[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 31 (Tuesday, February 15, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8755-8758]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-3450]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Office of the Secretary

[Docket No. DHS-2010-0090]


Privacy Act of 1974; Department of Homeland Security/ALL--032 
Official Passport Application and Maintenance Records System of Records

AGENCY: Privacy Office, DHS.

ACTION: Notice of Privacy Act system of records.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, the Department of 
Homeland Security proposes to establish a new Department of Homeland 
Security system of records titled, ``Department of Homeland Security/
ALL--032 Official Passport Application and Maintenance Records System 
of Records.'' This system of records will allow the Department of 
Homeland Security to collect and maintain a copy of an official 
passport application or maintenance record on Department of Homeland 
Security employees and former employees, including political 
appointees, civilian, and military personnel (and dependents and family 
members that accompany military members assigned outside the 
continental United States) assigned or detailed to the Department, 
individuals who are formally or informally associated with the 
Department, including advisory committee members, employees of other 
agencies and departments in the federal government, and other 
individuals in the private and public sector who are on official 
business with the Department, who in their official capacity, are 
applying for an official passport or updating their official passport 
records where a copy is maintained by the Department. Passport 
applications and updated passport records are transmitted to the 
Department of State for passport issuance. Official passport 
application and maintenance records maintained by the Department of 
State are covered by Department of State--26 Passport Records, January 
9, 2008, found at http://www.state.gov/m/a/ips/c25533.htm. This newly 
established system will be included in the Department of Homeland 
Security's inventory of record systems.

DATES: Submit comments on or before March 17, 2011. This new system 
will be effective March 17, 2011.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by docket number DHS-
2010-0090 by one of the following methods:
    <bullet> Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
    <bullet> Fax: 703-483-2999.
    <bullet> Mail: Mary Ellen Callahan, Chief Privacy Officer, Privacy 
Office, Department of Homeland Security, Washington, DC 20528.
    <bullet> Instructions: All submissions received must include the 
agency name and docket number for this rulemaking. All comments 
received will be posted without change to http://www.regulations.gov, 
including any personal information provided.
    <bullet> Docket: For access to the docket to read background 
documents or comments received go to http://www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general questions or privacy 
issues please contact: Mary Ellen Callahan (703-235-0780), Chief 
Privacy Officer, Privacy Office, Department of Homeland Security, 
Washington, DC 20528.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

    In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, 5 U.S.C. 552a, the 
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) proposes to establish a new DHS 
system of records titled, ``DHS/ALL--032 Official Passport Application 
and Maintenance Records System of Records.''
    This system of records will allow DHS to collect and maintain a 
copy of an official passport application or maintenance record on DHS 
employees and former employees, including political appointees, 
civilian, and military personnel (and dependents and family members 
that accompany military members assigned outside the continental United 
States) assigned or detailed to the Department, individuals who are 
formally or informally associated with the Department, including 
advisory committee members, employees of other agencies and departments 
in the federal government, and other individuals in the private and 
public sector who are on official business with the Department, who in 
their official capacity, are applying for an official passport or 
updating their official passport records where a copy is maintained by 
the Department. Passport applications and updated passport records are 
transmitted to the Department of State for passport issuance. Official 
passport application and maintenance records maintained by the 
Department of State are covered by Department of State--26 Passport 
Records, January 9, 2008, found at http://www.state.gov/m/a/ips/c25533.htm. This newly established system will be included in the 
Department of Homeland Security's inventory of record systems.
    DHS is authorized to implement this program primarily through 5 
U.S.C. 301; 44 U.S.C. 3101; and 6 U.S.C. 112. This system has an affect 
on individual privacy that is balanced by the need to collect and 
maintain official passport records. Routine uses contained in this 
notice include sharing with the Department of Justice (DOJ) for legal 
advice and representation; to a congressional office at the request of 
an individual; to the National Archives and Records Administration 
(NARA) for records management; to contractors in support of their 
contract assignment to DHS; to agencies, organizations or individuals 
for the purpose of audit; to agencies, entities, or persons during a 
security or information compromise or breach; to an agency, 
organization, or individual when there could potentially

