DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY 

Office of Inspector General 

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration 

Services’ Progress in Modernizing 

Information Technology

OIG-07-11 November 2006
Office of Inspector General 

U.S. Department of Homeland Security 

Washington, DC 20528 

Homeland 

Security 

November 30, 2006 

Preface 

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) was established by 

the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (Public Law 107-296) by amendment to the Inspector General 

Act of 1978. This is one of a series of audit, inspection, and special reports prepared as part of our 

oversight responsibilities to promote economy, effectiveness, and efficiency within the department. 

This report is the result of our follow-up review of the challenges that U.S. Citizenship and 

Immigration Services (USCIS) faces in modernizing information technology (IT) to carry out its 

immigration benefits processing responsibilities more effectively. The findings discussed in this 

report are based on interviews with USCIS officials and employees, direct observations, and a 

review of applicable documents. 

It is our hope that this report will result in more effective, efficient, and economical operations. We 

express our appreciation to all of those who contributed to the preparation of this report. 

Richard L. Skinner 

Inspector General 
Contents/Abbreviations 

 Executive Summary....................................................................................................................... 1 

Background.................................................................................................................................... 2 

Results of Audit .............................................................................................................................. 3 

Transformation Strategy Development Continues................................................................ 3 

Challenges in Centralizing IT Resources............................................................................... 7 

Ongoing Efforts to Link OCIO Objectives to the USCIS Strategy ..................................... 10 

Process and Systems Improvements Underway .................................................................. 13 

Infrastructure Upgrades Not Yet Completed as of September 2006 ................................... 16 

Limited User Participation in Transformation Planning...................................................... 18 

Management Comments and OIG Evaluation ................................................................................... 21 

Appendices 

Appendix A: Scope and Methodology..................................................................................... 25 

Appendix B: Management Response to Draft Report ...............................................................27 

Appendix C: Major Contributors to the Report ....................................................................... 30 

Appendix D: Report Distribution...............................................................................................31 

Abbreviations 

CIO Chief Information Officer 

DHS Department of Homeland Security 

GAO Government Accountability Office 

IT Information Technology 

ITIL Information Technology Infrastructure Library 

OCIO Office of the Chief Information Officer 

OIG Office of Inspector General 

TPO Transformation Program Office 

USCIS U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services 

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ Progress in Modernizing Information Technology
Contents/Abbreviations 

Figures 

Figure 1 USCIS Transformation Progress Since September 2005 OIG Report ................4 

Figure 2 USCIS Modernization Initiatives Since Joining DHS..................................5 

Figure 3 USCIS Infrastructure Upgrades Completed.............................................17 

Figure 4 Planned Outreach Activities.............................................................. 19 

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ Progress in Modernizing Information Technology 
Executive Summary 

Effective use of IT, coupled with updated processes, is vital to increase 

efficiency and address demands in immigration benefits processing. In our 

September 2005 report, USCIS Faces Challenges in Modernizing Information 

Technology (DHS-OIG-05-41), we identified inefficiencies in USCIS’ 

operational environment and an unfocused approach to improving processes 

and systems in order to provide citizenship and immigration services more 

effectively. In the report, we recommended a number of actions that USCIS 

can take to leverage IT to achieve its modernization objectives. Such actions 

also will be critical to support potential increases in benefits processing 

workloads that could result from proposed immigration reform legislation. 

As part of our responsibility for assessing the efficiency and effectiveness of 

departmental operations, we conducted a review of USCIS’ efforts to improve 

its processes and systems. The objectives of our review were to assess 

progress in implementing IT modernization initiatives, as well as addressing 

our prior recommendations. The scope and methodology of this audit are 

discussed in Appendix A. 

Although USCIS has taken steps to address the recommendations in our prior 

report, several challenges continue. Specifically: 

1. Although USCIS has exhibited new commitment to business 

transformation, the bureau faces challenges in finalizing its approach and 

advancing to transformation implementation. 

2. USCIS has accomplished the first phase of its IT staffing integration 

effort, however, remaining phases remain on hold until the bureau 

addresses organizational deficiencies that hinder day-to-day IT operations. 

3. USCIS has made progress in applying IT to support mission business 

operations, but improved strategic planning by the Office of the Chief 

Information Officer (OCIO) could help in managing IT resources. 

4. Process engineering is contingent on implementing a “to-be” transactionbased environment and a supporting acquisition approach. 

5. While significant progress in IT infrastructure upgrades has been made, 

plans to complete remaining sites are on hold pending funding approval. 

6. USCIS has outlined strategies to increase stakeholder involvement in 

transformation planning to promote buy-in and minimize risks that 

redesigned processes and systems may not meet user needs. 

Each of our prior report recommendations will remain open until additional 

progress is demonstrated and updated information is provided for our review. 

