Information Technology: Near-Term Effort to Automate Paper-Based 
Immigration Files Needs Planning Improvements (31-MAR-06,	 
GAO-06-375).							 
                                                                 
The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)	 
relies on about 55 million paper-based files to adjudicate	 
applications for immigration status and other benefits. Ensuring 
the currency and availability of these manual files, referred to 
as alien files, or A-Files, is a major challenge. To address this
challenge, USCIS has initiated efforts, both long and near term, 
to automate the A-Files. The long-term effort is now being	 
re-examined within the context of a larger USCIS organizational  
transformation initiative. In the near term, USCIS has begun a	 
digitization program, which it estimates will cost about $190	 
million over an 8-year period to electronically scan existing	 
paper files and store and share the scanned images. GAO was asked
to determine whether USCIS was effectively managing its A-Files  
automation efforts.						 
-------------------------Indexing Terms------------------------- 
REPORTNUM:   GAO-06-375 					        
    ACCNO:   A50563						        
  TITLE:     Information Technology: Near-Term Effort to Automate     
Paper-Based Immigration Files Needs Planning Improvements	 
     DATE:   03/31/2006 
  SUBJECT:   Electronic records 				 
	     Electronic records management			 
	     Immigration					 
	     Information management				 
	     Office automation					 
	     Paperwork reduction				 
	     Performance measures				 
	     Program evaluation 				 
	     Program management 				 
	     Records management 				 
	     Integrated Digitization Document			 
	     Management Program 				 
                                                                 

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GAO-06-375

     

     * Report to Congressional Requesters
          * March 2006
     * INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
          * Near-Term Effort to Automate Paper-Based Immigration Files Needs
            Planning Improvements
     * Contents
          * Results in Brief
          * Background
               * A-Files Are Important to Mission Operations of USCIS and
                 Other Agencies
               * USCIS Intends to Address Limitations in Its IT and
                 Data-Sharing Environments
          * USCIS Effectiveness in Managing Long-Term A-Files Automation
            Efforts Remains to Be Seen, but Near-Term Document Digitization
            Program Is Not Being Effectively Managed
               * Long-Term A-Files Automation Effort Is Being Re-evaluated;
                 It Is Too Early to Determine Whether It Is Being Effectively
                 Managed
               * USCIS Is Not Effectively Managing Its Near-Term A- Files
                 Automation Effort
          * Conclusions
          * Recommendations for Executive Action
          * Agency Comments
     * Objective, Scope, and Methodology
     * Comments from the Department of Homeland Security
     * GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments

Report to Congressional Requesters

March 2006

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

Near-Term Effort to Automate Paper-Based Immigration Files Needs Planning
Improvements

Contents

Figures

March 31, 2006 Letter

The Honorable Susan M. Collins Chairman Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs United States Senate

The Honorable Charles E. Grassley Chairman Committee on Finance United
States Senate

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) within the
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) relies on more than 55 million
paper-based files, each containing between one and hundreds of pages of
immigration information, to adjudicate applications for immigration status
and other benefits. These alien files (A-Files) are kept for 75 years, and
the data contained in these files are also used by federal, state, and
local agencies.

Ensuring the currency and availability of these paper files to support a
range of agency mission needs is a major challenge for USCIS. To address
this challenge, USCIS plans to pursue both long-term and near-term A-Files
automation efforts. While the scope, content, and approach to its
long-term efforts have not yet been defined, in the near-term, USCIS has
begun the Integrated Digitization Document Management Program (IDDMP),
which it estimates will cost about $190 million over an 8-year period.
This program provides for electronically scanning paper forms and
associated documents contained in the A-Files, storing the resulting
electronic images, and providing user access to the images. Thus far,
USCIS has either awarded, or plans to award, five contracts to pilot test
a digitization concept of operations. These contracts are being funded
primarily with funds that were set to expire by the end of September 2005.