[[Page 8756]]

be a risk of harm to an individual; to an appropriate Federal, State, 
tribal, local, international, or foreign law enforcement agency or 
other appropriate authority charged with investigating or prosecuting a 
violation or enforcing or implementing a law, rule, regulation, or 
order; to appropriate international authorities for administrative 
purposes relating to international travel where such disclosure is 
proper and consistent with the official duties of the traveling DHS 
individual; to the Department of State (DOS) when DHS individuals who, 
in their official capacity, are applying for an official passport or 
updating their official passport records where a copy is maintained by 
DHS; to a court, magistrate, or administrative tribunal in the course 
of presenting evidence, including disclosures to opposing counsel or 
witnesses in the course of civil discovery, litigation, or settlement 
negotiations or in connection with criminal law proceedings or in 
response to a subpoena from a court of competent jurisdiction; and to 
the news media in the interest of the public. A review of this system 
is being conducted to determine if the system of records collects 
information under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA).
    This newly established system will be included in DHS's inventory 
of record systems.

II. Privacy Act

    The Privacy Act embodies fair information practice principles in a 
statutory framework governing the means by which the U.S. Government 
collects, maintains, uses, and disseminates individuals' records. The 
Privacy Act applies to information that is maintained in a ``system of 
records.'' A ``system of records'' is a group of any records under the 
control of an agency for which information is retrieved by the name of 
an individual or by some identifying number, symbol, or other 
identifying particular assigned to the individual. In the Privacy Act, 
an individual is defined to encompass U.S. citizens and lawful 
permanent residents. As a matter of policy, DHS extends administrative 
Privacy Act protections to all individuals where systems of records 
maintain information on U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, and 
visitors.
    Below is the description of the DHS/ALL--032 Official Passport 
Application and Maintenance Records System of Records.
    In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552a(r), DHS has provided a report of 
this system of records to the Office of Management and Budget and to 
Congress.

System of Records

Department of Homeland Security (DHS)/ALL--032

System name:
    DHS/ALL--032 Official Passport Application and Maintenance Records 
System of Records.

Security classification:
    Sensitive but Unclassified and Unclassified.

System location:
    Records are maintained at DHS and Component Headquarters in 
Washington, DC and field offices.

Categories of individuals covered by the system:
    DHS employees and former employees, including political appointees, 
civilian, and military personnel (and dependents and family members 
that accompany military members assigned outside the continental United 
States) assigned or detailed to the Department, individuals who are 
formally or informally associated with the Department, including 
advisory committee members, employees of other agencies and departments 
in the federal government, and other individuals in the private and 
public sector who are on official business with the Department, who in 
their official capacity, are applying for an official passport or 
updating their official passport records where a copy is maintained by 
the Department.

Categories of records in the system:
    <bullet> Official passport books and passport cards, applications 
for official passport books and official passport cards, maintenance 
records in support of official passport books and official passport 
cards, and applications for additional visa pages, amendments, 
extensions, replacements, and/or renewals of official passport books or 
cards (including all information and materials submitted as part of or 
with all such applications) including, but not limited to:
     [cir] Name, date of birth, social security number, contact 
information, and address;
    <bullet> Applications for registration at American Diplomatic and 
Consular Posts as U.S. citizens or for issuance of Cards of Identity 
and Registration as U.S. Citizens;
    <bullet> Consular Reports of Birth Abroad of United States 
citizens;
    <bullet> Certificates of Witness to Marriage;
    <bullet> Certificates of Loss of United States Nationality;
    <bullet> Oaths of Repatriation;
    <bullet> Consular Certificates of Repatriation;
    <bullet> Reports of Death of an American Citizen Abroad;
    <bullet> Cards of Identity and Registration as U.S. citizens; and
    <bullet> Miscellaneous materials, which are documents and/or 
records maintained separately, if not in the application, including but 
not limited to the following types of documents:
     [cir] Birth and baptismal certificates;
     [cir] Medical, personal, and financial reports; and/or
     [cir] Records of lost and stolen passports.

Authority for maintenance of the system:
    5 U.S.C. 301; 44 U.S.C. 3101; and 6 U.S.C. 112.

Purpose(s):
    The purpose of this system is to collect and maintain a copy of an 
official passport application or maintenance record on DHS employees 
and former employees, including political appointees, civilian, and 
military personnel (and dependents and family members that accompany 
military members assigned outside the continental United States) 
assigned or detailed to the Department, individuals who are formally or 
informally associated with the Department, including advisory committee 
members, employees of other agencies and departments in the federal 
government, and other individuals in the private and public sector who 
are on official business with the Department, who in their official 
capacity, are applying for an official passport or updating their 
official passport records where a copy is maintained by the Department.

