a

GAO

United States Government Accountability Office

Report to Congressional Requesters

March 2006 INFORMATION 

TECHNOLOGY

Near-Term Effort to 

Automate Paper-Based 

Immigration Files 

Needs Planning 

Improvements

GAO-06-375
What GAO Found

United States Government Accountability Office

Why GAO Did This Study

Highlights

Accountability Integrity Reliability

March 2006

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY 

Near-Term Effort to Automate PaperBased Immigration Files Needs Planning 

Improvements 

Highlights of GAO-06-375, a report to 

congressional requesters 

The United States Citizenship and 

Immigration Services (USCIS) 

relies on about 55 million paperbased 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 longterm effort is now being reexamined 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. 

What GAO Recommends

GAO is making recommendations 

to the Secretary of Homeland 

Security to help ensure that

USCIS’s long-term organizational 

transformation initiative is 

effectively managed and that 

improvements are made to USCIS’s 

planning for its near-term A-Files 

digitization and document 

management effort. In written 

comments 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. 

USCIS’s effectiveness in managing its long-term effort for automating the AFiles cannot yet be determined because the scope, content, and approach for 

moving from paper-based to paperless A-Files has yet to be defined. 

Nevertheless, GAO believes that USCIS’s recent decision to re-examine prior

agency plans for a strategic A-Files automation solution within the context 

of an agencywide transformation strategy appropriately recognizes the

integral support role that information technology plays in organizational and 

business transformation. GAO also believes that the success of USCIS’s 

organizational transformation depends on other key supporting practices, 

such as having a comprehensive and integrated transformation plan (goals 

and schedules) and results-oriented performance measures. With respect to 

USCIS’s near-term A-Files automation effort, known as the Integrated 

Digitization Document Management Program, effective planning is not 

occurring. In particular, USCIS has not developed a plan governing how it 

will manage this program and its contractors, and it has not developed an 

evaluation plan for its ongoing digitization concept of operations pilot test, 

even though it has either awarded or plans to award contracts totaling about

$20 million for this pilot. In addition, USCIS officials told us they do not yet

know which A-Files immigration forms will be scanned. Without a defined 

scope and adequate planning, this program is at risk of falling short of 

expectations. 

A-Files Storage at National Records Center in Lee’s Summit, Missouri 

Source: DHS.

www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-06-375.

To view the full product, including the scope 

and methodology, click on the link above. 

For more information, contact Randolph C. 

Hite at (202) 512-3439 or hiter@gao.gov. 
Page i GAO-06-375 Information Technology

Contents

Letter 1

Results in Brief 2

Background 3

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 11

Conclusions 16

Recommendations for Executive Action 16

Agency Comments 16

Appendixes

Appendix I: Objective, Scope, and Methodology 18

Appendix II: Comments from the Department of Homeland Security 19

Appendix III: GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments 24

Figures Figure 1: Family-Based Adjustment of Status Application (Form 

I-485) Process 5

Figure 2: A-Files Storage at National Records Center in Lee’s 

Summit, Missouri 7
Contents

Page ii GAO-06-375 Information Technology

Abbreviations

A-Files alien files

CBP Customs and Border Protection

CIS Central Index System

CLAIMS 3 Computer Linked Application Management System 3

DHS Department of Homeland Security

FBI Federal Bureau of Investigation

ICE Immigration and Customs Enforcement

IDDMP Integrated Digitization Document Management Program

IG inspector general

IT information technology

NBC National Benefits Center

NFTS National File Tracking System

OCIO Office of the Chief Information Officer

USCIS U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

US-VISIT U.S. Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology

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Page 1 GAO-06-375 Information Technology

United States Government Accountability Office

Washington, D.C. 20548

A

March 31, 2006 Letr

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.
Page 2 GAO-06-375 Information Technology

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.
Page 3 GAO-06-375 Information Technology

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 longstanding 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 

1

According to agency officials, of USCIS’s approximately 250 offices, 89 are considered file 

control offices. A file control office is an office that is authorized to create, store, transfer, 

receive, maintain, and retire A-Files.
Page 4 GAO-06-375 Information Technology

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

• grant or deny immigration-related benefits,

• capture subsequent status changes,

• prosecute individuals who violate immigration law,

• document chain of custody for enforcement,

• provide immigrant statistics,

• control and account for records in compliance with the code of federal 

regulations, or

• certify the existence or nonexistence of records.

USCIS estimates that it currently has more than 55 million of these paperbased 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.

2

According to USCIS program officials, the 75-year storage period is a National Archive and 

Records Administration requirement.

3

Form I-485 is one of the more complex forms and business processes that USCIS uses. It is 

used by adjudicators to make decisions on granting permanent residency to alien 

applicants.
Page 5 GAO-06-375 Information Technology

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

a

Computer Linked Application Management System 3.

b

Central Index System.

c

National File Tracking System.

Source: GAO analysis of USCIS data.

Transportation of A-File

Transportation of paper application

Physical A-File updated

Electronic system/process

Applicant

Applicant mails application 

and fees to the lock box in 

Chicago.

National Benefits Center (NBC) in Missouri

NBC receives the paper 

application and imports

the data elements into a

customer repository, 

CLAIMS 3.

a

NBC merges the 

I-485 application 

with the A-File.