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ Progress in Modernizing Information Technology 

Page 1 
Background 

Our September 2005 report discussed inefficiencies in USCIS’ IT 

environment that hindered its ability to carry out its immigration benefits 

processing mission successfully. Specifically, USCIS’ processes were largely 

manual, paper-based, and duplicative, resulting in an ineffective use of human 

and financial resources to ship, store, and track immigration files. 

Adjudicators used multiple and non-integrated IT systems to perform their 

jobs, which has reduced productivity and data integrity. IT software and 

hardware systems also were not well configured to meet users needs. 

Further, although federal guidelines require effective planning and 

management of IT to increase efficiency of business operations, USCIS has 

not had a focused approach for updating its legacy systems and manual 

workflow practices. Rather, IT planning and implementation were conducted 

in a reactive and decentralized manner across the organization. Additionally, 

USCIS relied on personnel rather than technology to meet its backlog 

reduction goals. 

Based on these findings, we recommended that the Acting Deputy Director, 

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services: 

1. Develop a modernization strategy that includes short- and long-term goals, 

funding plans, and performance measures to guide USCIS entities in 

accomplishing their citizenship and immigration services missions. 

2. Complete implementation of plans to centralize IT by placing all USCIS 

IT employees, budgets, and systems under the Chief Information Officer's 

(CIO) authority and control. 

3. Ensure that the centralized CIO operation and its IT transformation plans 

and systems initiatives are linked to and effectively support the 

consolidated USCIS strategy. 

4. Review, analyze, and reengineer benefits adjudication activities to help 

eliminate duplication, transition from paper-based processes, better 

integrate systems, and provide systems access to the users who need it. 

5. Finalize and implement plans to upgrade and standardize IT hardware and 

software systems to support reengineered processes and systems 

integration and access improvement initiatives. 

6. Ensure representation and participation of users at the various levels from 

across USCIS in all process reengineering and IT transformation activities. 

In December 2005 and May 2006, USCIS provided compliance updates, 

including milestones and actions plans, for addressing our report 

recommendations. Over the past year, the bureau has undergone several 

leadership changes and made demonstrable progress toward achieving its 

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ Progress in Modernizing Information Technology 

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modernization goals. For example, the backlog reduction initiative that was a 

focus for the bureau during our previous review concluded with USCIS 

completing more than 70 percent of all previously backlogged cases by the 

end of FY 2006. Now, the bureau faces large-scale immigration reform as 

Congress debates pending legislation reform that could significantly affect 

USCIS’ processes and workloads. Specifically, the House of Representatives 

passed an immigration bill that focuses on strengthening the enforcement of 

existing immigration law and enhancing border security.1 The Senate passed 

a separate bill with provisions to create a guest worker program and a program 

to legalize undocumented aliens.2 

If enacted, this legislation could dramatically increase the number of 

applicants for immigration benefits, also requiring improved biometrics 

management, and new systems to track guest workers and their employment 

eligibility. IT modernization will be vital for USCIS to meet these new 

requirements and overcome its long standing challenges in achieving 

operational efficiency. 

Results of Audit 

Transformation Strategy Development Continues 

The Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 holds federal agencies 

responsible for strategic planning to ensure efficient operations and effective 

use of resources to achieve mission goals.3 However, at the time of our 

September 2005 report, USCIS had not implemented a consolidated strategy 

to move from its outdated, paper-based processes to a more efficient 

electronic environment. Therefore, we recommended that: 

USCIS develop a modernization strategy that includes short- and longterm goals, funding plans, and performance measures to guide USCIS 

entities in accomplishing their citizenship and immigration service 

missions. 

Since our previous report, USCIS has demonstrated progress through the 

evolution of a bureau-wide, business-driven transformation program. 

Finalizing and moving ahead with implementation of this transformation 

program remains a challenge for the bureau nonetheless. 

1 Border Protection, Antiterrorism, and Illegal Immigration Reform Act of 2006, H.R. 4437, 109th Cong., 2nd Session

(2006) U.S. House of Representatives. 2 Comprehensive Immigration Control Act of 2006, S. 2611, 109th Cong., 2nd Session (2006) U.S. Senate. 3 Government Performance and Results Act of 1993, Public Law 103-62, August 3, 1993. 

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ Progress in Modernizing Information Technology 

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Infrastructure Upgrades Began

Phase 1 IT Centralization 

Complete

New CIO Appointed

Business Transformation Has Brought New Direction and Commitment 

Over the past year, USCIS has made transformation a leadership-driven 

priority. The bureau demonstrated progress by defining a solid mission, 

vision, and supporting principles to guide process improvements and IT 

modernization efforts. Senior leadership sign-off of these high level plans 

underscores USCIS’ commitment to achieving business transformation 

objectives. 

