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 (SSA).

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: This final 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., changed its

policy with regard to what constitutes definitive evidence of lawful

permanent resident alien status. In this final 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, but also to

accommodate future INS regulatory changes regarding

[[Page 56134]]

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.

EFFECTIVE DATE: This regulation is effective December 2, 1996.

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. For

information on eligibility, claiming benefits, or coverage of earnings,

call our national toll-free number, 1-800-772-1213.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: To be eligible for SSI benefits, an

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

qualified alien as defined in 8 U.S.C. 1641(b) and (c) who meets one of

the exceptions in 8 U.S.C. 1612(a)(2). 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 final rules 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 became effective on March 20,

1996. As a result of the INS regulatory change, lawful permanent

resident aliens must have replaced 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 previously acceptable versions

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

changes acceptable documentation of alien status, such as the change

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 final regulation, we are removing references in

Sec. 416.1615(a)(1) to specific INS form numbers which are 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.

On August 30, 1995, we published a proposed rule in the Federal

Register at 60 FR 45110 and provided a 60-day period for interested

individuals to comment. We received no comments. We are, therefore,

publishing this final rule essentially unchanged.

Regulatory Procedures

Regulatory Flexibility Act

We certify that this final 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 Public Law 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 final rule does not meet the criteria for a

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

not subject to OMB review.

Paperwork Reduction Act

This final 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 271,800 claimants will

be responding, and estimate the total burden to be 22,650 hours.

(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: October 8, 1996.

Approved.

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

Subpart P--[Amended]

1. The authority citation for subpart P of part 416 continues 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); 8 U.S.C. 1254a; sec. 502, Pub. L. 94-241, 90 Stat.

268 (48 U.S.C. 1681 note).

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. 96-27943 Filed 10-30-96; 8:45 am]

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