As part of your request that we review USCIS's management and use of the
A-Files, we agreed to determine whether USCIS was effectively managing its
A-Files automation efforts. To accomplish this objective, we reviewed
available plans and contractor statements of work pertaining to the
automation efforts. We conducted our review from August 2005 through
February 2006 in accordance with generally accepted government auditing
standards. Details on our objective, scope, and methodology are provided
in appendix I.

Results in Brief

It is too early to determine how effectively USCIS's long-term A-Files
automation effort is being managed because the scope, content, and
approach for moving from paper-based to paperless A-Files have yet to be
defined. The agency recently decided to re-examine this long-term effort
within the context of an agencywide organizational and business
transformation initiative, but it has not formally documented this
transformation initiative. Nevertheless, we support the concept of
aligning strategic automation of the A-Files with a transformation of
USCIS business operations, as this concept recognizes and reflects the
support role of information technology (IT) in organizational
transformation. As USCIS moves forward with what it is calling its
Transformation Strategy, it will be important for the agency to leverage a
number of interdependent transformation enablers that we have previously
reported as keys to success, such as having strong executive leadership;
establishing a comprehensive and integrated transformation plan (e.g.,
goals and schedules); adopting effective management processes, information
systems, and related best practices (e.g., use of an enterprise
architecture); and employing results-oriented performance measures.

USCIS is not effectively managing key planning activities associated with
its near-term A-Files automation effort, known as the Integrated
Digitization Document Management Program (IDDMP). In particular, it has
not yet developed a plan governing how it will manage this program and the
contractors working on it, and it has not yet developed a plan for
measuring and evaluating the results of a pilot test of a document
scanning and storage capability. According to USCIS officials, these plans
do not exist because the program is just getting started. Nonetheless,
USCIS has already awarded, or plans to award, contracts totaling more than
$20 million for this pilot. In addition, USCIS officials told us they do
not yet know which of the roughly 50 types of A-Files-related forms will
be scanned as part of the program. Without a defined program scope and
adequate program planning, IDDMP is at risk of falling short of
expectations.

To assist USCIS in its future transformation efforts, we are making
recommendations to the Secretary of Homeland Security aimed at ensuring
that certain keys to successful organizational transformation are
employed. We are also making recommendations to the Secretary for
improving IDDMP planning.

In written comments on a draft of this report, the Department of Homeland
Security agreed with our recommendations. In its letter, which is
reprinted in appendix II, the department described actions it is taking,
and plans to take, to address our recommendations. It also provided
technical comments that we have incorporated, as appropriate.

Background

A mission of USCIS is to provide timely and accurate information and
services to immigrant and nonimmigrant aliens as well as to federal
employees who make informed decisions about, for example, granting
citizenship and approving immigration benefits. To perform this mission,
staff dispersed among approximately 89 of USCIS's field offices1 require,
among other things, access to an alien applicant's case history
information. Currently, this information resides primarily in the
paper-based A-Files.

To improve the reliability and currency of the A-Files, as well as their
accessibility to geographically and organizationally dispersed users,
USCIS intends to automate the A-Files, beginning with scanning certain
forms contained in the A-Files and storing the resulting electronic
images. While these automation efforts were to be part of their IT
Transformation Program, both A-Files automation and the IT Transformation
Program were recently incorporated into an agencywide organizational and
business transformation effort referred to as the USCIS Transformation
Strategy.

A-Files Are Important to Mission Operations of USCIS and Other Agencies

A-Files are a critical component of the USCIS mission of ensuring the
integrity of the immigration system. These files are used by USCIS staff
to make immigration and citizenship decisions. Maintaining the currency of
these files and distributing them in a timely manner has been a
long-standing challenge.

An A-File is the set of records USCIS maintains on certain individuals to
document their interaction with USCIS in actions prescribed by the
Immigration and Nationality Act and other regulations. The single most
important set of records kept by USCIS are A-Files. An A-File contains
between one and hundreds of pages of documents and forms, such as
submitted benefits and naturalization forms, photographs, fingerprints,
and correspondence from family members or third-party sponsors. According
to USCIS, A-File information is used to

o grant or deny immigration-related benefits,

o capture subsequent status changes,

o prosecute individuals who violate immigration law,

o document chain of custody for enforcement,

o provide immigrant statistics,

o control and account for records in compliance with the code of federal
regulations, or

o certify the existence or nonexistence of records.