USCIS’ establishment of its Transformation Program Office (TPO) in 

November 2005 is a positive step toward modernization. The TPO provides 

oversight of modernization activities as well as a centralized management 

structure for coordinating transformation teams. In February 2006, the TPO 

established a Governance Plan, which defines the office’s roles and 

responsibilities, as well as the structure of the office and its sub-teams. A 

corresponding Transformation Program Management Plan defines at a high 

level the scope, tasks, milestones, and objectives of the transformation effort. 

In May 2006, the Acting DHS Chief Financial Officer authorized $25 million 

to complete the program planning phase. Subsequently, in June 2006, USCIS 

submitted an “exhibit 300” business case to the Office of Management and 

Budget, outlining the purpose, benefits, and justification for continued 

transformation funding. The TPO drafted a concept of operations to help 

validate its approach to instituting new business processes and systems. These 

achievements, as well as additional key milestones, are summarized in the 

chart below. (See Figure 1.) 

Transformation 

CONOPS Established 

USCIS Transformation Progress 

2005 2006 

Transformation 

Sub-Teams Created 

IT Modernization Discontinued 

Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun July Aug

TPO $25 Million Spending Plan Approved Business Transformation Established A-File Digitization Contract Awarded Prior OIG Report Released 

Transformation 

CONOPS Established

USCIS Transformation Progress

2005 2006

Transformation 

Sub-Teams Created 

IT Modernization Discontinued

Jan

Infrastructure Upgrades Began 

Sep Oct Nov Dec Feb Mar Apr May Jun July Aug

TPO $25 Million Spending Plan ApprovedBusiness Transformation Established A-File Digitization Contract Awarded

Phase 1 IT Centralization 

Complete 

New CIO Appointed 

Prior OIG Report Released

Figure 1: USCIS Transformation Progress Since September 2005 OIG Report 

Senior-level endorsements and communications to internal stakeholders are 

expected to generate broad acceptance of transformation throughout the 

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ Progress in Modernizing Information Technology 

Page 4 
bureau. For example, the DHS Secretary’s “Second Stage Review,” providing 

an assessment of the department’s organization structure, policies, and 

operations in June 2006, discussed USCIS’ outdated IT environment and the 

need for modernization. Further, numerous USCIS senior executives 

compared the current business transformation with previous IT efforts, 

indicating that program success is now more likely, given increased leadership 

and support. For example, by designating transformation as a top priority, the 

USCIS director has sought to heighten visibility and stakeholder support for 

the program. Additionally, the director’s 100-day message and USCIS’ 

monthly newsletter have helped highlight transformation plans and activities. 

Cycle of Continuous Planning 

Despite the progress made in transformation planning, USCIS faces 

challenges in finalizing its approach and advancing to the implementation 

phase. Because of repeated changes in focus and direction, USCIS has tended 

to duplicate previous modernization initiatives and has not demonstrated the 

ability to execute its planned strategies. (See Figure 2). For example, the 

current transformation approach replicates elements of the former USCIS 

CIO's effort to modernize bureau technology. At the time of our September 

2005 report, the OCIO had developed portions of a transformation strategy 

under the title, “IT Modernization.” This CIO effort focused on replacing 

legacy systems with a new case management system. In April 2005, the DHS 

Joint Requirements Council approved the mission needs statement for the 

CIO’s IT Modernization effort. However, in October 2005, USCIS 

discontinued IT Modernization midstream, replacing it with the broader 

Business Transformation Program. Although the ongoing transformation 

effort focuses on upgrading technology to support business objectives, much 

of the planning conducted under the former CIO’s IT Modernization initiative 

remains underutilized. For example, as part of IT Modernization, USCIS 

conducted a market study to identify procurement options and possible 

vendors and produced a request for proposals. However, the current business 

transformation program has begun a new market research effort to identify 

leading practices and procurement options. 

USCIS Modernization Initiatives Since Joining DHS 

Name Timeframe Status 

Business Transformation 2005-Current On-Going 

IT Modernization 2004-2005 Cancelled 

Office of Services Modernization 2003-2005 Cancelled 

Figure 2: USCIS Modernization Initiatives Since Joining DHS 

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ Progress in Modernizing Information Technology 

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Similarly, USCIS has repeatedly developed plans to pilot elements of the 

transformation program, but has not fully implemented any of these plans. 

For example, USCIS originally planned to pilot a new process for managing 

H-1B visas in April 2006, with deployment potentially scheduled for October 

2006.4 However, the director agreed to discontinue this pilot after the TPO 

determined that the program was unlikely to succeed due to incomplete cost 

estimates as well as procurement and timing risks. Likewise, in March 2006, 

USCIS planned a pilot to test end-to-end electronic processing of a limited 

sample of immigration benefits. USCIS planned to begin this pilot at 25 field 

offices in its western region in May 2007, and then incrementally roll it out to 

other locations nation-wide. Although USCIS presented this pilot to the DHS 

Investment Review Board for approval, the TPO agreed to re-evaluate the 

scope of the effort after conceding that it was ambitious and possibly needed 

to be scaled down. As of September 2006, no other business transformation 

pilots had been executed. By repeatedly revising and delaying 

implementation of the pilots, USCIS may be losing momentum and user 

confidence in its transformation approach. 