Routine uses of records maintained in the system, including categories 
of users and the purposes of such uses:
    In addition to those disclosures generally permitted under 5 U.S.C. 
552a(b) of the Privacy Act, all or a portion of the records or 
information contained in this system may be disclosed outside DHS as a 
routine use pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(b)(3) as follows:
    A. To the Department of Justice (DOJ), including U.S. Attorney 
Offices, or other federal agency conducting litigation or in 
proceedings before any court, adjudicative or administrative body, when 
it is necessary to the litigation and one of the following is a party 
to the litigation or has an interest in such litigation:
    1. DHS or any component thereof;
    2. Any employee of DHS in his/her official capacity;

[[Page 8757]]

    3. Any employee of DHS in his/her individual capacity where DOJ or 
DHS has agreed to represent the employee; or
    4. The U.S. or any agency thereof, is a party to the litigation or 
has an interest in such litigation, and DHS determines that the records 
are both relevant and necessary to the litigation and the use of such 
records is compatible with the purpose for which DHS collected the 
records.
    B. To a congressional office from the record of an individual in 
response to an inquiry from that congressional office made at the 
request of the individual to whom the record pertains.
    C. To the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) or 
other federal government agencies pursuant to records management 
inspections being conducted under the authority of 44 U.S.C. 2904 and 
2906.
    D. To an agency, organization, or individual for the purpose of 
performing audit or oversight operations as authorized by law, but only 
such information as is necessary and relevant to such audit or 
oversight function.
    E. To appropriate agencies, entities, and persons when:
    1. DHS suspects or has confirmed that the security or 
confidentiality of information in the system of records has been 
compromised;
    2. DHS has determined that as a result of the suspected or 
confirmed compromise there is a risk of harm to economic or property 
interests, identity theft or fraud, or harm to the security or 
integrity of this system or other systems or programs (whether 
maintained by DHS or another agency or entity) or harm to the 
individual that rely upon the compromised information; and
    3. The disclosure made to such agencies, entities, and persons is 
reasonably necessary to assist in connection with DHS's efforts to 
respond to the suspected or confirmed compromise and prevent, minimize, 
or remedy such harm.
    F. To contractors and their agents, grantees, experts, consultants, 
and others performing or working on a contract, service, grant, 
cooperative agreement, or other assignment for DHS, when necessary to 
accomplish an agency function related to this system of records. 
Individuals provided information under this routine use are subject to 
the same Privacy Act requirements and limitations on disclosure as are 
applicable to DHS officers and employees.
    G. To an appropriate federal, state, tribal, local, international, 
or foreign law enforcement agency or other appropriate authority 
charged with investigating or prosecuting a violation or enforcing or 
implementing a law, rule, regulation, or order, where a record, either 
on its face or in conjunction with other information, indicates a 
violation or potential violation of law, which includes criminal, 
civil, or regulatory violations and such disclosure is proper and 
consistent with the official duties of the person making the 
disclosure.
    H. To appropriate foreign government authorities for administrative 
purposes relating to foreign travel in order to facilitate official 
travel for the individual traveling.
    I. To the Department of State when employees and former employees, 
including political appointees, civilian, and military personnel (and 
dependents and family members that accompany military members assigned 
outside the continental United States) assigned or detailed to the 
Department, individuals who are formally or informally associated with 
the Department, including advisory committee members, employees of 
other agencies and departments in the federal government, and other 
individuals in the private and public sector who are on official 
business with the Department, who in their official capacity, are 
applying for an official passport or updating their official passport 
records where a copy is maintained by DHS in order to receive an 
official passport.
    J. To a court, magistrate, or administrative tribunal in the course 
of presenting evidence, including disclosures to opposing counsel or 
witnesses in the course of civil discovery, litigation, or settlement 
negotiations or in connection with criminal law proceedings or in 
response to a subpoena from a court of competent jurisdiction.
    K. To the news media and the public, with the approval of the Chief 
Privacy Officer in consultation with counsel, when there exists a 
legitimate public interest in the disclosure of the information or when 
disclosure is necessary to preserve confidence in the integrity of DHS 
or is necessary to demonstrate the accountability of DHS's officers, 
employees, or individuals covered by the system, except to the extent 
it is determined that release of the specific information in the 
context of a particular case would constitute an unwarranted invasion 
of personal privacy.