USCIS estimates that it currently has more than 55 million of these
paper-based files, each of which is to be maintained for a 75-year
period.2

Generally, USCIS processes for adjudicating alien benefit requests vary by
type of application or form, and may involve creating, searching,
transporting, obtaining, examining, updating, or storing the A-File.
Figure 1 is an example of one such process: the Family-Based Adjustment of
Status, also referred to as the Application to Register Permanent
Residence, or Form I-485.3 The process of submitting this form involves
both manual and automated steps.

Figure 1: Family-Based Adjustment of Status Application (Form I-485)
Process

aComputer Linked Application Management System 3. bCentral Index System.
cNational File Tracking System.

As illustrated in figure 1, the alien submits the I-485, along with the
required fee and supporting information, to a USCIS "lock box" in Chicago
that is operated by the Department of the Treasury on behalf of USCIS.4
Treasury then captures the form electronically and creates an extract file
containing selected I-485 data elements that it sends in an electronic
format to the USCIS National Benefits Center (NBC), along with the
original paper form and supporting information. NBC prepares a daily
upload file of all cases that need biometric appointments. This
information is used to schedule an interview and direct the applicant to
the Application Support Center, where biometrics, such as fingerprints,
will be captured. NBC obtains the paper application and the selected
electronic data elements, and inputs the data elements into the Computer
Linked Application Management System 3 (CLAIMS 3).5 In addition, NBC
searches a USCIS electronic index system, known as the Central Index
System (CIS), to determine whether an A-File already exists for the
individual. If an A-File does not exist, one is created. If one does
exist, NBC determines its location by accessing an additional system
called the National File Tracking System (NFTS), which tracks the physical
location of the A-File. When NBC obtains the requested A-File, it merges
the Form I-485 into the A-File. NBC then performs an initial name check
using the Interagency Border Inspection System and the Federal Bureau of
Investigation (FBI) National Name Check Program, and updates the A-File
with the results.

While NBC is processing the application, the Application Support Center is
collecting the applicant's biometrics and sending the data electronically
to the FBI, where a criminal background check is performed on the
applicant. When the FBI has completed the background check, it sends the
results to NBC, which then prints the results and adds them to the A-File.

When the A-File contains the I-485 application, biometrics, and background
check results, it is transported to the USCIS local office closest to the
applicant for a ruling on the applicant's request. The local office
reviews the file, interviews the applicant, and makes a decision on the
permanent residence request. The A-File is then transported to the
National Records Center in Missouri for storage (see fig. 2).

Figure 2: A-Files Storage at National Records Center in Lee's Summit,
Missouri

According to a recent report by the DHS Inspector General (IG), this
paper-based process is costly.6 For example,  the estimated costs for
copiers and copy paper for one USCIS service center is more than $400,000
per year. Further, according to senior USCIS officials, the agency spends
approximately $13 million each year transporting A-Files within USCIS and
to other bureaus and agencies.

Besides USCIS's need for A-Files, DHS's Immigration and Customs
Enforcement (ICE), Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and U.S. Visitor
and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology (US-VISIT) need access to either
the data in the A-Files or the A-Files themselves, as do agencies external
to DHS, including the FBI, the Department of State, and state and local
governments. For example, USCIS officials told us that the FBI uses
A-Files data in performing law enforcement activities. In addition, USCIS
documentation shows that ICE uses A-Files as the principle source of
information for prosecuting aliens who have committed crimes and for
immigration removal proceedings; CBP uses A-Files when it interviews and
arrests aliens; and the Department of State uses data within the A-Files
when issuing visas to alien visitors. According to USCIS officials,
obtaining access to these A-Files has been a long-standing problem.