Delays in completing the overarching plans and strategies to guide business 

transformation have been a concern as well. Several key documents are 

behind schedule; others, such as a risk management plan and a security plan, 

have not been developed. More importantly, due to funding uncertainties, 

USCIS postponed development of the overall transformation strategy from 

July 2006 to September 2006. Consequently, the bureau has not defined its 

short- and long-term transformation goals and associated milestones. Until 

this strategy is outlined, USCIS may have limited ability to prioritize 

activities, execute plans, or clearly align ongoing projects with overall 

transformation objectives. Additionally, according to the 2007 Appropriation 

Act, transformation funding may not be obligated until the Senate and the 

House Committees receive and approve a USCIS transformation strategic plan 

that has been approved by the Secretary of Homeland Security and reviewed 

by the Government Accountability Office.5 

USCIS’ unique funding structure poses major obstacles to transformation 

planning. Because of the limitations imposed by its fee-based revenue, the 

bureau continues to look for creative ways to augment appropriations for 

enterprise-wide transformation. Although USCIS has begun to discuss 

alternative funding strategies, the bureau has not defined an acceptable 

acquisition approach to move forward. In July 2006, a contractor completed a 

review of possible acquisition strategies and provided a wide range of cost 

estimates, from $387 million to $1.4 billion. However, the contractor 

4

 H-1B is a nonimmigrant classification for aliens who will be temporarily employed in specialty occupations, such as 

accounting, engineering, or law. 5 FY 2007 Homeland Security Appropriations Act, H.R. 5441, 109th Cong., 2nd Session (2006), Title IV. 

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ Progress in Modernizing Information Technology 

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concluded that USCIS must finalize its transformation requirements first in 

order to obtain more accurate costs and risks. 

This recommendation will remain open until USCIS finalizes its 

transformation strategy, including short- and long-term goals, associated 

milestones, relevant plans, and a funding and acquisition approach. 

Challenges In Centralizing IT Resources 

According to DHS Management Directive 0007, the CIO of each DHS 

component is responsible for managing its IT budgets and resources.6 As we 

reported in September 2005, although USCIS had taken some steps to place 

major IT projects under the control of its CIO, the bureau continued to operate 

with a decentralized IT management structure. Therefore, we recommended 

that: 

USCIS complete implementation of plans to centralize IT by placing all 

IT employees, budgets, and systems under the CIO’s authority and 

control. 

Since our 2005 report, USCIS has made additional progress in realigning its 

IT employees to report to the CIO. However, centralization of the remaining 

IT employees, as well as IT assets and budgets, is on hold while 

organizational improvements are made. 

IT Realignment and Organizational Improvements 

USCIS has made considerable progress in accomplishing the first phase of its 

IT staff integration effort. In October 2005, USCIS transferred 90 technical 

positions and administrative staff from its four service centers, the National 

Records Center, and the National Benefits Center to report to the bureau CIO. 

This initial realignment has yielded a number of benefits to IT personnel. For 

example, a number of IT staff in field locations said that they now have 

greater awareness of OCIO operations and activities. Increased use of 

teleconferences, emails, and working groups has helped unify IT staff across 

headquarters and field locations. To illustrate, the OCIO now holds weekly 

conference calls with its IT field area directors to improve communications 

and coordination. 

Additional realignments of IT assets are planned for FY 2007, pending 

completion of related organizational improvements currently underway. 

6 Information Technology Integration and Management, Department of Homeland Security Management Directive 

System, MD Number 0007, October 14, 2004. 

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ Progress in Modernizing Information Technology 

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Specifically, USCIS recently hired a new CIO to restructure the IT 

organization and implement a number of initiatives to address internal control 

deficiencies identified in its FY 2006 self-assessment. According to the study, 

OCIO met fewer than 10 percent of the internal control standards established 

by the Government Accountability Office to measure operational 

performance. The most significant weakness was a lack of permanent OCIO 

staff to manage and deliver IT services in support of the USCIS mission. 

Additional deficiencies involved strategic planning, IT security, program and 

contractor oversight, communications, training, and performance 

management. 

To address these deficiencies, the new CIO has made organizational 

restructuring—particularly in the areas of IT security, enterprise architecture 

planning, and IT service management—a top priority. In July 2006, the CIO 

released a request for quotations to acquire IT consulting assistance for this 

restructuring effort, as well as to adopt leading practices in IT service 

delivery. Instituting the “IT Infrastructure Library” (ITIL), a federal 

framework for IT service management, is one such leading practice. USCIS 

plans to identify the new OCIO structure and fully define supporting IT 

business processes and internal controls in October 2006. 

