[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 178 (Friday, September 13, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48333-48334]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-19891]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Privacy Act of 1974; Matching Program

AGENCY: Department of Education.

ACTION: Notice of a New Matching Program.

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SUMMARY: This document provides notice of the re-establishment of a 
matching program between the Department of Education (Department or ED) 
and the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and 
Immigration Services (USCIS). ED seeks access to the information 
contained in the DHS-USCIS database (referred to as the Verification 
Information System (VIS)) for the purpose of verifying the immigration 
status of applicants for assistance for title IV federal student aid.

DATES: Submit your comments on the proposed matching program on or 
before October 15, 2019.
    The matching program will go into effect at the later of the 
following two dates: (1) October 21, 2019, or (2) 30 days after the 
publication of this notice, on September 13, 2019, unless comments have 
been received from interested members of the public requiring 
modification and replication of the notice. The matching program will 
continue for 18 months after the effective date and may be extended for 
an additional 12 months, if the respective Data Integrity Boards (DIBs) 
of the Department and USCIS determine that the conditions specified in 
5 U.S.C. 552a(o)(2)(D) have been met.

[[Page 48334]]


ADDRESSES: Submit your comments through the Federal eRulemaking Portal 
or via postal mail, commercial delivery, or hand delivery. We will not 
accept comments submitted by fax or by email or those submitted after 
the comment period. To ensure that we do not receive duplicate copies, 
please submit your comments only once. In addition, please include the 
Docket ID at the top of your comments.
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to https://www.regulations.gov/ to submit your comments electronically. 
Information on using Regulations.gov, including instructions for 
accessing agency documents, submitting comments, and viewing the 
docket, is available on the site under the ``help'' tab.
     Postal Mail, Commercial Delivery, or Hand Delivery: If you 
mail or deliver your comments about these proposed regulations, address 
them to Marya Dennis, Management and Program Analyst, U.S. Department 
of Education, Federal Student Aid, Union Center Plaza, 830 First Street 
NE, Washington, DC 20002-5345.

    Privacy Note:  The Department's policy is to make all comments 
received from members of the public available for public viewing in 
their entirety on the Federal eRulemaking Portal at https://www.regulations.gov/. Therefore, commenters should be careful to 
include in their comments only information that they wish to make 
publicly available.

    Assistance to Individuals with Disabilities in Reviewing the 
Rulemaking Record: On request we will provide an appropriate 
accommodation or auxiliary aid to an individual with a disability who 
needs assistance to review the comments or other documents in the 
public rulemaking record for this notice. If you want to schedule an 
appointment for this type of accommodation or auxiliary aid, please 
contact the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Marya Dennis, Management and 
Program Analyst, U.S. Department of Education, Federal Student Aid, 
Union Center Plaza, 830 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20002-5345. 
Telephone: (202) 377-3385.
    If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) or a text 
telephone (TTY), call the Federal Relay Service (FRS), toll free at 1-
800-877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    We provide this notice in accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, 
as amended (5 U.S.C. 552a); Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Final 
Guidance Interpreting the Provisions of Public Law 100-503, the 
Computer Matching and Privacy Protection Act of 1988, 54 FR 25818 (June 
19, 1989); and OMB Circular No. A-108, 81 FR 94424 (December 23, 2016).
    The prior Computer Matching Agreement (CMA) was published in the 
Federal Register on March 20, 2017 FR 14355). Under the provisions of 
the Computer Matching and Privacy Protection Act of 1988, Public Law 
100-503, the CMA was renewed for an additional 12 months through 
October 20, 2019, because: (1) The program was conducted without 
change; and (2) each Data Integrity Board Chairperson certified in 
writing that the program was conducted in compliance with the CMA. ED 
and USCIS are now re-establishing the matching program through this 
notice.

Participating Agencies

    ED and USCIS.

Authority for Conducting the Matching Program

    ED seeks this information for the purpose of verifying the 
immigration status of applicants for assistance, as authorized by 
section 484(g) of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA), 
20 U.S.C. 1091(g), consistent with the requirements of section 
484(a)(5), 20 U.S.C. 1091(a)(5). ED is authorized to participate in the 
matching program, which is the subject of this agreement, under the 
authority of section 484(g)(3) of the HEA, 20 U.S.C. 1091(g)(3), and 20 
U.S.C. 3475. DHS-USCIS is authorized to participate in this immigration 
status verification system under section 103 of the Immigration and 
Nationality Act, as amended, 8 U.S.C. 1103, and the Illegal Immigration 
Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, Public Law 104-208, 
110 Stat. 3009, as amended, 8 U.S.C. 1373(c).

Categories of Individuals

    Individuals who have completed the Free Application for Federal 
Student Aid (FAFSA), have indicated that they are an ``Eligible 
noncitizen'' and have provided their Alien Registration Number (ARN).

Categories of Records

    ED will provide to the DHS the ARN, Social Security number, first 
and last name, and date of birth of each applicant for financial 
assistance under title IV of the HEA who indicates that they are an 
``Eligible noncitizen'' and have provided their Alien Registration 
Number (ARN) in his or her application for financial assistance under 
title IV of the HEA.

System(s) of Records

    ED system of records: Federal Student Aid Application File (18-11-
01) (76 FR 46774, August 3, 2011).
    DHS-USCIS system of records: Systematic Alien Verification for 
Entitlements (SAVE) System (81 FR 78619, November 8, 2016).
    Accessible Format: Individuals with disabilities can obtain this 
document in an accessible format (such as, braille, large print, 
audiotape, or compact disc) on request to the contact person listed 
under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
    Electronic Access to This Document: The official version of this 
document is the document published in the Federal Register. You may 
access the official edition of the Federal Register and the Code of 
Federal Regulations at: www.govinfo.gov. At this site you can view this 
document, as well as all other documents of this Department published 
in the Federal Register, in text or Adobe Portable Document Format 
(PDF). To use PDF you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is 
available free at the site.
    You may also access documents of the Department published in the 
Federal Register by using the article search feature at 
www.federalregister.gov. Specifically, through the advanced search 
feature at this site, you can limit your search to documents published 
by the Department.

    Dated: September 10, 2019.
Mark A. Brown,
Chief Operating Officer, Federal Student Aid.
[FR Doc. 2019-19891 Filed 9-12-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4000-01-P