USCIS Intends to Address Limitations in Its IT and Data-Sharing
Environments

The limitations in the USCIS IT and data-sharing environments are not
confined to the A-Files. According to a recent report by the DHS IG,7
USCIS uses duplicative, nonintegrated, and inefficient data systems that
have limited information sharing, resulting in data integrity and
reliability problems. For example, adjudicators may need to access more
than a dozen systems using between 5 and 17 passwords, and may have to
restart these systems multiple times to process a given application. In
addition, the IG reported that the networks and hardware platforms across
USCIS offices are outdated and inconsistent. The IG also reported that
past problems in this IT environment have led to small, disparate business
process re-engineering initiatives that were narrowly focused and were not
sufficiently coordinated across the organization to enable standardized
processes.

To address these limitations, USCIS began an IT Transformation Program in
March 2005 that was led by the agency's Office of the Chief Information
Officer (OCIO) and was intended to move USCIS progressively toward a
paperless environment that facilitates information sharing. In January
2006, USCIS reported that this IT transformation effort was being subsumed
into a new, long-term organizational and business transformation effort,
referred to as the USCIS Transformation Strategy. Under this strategy,
according to USCIS officials, long-term solutions to its A-Files
automation needs will be pursued within the context of business process
re-engineering.

In the interim, however, USCIS still intends to reduce the volume of paper
associated with its existing A-Files through a program called the
Integrated Digitization Document Management Program (IDDMP). According to
USCIS, the goals of the IDDMP are to

o comply with laws governing electronic information storage and access and
information sharing;

o reduce the backlog of immigration benefit requests, ensure timely access
to files, and reduce paper-based file storage and transportation costs;
and

o respond to a statement in The 9/11 Commission Report that all points in
the border system-from consular offices to immigration services
offices-will need appropriate electronic access to an applicant's file.8

To accomplish these objectives, IDDMP is to convert paper forms and
documents in existing A-Files to electronic images and manage the
retrieval, movement, retention, and disposition of these images. The
program is not intended to change existing USCIS core business processes,
but rather to merely reduce the amount of paper associated with these
business processes and improve user access to these scanned forms and
documents. The program is estimated to cost about $190 million over 8
years, which includes planning, acquisition of hardware and software
products and services, and operations and maintenance.

As part of the IDDMP, USCIS initiated a digitization and storage pilot to
scan approximately 1 million A-Files that include adjudicated I-485 forms
and supporting documents (each containing about 100 pages).9 The purpose
of the pilot is to validate that the digital format satisfies user needs,
to identify network storage requirements, and to provide insight into
potential scanning and storage problems. According to USCIS program
officials, the pilot involves five separate contracts, three of which are
primarily funded from $20 million that Congress had designated for "the
historical records project to convert immigration records into an
electronic, digitally-accessible format."10 The other contracts were
awarded using other USCIS funding. Officials told us that they needed to
move quickly to obligate these funds before they were due to expire at the
end of September 2005, so they awarded four of the contracts in September
2005. A description of each of the contracts follows.

Records digitization facility. According to program officials, this
contract is intended to set up a facility for scanning the piloted number
of A-Files and for scanning future A-Files. The contract is to cover
preparing the documents for scanning, scanning the documents, and
performing quality assurance checks on the captured images. It also is to
cover indexing the scanned images using the meta-data standards defined in
the requirements definition contract portion of the digitization pilot and
temporarily storing the images in a staging server until they are accessed
under the enterprise document management service contract. According to
officials, this contract was originally awarded in September 2005, and a
protest was filed in October 2005. During the course of the protest, the
agency took corrective action, which included re-evaluation of the
proposal; the protest was dismissed, the original award was vacated, and a
new award is expected in March 2006.11 The estimated value of the new
contract is $14 million.

Enterprise document management service. This contract, awarded in
September 2005, is to gather technical requirements for the design and
implementation of a system to electronically manage the scanned images
created by the records digitization process. In addition, the contractor
is to design and implement a system capable of ensuring image and data
quality and compliance with the DHS document management standard. It also
includes development of a Web infrastructure and implementation of user
interface software components. The value of this contract is about $2.3
million.