To address the IT staff shortages, the OCIO developed a recruiting plan to fill 

key positions, starting with IT security. Since July 2006, the OCIO also 

worked to reduce the number of contractor positions performing inherently 

government functions. These staffing improvements are to increase the 

OCIO’s ability to accomplish its mission with a permanent workforce and 

adequate contractor oversight. In the long run, such reductions also are 

expected to result in a more balanced mix of government and contractor 

employees, as well as cost savings. 

Other OCIO improvements underway include heightened focus on improving 

employee and project management practices. For example, in July 2006, the 

office developed a new CIO newsletter, “More About the OCIO,” which will 

be issued on a regular basis. The newsletter will provide up-to-date 

information about key projects, workforce changes, and other issues of 

concern to the CIO. Training also is underway for IT project managers, as a 

means of standardizing their management practices and improving their skills. 

Continuing IT Management Difficulties 

Although the OCIO organizational improvements constitute positive steps 

forward, a number of challenges hinder day-to-day operations. For example, 

USCIS placed the remaining consolidations of IT staff from organizations 

such as district offices and asylum offices on hold while the organizational 

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ Progress in Modernizing Information Technology 

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improvements are underway. According to the OCIO’s FY 2006 selfassessment and a number of employees that we interviewed, IT field staff not 

yet realigned to report to the CIO continue to perform various services and 

functions in a decentralized manner. 

For example, in the absence of OCIO guidance on system life cycle 

management, field IT staff continue to develop non-standard systems that may 

not integrate with the enterprise-wide infrastructure. This proliferation of 

non-standard systems has created a number of concerns for the OCIO. For 

example, after recently beginning efforts to upgrade its field offices to 

Windows XP, USCIS found that a number of locally developed applications 

were not compatible with the new MS Office operating system. According to 

a USCIS Corrective Action Plan and Milestones developed in response to our 

previous report, the OCIO is building a systems inventory to help identify and 

eliminate applications developed in field offices outside of its control. 

Further, IT employees who have already moved to the OCIO lack adequate 

support in some areas. According to several field IT staff, the OCIO has not 

provided adequate guidance or sufficiently addressed their basic 

administrative needs since realignment. They said that the OCIO also has not 

defined clearly the processes and reporting structure for personnel, training, 

and budget management. For example, several employees recalled having to 

fax their leave requests to several different contacts at headquarters numerous 

times to obtain the required approvals. In addition, one field official had 

difficulty getting funding for basic expenses such as local travel, overtime, 

and postage. 

Historical concerns regarding OCIO budget management and spending 

practices have resulted in increased USCIS oversight of the office’s IT 

spending. USCIS employs a range of internal controls to review and approve 

spending. Although the OCIO budget is mainly used for operations and 

maintenance of existing systems, additional IT expenses are subject to these 

overarching internal control processes, which involve review and approval by 

business and IT representatives from across the bureau. 

However, many OCIO personnel expressed concerns about a lack of IT 

representation in the investment management decision-making. USCIS 

officials stated that business representatives also are too heavily involved in 

system and infrastructure change decisions that require considerable technical 

knowledge and expertise. For example, one IT official described the 

oversight process as “broken,” citing an instance in which OCIO presented a 

clear case to a senior review board for potential cost savings through network 

enhancements. However, one business member repeatedly voted against the 

IT proposal, effectively killing the program when consensus approval could 

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ Progress in Modernizing Information Technology 

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not be achieved. The IT official concluded that not having the right mix of 

business and technical representation may lead to ineffective IT decisions. 

This recommendation will remain open until USCIS addresses its 

organizational deficiencies and makes demonstrable progress in centralizing 

its IT resources. 

Ongoing Efforts to Link OCIO Objectives to the USCIS Strategy 

According to the Office of Management and Budget, an agency’s IT plan 

should support its strategic plan and should describe how information 

resources will be used to help accomplish the agency’s mission.7 Although 

centralized IT is key to executing this planning guidance, we reported in 

September 2005 that USCIS’ IT programs and services were neither centrally 

nor strategically managed. Instead, IT initiatives were planned and 

implemented in an ad hoc manner to respond to immediate needs. 

Accordingly, we recommended that: 

USCIS ensure that the centralized CIO operation and its IT 

transformation plans and systems initiatives are linked to and effectively 

support the consolidated USCIS strategy. 

In recent months, USCIS has taken steps to strategically align its business 

transformation program objectives with the overarching DHS strategy. OCIO 

efforts also are underway to strengthen investment management controls and 

enhance coordination between business and IT organizations. However, 

OCIO has not clearly linked its IT objectives and initiatives with USCIS goals 

to ensure that technical solutions and services meet bureau needs effectively. 

