide the information. We expect approximately 234,800 claimants per

year will be responding, and estimate the total burden to be 19,567

hours. If you have any comments or suggestions on this estimate, see

the Addresses section of this document.

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Program No. 96.006,

Supplemental Security Income)

List of Subjects in 20 CFR Part 416

Administrative Practice and Procedure, Aged, Blind, Disability

benefits, Public assistance programs, Reporting and recordkeeping

requirements, Supplemental Security Income.

Dated: August 23, 1995.

Shirley S. Chater,

Commissioner of Social Security.

For the reasons set forth in the preamble, subpart P of part 416 of

chapter III of title 20 of the Code of Federal Regulations is amended

as set forth below.

PART 416--SUPPLEMENTAL SECURITY INCOME FOR THE AGED, BLIND AND

DISABLED

1. The authority citation for subpart P of part 416 is revised to

read as follows:

Authority: Secs. 702(a)(5), 1614 (a)(1)(B) and (e), and 1631 of

the Social Security Act; 42 U.S.C. 902(a)(5), 1382c (a)(1)(B) and

(e), and 1383; sec. 502 of Pub. L. 94-241, 90 Stat. 268; sec. 302 of

Pub. L. 101-649, 104 Stat. 4978.

2. Section 416.1615 is amended by revising paragraph (a)(1) to read

as follows:

Sec. 416.1615 How to prove you are lawfully admitted for permanent

residence in the United States.

(a) * * *

(1) An Alien Registration Receipt Card issued by the Immigration

and Naturalization Service (INS) in accordance with that Agency's

current regulations;

* * * * *

[FR Doc. 95-21496 Filed 8-29-95; 8:45 am]

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