Storage facility infrastructure. Under this contract, awarded in September
2005, the contractor is to provide hardware, software, and a wide area
network for the digitization and storage process. The value of this
contract is about $7.2 million.

Records business process re-engineering. This contract, which was awarded
in September 2005, includes determining how I-485 A-Files are currently
used for adjudicating permanent residence requests and documenting the
process for compilation, movement, digitization, and lockdown of I-485
A-Files. The contractor is also to determine how to effectively relocate
the I-485 forms to the records digitization facility. The estimated value
of this contract is $487,400.

Requirements definition. This contract, which was awarded in October 2005
using fiscal year 2006 funds, covers gathering and documenting non-USCIS
stakeholder digitization and document management requirements, including
the meta-data requirements for indexing the scanned documents. As of
December 2005, the first draft of requirements had been reviewed by USCIS
and some of the external stakeholders, including ICE, CBP, and the
Department of State. The contractor's next steps are to refine the
requirements and develop, among other things, the plans of action and a
concept of operations for the digitization and document management
processes. The value of this contract is about $451,000.

USCIS Effectiveness in Managing Long-Term A-Files Automation Efforts
Remains to Be Seen, but Near-Term Document Digitization Program Is Not
Being Effectively Managed

It is not yet possible to determine the effectiveness of USCIS's
management of its long-term A-Files automation effort because this effort
is not yet under way. However, USCIS currently has a near-term A-Files
automation effort under way (IDDMP) that it is not effectively managing.
Specifically, USCIS has not developed a program management plan to guide
program execution and provide the basis for reliable cost and schedule
estimates, and it does not have a plan for evaluating its IDDMP concept of
operations pilot test of a document scanning capability. According to
USCIS officials, these plans do not exist because the program is just
getting started. Nevertheless, five contracts have either been awarded or
are to be awarded under this program, a pilot test is under way, and
significant program costs are anticipated. Without effective planning,
IDDMP is at risk of falling short of expectations and its funding requests
cannot be justified.

Long-Term A-Files Automation Effort Is Being Re-evaluated; It Is Too Early
to Determine Whether It Is Being Effectively Managed

As we have previously reported,12 technology alone cannot be relied on to
solve long-standing and fundamental business problems, such as USCIS's
dependence on paper-laden A-Files. Instead, our work has shown that such
organizational and business transformation requires a number of key,
interdependent elements working collectively to effect meaningful and
long-lasting institutional change and mission improvement. These elements
begin with strong, sustained executive leadership to direct and oversee
organizational reforms. Other elements include a comprehensive and
integrated business transformation plan, strategic management of human
capital, effective processes and related tools (such as an enterprise
architecture to provide a business and technology blueprint and associated
road map), and results-oriented performance measures that link
institutional, unit, and individual personnel goals, measures, and
expectations.

Until recently, USCIS had high-level, technology-focused plans for
modernizing its information systems environment, including plans for
automating its A-Files. These plans were part of the OCIO's IT
Transformation Program, which included four components: (1) establishing
and evolving a mature CIO organization; (2) improving the IT
infrastructure; (3) implementing an information-based architecture to
facilitate information standardization, security, and sharing; and (4)
providing new business capabilities. However, agency officials told us in
January 2006 that the IT Transformation Program has been reconsidered and
will now be incorporated into a broader effort referred to as the USCIS
Transformation Strategy. While this broader organizational and business
transformation strategy has yet to be formally documented, officials told
us that the strategy will, among other things, align IT modernization with
broader organizational and business process changes. Restated, the IT
modernization will be neither separate from nor the driver of
organizational transformation. Rather, it will support and enable
organizational transformation. To illustrate, one approach to long-term
A-Files automation could potentially involve doing away with both paper
forms and electronic images of these forms and instead provide for the
electronic capture of data when the applications are filed using Web-based
services and management of the captured data via corporate data warehouses
to facilitate data access and sharing.