Progress in Applying IT to Support Mission Business 

The TPO linked the business transformation program both with the DHS and 

the USCIS strategic plans. For example, the TPO has taken steps to ensure 

that its Transformation Program Management Plan supports key mission 

themes, including prevention, service, and organizational excellence, outlined 

in the DHS strategic plan. Additionally, four priorities outlined in the USCIS 

strategic plan are included in the Transformation Program Governance Plan. 

The four priorities are providing accurate and useful information to customers, 

granting immigration and citizenship benefits, promoting awareness and 

7 Management of Federal Information Resources, Revision of Management and Budget Circular A-130, Transmittal 2, 

July 15, 1994. 

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ Progress in Modernizing Information Technology 

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understanding of citizenship, and ensuring the integrity of the immigration 

system. 

Further, USCIS strengthened its investment management review processes to 

better ensure that programs and initiatives align with the bureau’s strategy. 

Specifically, in October 2005, USCIS instituted a bureau-wide governance 

structure, consisting of at least four review boards responsible for reviewing 

and approving investments to meet agency business needs. Investments are 

identified for review based on a range of criteria, including cost, technical 

impact, and mission priority or criticality. Currently, these boards constitute 

the foremost means of overseeing management and spending related to both 

IT and non-IT initiatives. As previously discussed, although USCIS intends 

the various boards to have crosscutting leadership, most representatives are 

from business rather than technical bureau components, resulting in 

inadequate IT expertise to make key systems decisions. 

Over the past year, USCIS has sought ways to better coordinate and align 

business and IT initiatives. According to its FY 2006 internal controls selfassessment, the OCIO does not effectively communicate with system owners 

to determine how IT can be applied to support business needs. A number of 

IT leaders said that this gap is the result of poor communication between IT 

managers and line of business representatives. USCIS has instituted a number 

of mechanisms to increase coordination and foster more productive working 

relationships. For example, the USCIS Chief of Staff recently began hosting 

weekly meetings to bring together IT and business representatives to discuss 

project milestones, progress, and cost issues. According to one senior USCIS 

official, the meetings have helped IT and business leaders understand each 

other’s roles better and they now are making progress toward achieving 

common goals. 

Further, OCIO improved its technical services and support for business 

operations. In June 2006, OCIO created a new staff position with 

responsibility for building IT strategic planning and financial management 

capabilities, such as earned value management and cost estimating. The 

incumbent has been helpful in instituting new OCIO processes, policies, and 

standards, such as the previously mentioned ITIL framework for IT service 

management. A number of senior officials expect that these improvements 

will support development of the OCIO budget in alignment with the bureau’s 

strategic objectives. Additionally, OCIO has organized much needed training 

to improve program and project management, as well as financial planning. 

Once implemented, these efforts are expected to enhance technical services 

and management capabilities and help OCIO better monitor and control IT 

programs and operations. 

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ Progress in Modernizing Information Technology 

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Improved IT Management and Tools Are Needed 

Despite the steps taken to align IT and the business, IT strategic planning 

within the OCIO could be improved. Specifically, a prior CIO developed the 

existing five-year IT strategic plan in July 2004. Some believed that the 

existing plan is not fully effective, characterizing it as more of a general, high 

level business plan than an executable IT strategy. Officials also said that the 

transformation program does not include measurable performance goals. As 

such, a number of USCIS personnel concluded that OCIO needs to start over 

and develop a new IT strategic plan that reflects current priorities. Such a 

strategy, along with performance goals and measures, would provide more 

actionable guidance for meeting Office of Management and Budget planning 

requirements and supporting DHS and USCIS mission goals. 

Further, the CIO does not have central authority to budget, track, or link all IT 

expenditures to USCIS mission objectives. Rather, the CIO relies upon 

informal and inconsistent mechanisms to prioritize and help manage IT 

programs and initiatives. One of the few methods available to align proposed 

investments with the bureau strategy is through the Office of Management and 

Budget’s “exhibit 300” process. However, this practice is insufficient because 

it depends on each program manager’s individual, subjective assessment of 

how a proposed initiative will support mission goals. This practice also does 

not assist in centrally prioritizing or categorizing programs in line with 

mission critical needs. One senior IT manager characterized this OCIO 

environment as a reactive one in which IT solutions are implemented in an ad 

hoc manner to meet pressing business needs. Once initiatives are underway, 

there also are no standards for project planning or budgeting. Because OCIO 

project management skills and automated project tracking and reporting tools 

are lacking, IT project plans do not include detailed cost data consistently, 

hindering OCIO ability to perform cost or trend analysis for projects over 

time. 