NBC does an initial 

name check and places

result into the A-File.

NBC merges

background check 

results and biometrics

with the A-File.

NBC ships the 

A-File to the local 

office.

Local office closest to the applicant

The local office interviews the applicant and ships the 

A-File to the National Records Center.

National Records Center (NRC)

NRC stores the A-File until it is

needed.

FBI

The FBI performs a criminal 

background check and 

sends the result to NBC.

Application Support 

Center (ASC)

The ASC captures the 

applicant’s biometrics, such 

as fingerprints, and sends

to the Federal Bureau of 

Investigation (FBI).

Lock box in Chicago

Lock box deposits fee, scans I-485 application, performs data entry, and mails the paper 

application and data elements to the National 

Benefits Center.

NBC checks for the 

existence of an A-File using 

CIS.

b If none exists, one is

created. If an A-File exists, 

NBC requests the existing 

A-File from the current 

owner using NFTS.

c
Page 6 GAO-06-375 Information Technology

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).

4

The purpose of the lock box is to provide a single mailing location for applications and a 

capability for accepting and depositing fees. 

5

CLAIMS 3 is a customer repository designed to provide funds control for fees collected 

with applications, record the results of adjudications for each benefit, and provide case 

status information to applicants. This system became operational in 1993.
Page 7 GAO-06-375 Information Technology

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 paperbased 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.

6

DHS, Office of Inspector General, USCIS Faces Challenges in Modernizing Information 

Technology, OIG-05-41 (Washington, D.C., September 2005).

Source: DHS.
Page 8 GAO-06-375 Information Technology

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 reengineering.

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

• comply with laws governing electronic information storage and access 

and information sharing;

• reduce the backlog of immigration benefit requests, ensure timely 

access to files, and reduce paper-based file storage and transportation 

costs; and

7

OIG-05-41.
Page 9 GAO-06-375 Information Technology

• 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.

8

The National Commission on Terrorist Acts Upon the United States, The 9/11 Commission 

Report (Washington, D.C., July 2004), 388.

9

USCIS officials stated that they are now considering modifying the scope of the pilot.

10House of Representatives Conference Report 108-774 to accompany H.R. 4567 (Oct. 9, 

2004).
Page 10 GAO-06-375 Information Technology

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 

11Fiscal year 2005 funds remain available for this contract pursuant to 31 U.S.C. § 1558, 

which generally provides that funds available to an agency for a contract at the time a 

protest is filed shall remain available for obligation for 100 days after the date a final ruling 

is made on the protest.
Page 11 GAO-06-375 Information Technology

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 nonUSCIS 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 

12See, for example, GAO, National Aeronautics and Space Administration: Long-standing 

Financial Management Challenges Threaten the Agency’s Ability to Manage Its Programs, 

GAO-06-216T (Washington, D.C.: Oct. 27, 2005).
Page 12 GAO-06-375 Information Technology

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 AFiles 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.
Page 13 GAO-06-375 Information Technology

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:

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

13GAO, Highlights of a GAO Forum: Mergers and Transformation: Lessons Learned for the 

Department of Homeland Security and Other Federal Agencies, GAO-03-293SP

(Washington, D.C.: Nov. 14, 2002).
Page 14 GAO-06-375 Information Technology

• Establish a communication strategy to create shared 

expectations and report related progress. The strategy must 

effectively communicate with employees, customers, and stakeholders.

• 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.

• 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 AFiles 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 

14An enterprise architecture provides a clear and comprehensive picture of an entity—

whether an organization (e.g., federal department or agency) or a functional or mission 

area—that cuts across more than one organization. This picture consists of snapshots of 

both the enterprise’s current “as is” operational and technological environment and its 

target or “to be” environment, as well as a capital investment road map for transitioning 

from the current to the target environment. These snapshots further consist of “views,” 

which are basically one or more architecture products that provide conceptual or logical 

representations of the enterprise. 

15Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, IEEE/EIA Guide for Information 

Technology, IEEE/EIA 12207.1 - 1997 (April 1998).
Page 15 GAO-06-375 Information Technology

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 preempted 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.
Page 16 GAO-06-375 Information Technology

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.
Page 17 GAO-06-375 Information Technology

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 http://www.gao.gov.

If you or your staff have any questions about this report, please contact me 

at (202) 512-3439 or hiter@gao.gov. 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
Page 18 GAO-06-375 Information Technology

Appendix I

Objective, Scope, and Methodology AAppenednxidexiIs

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.
Page 19 GAO-06-375 Information Technology

Appendix II

Comments from the Department of Homeland 

Security ApendxiI
Appendix II

Comments from the Department of Homeland 

Security 

Page 20 GAO-06-375 Information Technology
Appendix II

Comments from the Department of Homeland 

Security 

Page 21 GAO-06-375 Information Technology
Appendix II

Comments from the Department of Homeland 

Security 

Page 22 GAO-06-375 Information Technology
Appendix II

Comments from the Department of Homeland 

Security 

Page 23 GAO-06-375 Information Technology
Page 24 GAO-06-375 Information Technology

Appendix III

GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments ApendxiI

GAO Contact Randolph C. Hite, (202) 512-3439 or hiter@gao.gov

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.

(310610)
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