Disclosure to consumer reporting agencies:
    None.

Policies and practices for storing, retrieving, accessing, retaining, 
and disposing of records in the system:
Storage:
    Records in this system are stored electronically or on paper in 
secure facilities in a locked drawer behind a locked door. The records 
are stored on magnetic disc, tape, digital media, and CD-ROM.

Retrievability:
    Records may be retrieved by any of the Category of Records Listed 
above.

Safeguards:
    Records in this system are safeguarded in accordance with 
applicable rules and policies, including all applicable DHS automated 
systems security and access policies. Strict controls have been imposed 
to minimize the risk of compromising the information that is being 
stored. Access to the computer system containing the records in this 
system is limited to those individuals who have a need to know the 
information for the performance of their official duties and who have 
appropriate clearances or permissions.

Retention and disposal:
    Records within this system of records are maintained and disposed 
of in accordance with NARA approved General Records Schedule (GRS) 9 
Item 5, Sections a-c. Application files including documents relating to 
the issuance of official passports, including requests for passports, 
transmittal letters, receipts, and copies of travel authorizations 
should be destroyed when 3 years old or upon separation of the 
employee, whichever is sooner in accordance with N1-GRS-91-1, item 5a. 
Annual reports concerning official passports including reports to the 
DOS concerning the number of official passports issued and related 
matters should be destroyed when 1 year old in accordance with N1-GRS-
91-1, item 5b. Passport registers including registers and lists of 
agency personnel who have official passports should be destroyed when 
superseded or obsolete in accordance with N1-GRS-98-2, item 9. Official 
passports should be returned to the DOS upon expiration or upon the 
separation of the employee.

System Manager and address:
    Program Manager for Passport Processing (202-282-8020), Service 
Center, Office of the Chief Administrative Officer, Department of 
Homeland Security, Washington, DC 20528.

[[Page 8758]]

Notification procedure:
    Individuals seeking notification of and access to any record 
contained in this system of records, or seeking to contest its content, 
may submit a request in writing to the headquarters or component FOIA 
Officer, whose contact information can be found at http://www.dhs.gov/foia under ``contacts.'' If an individual believes more than one 
component maintains Privacy Act records concerning him or her the 
individual may submit the request to the Chief Privacy Officer and 
Chief Freedom of Information Act Officer, Department of Homeland 
Security, 245 Murray Drive, SW., Building 410, STOP-0655, Washington, 
DC 20528.
    When seeking records about yourself from this system of records or 
any other Departmental system of records your request must conform with 
the Privacy Act regulations set forth in 6 CFR part 5. You must first 
verify your identity, meaning that you must provide your full name, 
current address and date and place of birth. You must sign your 
request, and your signature must either be notarized or submitted under 
28 U.S.C. 1746, a law that permits statements to be made under penalty 
of perjury as a substitute for notarization. While no specific form is 
required, you may obtain forms for this purpose from the Chief Privacy 
Officer and Chief Freedom of Information Act Officer, http://www.dhs.gov or 1-866-431-0486. In addition you should provide the 
following:
    <bullet> An explanation of why you believe the Department would 
have information on you;
    <bullet> Identify which component(s) of the Department you believe 
may have the information about you;
    <bullet> Specify when you believe the records would have been 
created;
    <bullet> Provide any other information that will help the FOIA 
staff determine which DHS component agency may have responsive records; 
and
    <bullet> If your request is seeking records pertaining to another 
living individual, you must include a statement from that individual 
certifying his/her agreement for you to access his/her records.
    Without this bulleted information the component(s) may not be able 
to conduct an effective search, and your request may be denied due to 
lack of specificity or lack of compliance with applicable regulations.

Record access procedures:
    See ``Notification procedure'' above.

Contesting record procedures:
    See ``Notification procedure'' above.

Record source categories:
    Records are obtained from Department employees and contractors.

Exemptions claimed for the system:
    None.

    Dated: January 21, 2011.
Mary Ellen Callahan,
Chief Privacy Officer, Department of Homeland Security.
[FR Doc. 2011-3450 Filed 2-14-11; 8:45 am]
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