Date Announced

ORR has proposed revisions to an information collection to allow the Unaccompanied Alien Children (UAC) Program to evaluate the ability of potential sponsors to provide for the physical and mental well-being of the UAC and whether the UAC will be safe in the custody of the potential sponsor. The revisions affect the Sponsor Verification Application (Form SVP–3/3s) (formerly the Family Reunification Application) and the Sponsor Care Agreement (Form SVP–4/4s).

Revisions to the Sponsor Verification Application require more detailed information and allow caseworkers to impose a deadline of 45 days for a potential sponsor to submit their forms and supporting documents. There will now also be an option for potential sponsors to submit to a DNA test to prove their biological relationship to the minor in lieu of submitting supporting documents. In some cases, ORR may require a DNA test.

Revisions to the Sponsor Care Agreement require sponsors to enroll in post-release services (PRS) as a condition of release. The PRS program involves periodic phone check-ins and in-home visits.

Comments on these information collections are due within 60 days.

[ID #1272]

See Biden administration action below.

Biden Administration Action

This Biden administration policy revokes in its entirety the Trump-era policy identified in this entry.

On February 25, 2021, ORR announced that it is no longer pursuing the Trump administration's proposed changes to Family Reunification Application forms (also referred to as Sponsor Verification Application) and Sponsor Care Agreement and therefore withdraws its request for public comment on such changes.