USCIS's more broadly based organizational and business transformation
concept, in which IT modernization will be treated as an enabler rather
than an independent undertaking or a driver, is more consistent with
effective transformation practices employed by successful organizations.
However, our experience has shown that successful organizations also
perform other key elements related to organizational and business
transformation. As we have previously reported,13 these elements are as
follows:

o Ensure top leadership drives the transformation. Leadership must set the
direction, pace, and tone and provide a clear, consistent rationale that
brings everyone together behind a single mission.

o Establish a coherent mission and integrated strategic goals to guide the
transformation. Together, these define the culture and serve as a vehicle
for employees to unite and rally around.

o Focus on a key set of principles and priorities at the outset of the
transformation. A clear set of principles and priorities serves as a
framework to help the organization create a new culture and drive employee
behaviors.

o Set implementation goals and a timeline to build momentum and show
progress from day one. Goals and a timeline are essential because the
transformation could take years to complete.

o Dedicate an implementation team to manage the transformation process. A
strong and stable team is important to ensure that the transformation
receives the attention needed to persevere and be successful.

o Use the performance management system to define responsibility and
assure accountability for change. A "line of sight" shows how team, unit,
and individual performance can contribute to overall organizational
results.

o Establish a communication strategy to create shared expectations and
report related progress. The strategy must effectively communicate with
employees, customers, and stakeholders.

o Involve employees to obtain their ideas and allow them to participate in
the transformation. Employee involvement strengthens the process and
allows them to share their experiences and shape policies.

o Build a world-class organization. Building on a vision of improved
performance, the organization adopts the most efficient, effective, and
economical personnel, system, and process changes and continually seeks to
implement best practices. One such practice is the use of an enterprise
architecture.14

The degree to which USCIS incorporates each of these key elements into its
current transformation efforts will help to determine the success of its
efforts, including the automation of its A-Files.

USCIS Is Not Effectively Managing Its Near-Term A-Files Automation Effort

Industry best practices and information technology program management
principles15 stress the importance of effective planning in the management
of programs, such as IDDMP. Inherent in such planning is the development
and use of program management plans, which define, among other things,
program goals and major milestones, delineate work tasks and products and
the associated schedules and resources for achieving them, define
management processes and structures (e.g., processes and structures for
tracking and overseeing contractors), identify key players and
stakeholders and their roles and responsibilities, and specify performance
measures and reporting mechanisms. They also require plans for testing and
evaluating program products and capabilities, including plans for
evaluating the results of pilot-testing efforts. Pilot evaluation plans
include goals and objectives, tasks, time frames, resource needs, roles
and responsibilities, and evaluation criteria and results measures. Such
plans are essential to ensuring, among other things, that programs are
executed properly and that funding requests are reliably derived.

USCIS has yet to develop either an IDDMP management plan or a pilot
evaluation plan. According to USCIS OCIO officials, the IDDMP is only now
being initiated, and the program office, including program staff, is not
fully in place. Thus, they said it is too early to expect these plans to
exist. Nevertheless, USCIS has awarded four contracts and is in the
process of awarding a fifth related to the program; these contracts total
about $20 million, including an ongoing digitization and storage
technology pilot test, and it estimates that it will spend $190 million
over an 8-year period on the program. At the same time, officials told us
they do not yet know which of the roughly 50 types of forms associated
with A-Files will be scanned and stored or the sequence in which form
types will be scanned. If all forms are scanned, information provided by
USCIS shows that scanning and storage could cost as much as $550 million.

The absence of program planning was also noted in a December 2005 workshop
by one of the digitization and storage pilot contractors. Discussion
points during this workshop included IDDMP's lack of a clear vision and
business objectives, critical gaps in the digitization approach, confusion
regarding terminology and roles and responsibilities, and the lack of a
management plan. Restated, this means that large sums of resources are
being invested, and much larger sums are likely to be invested, on a
program that lacks plans for ensuring that the resources are invested
effectively and that resource estimates are valid. According to OCIO
officials, while the funding estimates are a "guess," $20 million in funds
were designated in fiscal year 2005 for converting historical immigration
records into a digitally accessible format, and they needed to move
quickly to obligate these funds before they expired at the end of
September 2005. These officials also told us that, while they did not have
time to fully establish and staff a program office that would have
pre-empted the contractor's concerns, they are now taking steps to deal
with the concerns. However, we have yet to receive documentation from
USCIS as to the scope and nature of the steps they are taking.