The lack of a mature enterprise architecture to help standardize and align 

technology with business functions contributes to this decentralized IT 

environment. USCIS recognizes that an enterprise architecture is critical to 

support business transformation, as well as IT management. USCIS has 

established a team to develop such a framework, following Federal Enterprise 

Architecture guidelines. According to TPO officials, this approach will 

facilitate early definition of business outcomes, metrics, and processes, 

followed by development of technical solutions. However, there are 

significant obstacles to architecture development. Specifically, due to a 

shortage of OCIO personnel, the development effort is not fully staffed and 

each of the five architecture reference models is in varying stages of 

development. 

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ Progress in Modernizing Information Technology 

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This recommendation will remain open until USCIS updates its IT strategic 

plan, centralizes management of its IT expenditures, and applies its enterprise 

architecture to ensure linkages between its transformation strategy and IT 

initiatives. 

Process and Systems Improvements Underway 

According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and the Clinger-Cohen 

Act, agencies are required to acquire, manage, and use IT to improve mission 

performance. 8 However, as we reported in September 2005, USCIS faces 

significant challenges due to inefficient paper-based processes, non-integrated 

information systems, and inadequate systems access for users. To address 

these challenges, we recommended that: 

USCIS review, analyze, and reengineer benefits adjudication activities to 

help eliminate duplication, transition from paper-based processes, better 

integrate systems, and provide systems access to the users who need it. 

In line with our recommendation, USCIS has taken initial steps towards a topdown review of its current immigration benefits processing activities to 

support the ongoing transformation effort. However, implementing reengineered business processes is contingent upon first defining a “to be” 

transaction-based environment and a supporting acquisition approach. Until 

this is accomplished, the bureau will remain burdened with limited 

information management capabilities and lengthy forms-driven adjudication 

processes. 

Developing a Framework for Process and Systems Improvements 

Over the past year, USCIS has taken steps to build a framework for business 

process improvement. For example, as previously stated, in June 2006, 

USCIS completed a concept of operations for moving from the current formsbased adjudication environment to a transaction-based approach. TPO 

leadership subsequently circulated the completed draft to selected leaders, 

field transformation contacts, and external agencies to solicit feedback and 

comments. According to a USCIS official, distribution of the draft document 

also served to improve communication between IT and the business regarding 

new processes and technology in the transformed business environment. 

8 Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13, May 22, 1995; and the Clinger-Cohen Act (formerly the 

Information Technology Management Reform Act of 1996), Public Law 104-106, Division E, February 10, 1996. 

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ Progress in Modernizing Information Technology 

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Over the past six months, USCIS has mobilized a transformation team to 

begin process improvement efforts. For example, an integrated design team 

has begun drafting high level process designs for streamlining adjudication 

activities, as well as developing business rules and electronic designs for all 

types of transaction-based forms. Additional work has included identifying 

ways to ensure that data elements will be accurately and efficiently captured 

during the conversion from paper-based to electronic forms. Although 

preliminary, these efforts illustrate USCIS’ commitment to enabling electronic 

forms intake in an automated environment. 

Further, USCIS is planning a number of short-term initiatives to support 

transformation objectives, including electronic records management and 

systems integration. For example, a Biometric Storage System planned for 

development in FY 2007 is intended to store and manage personal 

identification data, such as fingerprints. The system will use enumeration—a 

process whereby each applicant is assigned a unique numeric identifier—to 

capture each customer’s identity. USCIS will use encryption to ensure secure 

electronic transmittal of the biometric data. Additionally, USCIS awarded a 

contract in July 2006 for the creation, standardization, and implementation of 

digitized technology for electronic management of millions of A-files. The 

first million A-files are scheduled for digitization within 12 months of project 

initiation. The results of this effort will be pivotal to transformation, ensuring 

real-time accessibility of files across USCIS locations and, ultimately, more 

timely customer service. 

Similarly, USCIS’ “Enterprise Services Bus” is a project to improve data 

sharing by tying existing legacy systems together using middleware—a type 

of software that connects two or more applications so that they can exchange 

data. This initiative will allow adjudicators to easily view and use information 

from disparate systems to process related benefits applications in a timely 

manner. Further, OCIO is building a data dictionary to standardize definition 

and representation of data elements, such as A-file numbers, across USCIS 

systems. Development of a logical data model will improve data integration 

and exchange, both within the bureau and with external stakeholders. 

Unclear Progress in Process Reengineering and Systems Integration 

Despite these various process and systems initiatives, USCIS progress in 

improving its benefits adjudication processes is unclear. Over the past several 

years, USCIS repeatedly began business process reengineering initiatives that 

never fully delivered results as promised. This situation continues today, 

resulting in employee confusion about progress made, as well as apprehension 

concerning bureau plans for future improvements. Some employees are 

uncertain as to whether business process redesign has begun; others believe 

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ Progress in Modernizing Information Technology 

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that the effort has been completed already. In reality, a TPO team drafted “tobe” business process redesigns in December 2005, but has not done much 

beyond this preliminary planning. Formal process reengineering is not 

scheduled to resume until the next phase of transformation, after the 

supporting funding and acquisition strategy have been determined. 