Without effective planning, including a clearly defined program scope,
IDDMP is at risk of falling short of expectations and its future funding
needs are not adequately justified.

Conclusions

While it is too early to determine how effectively USCIS is managing its
long-term A-Files automation effort, USCIS's recent decision to reconsider
its long-term IT modernization plans-including the role of IT in the
agency's broader organizational and business transformation efforts-was
both warranted and appropriate. As USCIS defines and pursues these
strategic transformation efforts, it is important that the agency
adequately incorporate the keys to successful organizational
transformation discussed in this report.

With respect to management of its near-term A-Files automation efforts,
key IDDMP planning activities are not being performed effectively. Given
the contractual commitments being made on IDDMP, as well as the potential
for the cost of this program to reach well into the hundreds of millions
of dollars, it is critical that USCIS expeditiously develop an effective
program management plan and pilot evaluation plan to guide the execution
of the program and the pilot test, respectively. Without these plans,
IDDMP is at risk of not meeting expectations and its funding needs are not
adequately justified.

Recommendations for Executive Action

To better ensure the success of USCIS's long-term transformation efforts,
to include A-Files automation, we recommend that the Secretary of Homeland
Security direct the Director of USCIS to implement the following two
recommendations:

1.Ensure that the key elements to successful organizational and business
transformation cited in this report are employed.

2.Ensure that both a program management plan and a pilot evaluation plan
are expeditiously developed and approved for IDDMP, along with a reliable
estimate of funding requirements.

Agency Comments

In commenting on a draft of this report, the Department of Homeland
Security agreed with our recommendations and described actions that are
planned and under way to address them. It also provided technical comments
that we have incorporated, as appropriate. The department's comments are
reprinted in appendix II.

As agreed with your office, unless you publicly announce its contents
earlier, we plan no further distribution of this report until 30 days from
the report date. At that time, we will send copies to the Secretary of
Homeland Security, the Director of the United States Citizenship and
Immigration Services, and appropriate congressional committees. We will
also make copies available to others on request. In addition, this report
will also be available at no charge on GAO's Web site at h 
ttp://www.gao.gov.

If you or your staff have any questions about this report, please contact
me at (202) 512-3439 or h  [email protected]. Contact points for our Offices of
Congressional Relations and Public Affairs may be found on the last page
of this report. GAO staff who made major contributions to this report are
listed in appendix III.

Randolph C. Hite Director, Information Technology Architecture and
Systems Issues

Appendix I

Objective, Scope, and Methodology

Our objective was to determine whether the United States Citizenship and
Immigration Service (USCIS) is effectively managing its alien files
(A-Files) automation efforts. To accomplish this objective, we reviewed
and analyzed USCIS's information technology (IT) strategic plan, IT
Transformation Program planning documents, and IT Transformation Program
mission needs statement, as well as available documentation for the
Integrated Digitization Document Management Program (IDDMP). In addition,
we reviewed the A-Files budget submission to the Office of Management and
Budget, the digitization and storage contractor statements of work, and
requirements meeting minutes. Among other things, we interviewed program
officials, including the USCIS chief information officer and the IDDMP
manager. We also interviewed officials from Immigration and Customs
Enforcement and met with officials at the Department of Homeland Security
(DHS) Office of Inspector General to discuss program management activities
for the IDDMP.

We conducted our work at DHS headquarters offices in Washington, D.C.,
from August 2005 through February 2006 in accordance with generally
accepted government auditing standards.

Appendix II

Comments from the Department of Homeland Security 

Appendix III

GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments

GAO Contact

Randolph C. Hite, (202) 512-3439 or [email protected]

Staff Acknowledgments

In addition to the contact named above, the following staff made key
contributions to this report: Michael Marshlick, Assistant Director; Elena
Epps; Kate Feild; and Nancy Glover.

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