Similarly, there have been inconsistent reports regarding progress in gathering 

business and technical requirements to support transformation. Although 

several USCIS personnel believe that requirements gathering has not yet 

started, we became aware of at least one USCIS effort to gather stakeholder 

and user requirements during transformation planning. Specifically, in 

December 2005, USCIS held a “Joint Application Development” session 

involving business representatives at headquarters to identify requirements for 

building systems to initially support an April 2006 H-1B visa processing pilot. 

USCIS planned to extend these systems after the test to other benefits 

processing activities. Although a follow-on session was scheduled for later 

that month, it never took place and no other requirements gathering sessions 

have been conducted for this effort. It is unclear how the outcomes from the 

initial session have been used to support transformation planning. As a result 

of such confusion, several IT personnel have expressed doubt that USCIS 

headquarters can conduct enterprise-level requirements gathering successfully 

to produce meaningful results. 

Further, because of the delays in business process redesign, as well as in 

identifying a viable acquisition approach, development of technical solutions 

to support business transformation has not started yet. According to a number 

of USCIS personnel, technical solutions are critically needed to replace the 

complex, non-integrated, and outdated legacy systems environment. A robust 

case management system is a principal tool needed to ensure USCIS systems 

integration and transaction-based adjudication. Although USCIS initially 

planned to implement some case management system capabilities by October 

2006, this pilot has been postponed until completion of the business process 

redesign needed to guide system development. According to USCIS officials, 

the bureau used over half of the $25 million planned for developing basic case 

management capabilities to develop IT solutions, with the remaining funds 

applied to business requirements development, project management support, 

and transformation program planning. 

Moving ahead with business process reengineering and systems integration is 

critical to manage existing immigration benefits processing workloads 

effectively. Given possible enactment of recently proposed immigration 

reform legislation that could rapidly increase benefits processing workloads, 

demonstrable progress in this area is particularly imperative. In anticipation 

of the reform legislation, USCIS is preparing to institute a congressionally 

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ Progress in Modernizing Information Technology 

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proposed Temporary Worker Program, which would allow millions of 

undocumented immigrants to become eligible for legal employment in the 

United States. Preparations for managing this influx have included convening 

working groups to assess technical capabilities and processing readiness, as 

well as developing contingency plans for swift implementation of the program 

should it become law. Like our review, these preliminary USCIS assessments 

and plans have determined that the bureau currently lacks the processing 

capacity, systems integration, and project management resources needed to 

manage a potential increase in workloads. 

This recommendation will remain open until USCIS demonstrates progress in 

process reengineering and transitions to an electronic adjudication 

environment, with successful implementation of an end-to-end business 

processing pilot test. 

Infrastructure Upgrades Not Yet Completed as of September 2006 

The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 requires that agencies apply IT to 

increase the efficiency and effectiveness of their business operations.9 In 

September 2005, we reported that USCIS’ IT infrastructure was outdated and 

unstable, hindering the ability of USCIS employees to carry out their work 

effectively. With the last major IT upgrade completed over 10 years ago, we 

concluded that the bureau needed an updated infrastructure to increase 

operational efficiency and productivity. As such, we recommended that: 

USCIS finalize and implement plans to upgrade and standardize IT 

hardware and software systems to support reengineered processes and 

systems integration and access improvement initiatives. 

USCIS has made significant improvements by completing infrastructure 

upgrades at key field locations. However, IT upgrades at the remaining sites 

are uncertain due to budget constraints. Accomplishing such IT 

modernization activities will be necessary to prepare for potential increase in 

workload and technical requirements that could result from proposed 

immigration reform legislation. 

Upgrades Completed at Key Sites 

USCIS has made substantial progress in completing hardware and software 

upgrades at a number of high priority sites. (See Figure 3.) Specifically, as 

previously stated, as of September 2006, USCIS had successfully upgraded 

the IT infrastructure at all four service centers, the National Benefits Center, 

9 Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13, May 22, 1995. 

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ Progress in Modernizing Information Technology 

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the Administrative Appeals Office, and selected eastern region field offices. 

The cost to upgrade the service centers and portions of the Eastern Regional 

Office alone was about $39 million. The upgrades delivered to each site 

included desktop computers, monitors, printers, and scanners, as well as 

newer software and network components. This new equipment affects a 

considerable portion of the bureau’s workload, since the four service centers 

process approximately 65 percent of the total applications that USCIS 

receives. 

Figure 3: USCIS Infrastructure Upgrades Completed as of September 2006 

A key benefit of these upgrades has been a standard desktop configuration to 

ensure consistent IT capabilities bureau-wide. The updated infrastructure also 

provides a more stable IT environment, which will increase productivity and 

provide a foundation for business transformation. For example, upgrading 

workstations from Windows 95 to Windows XP provides users greater 

capability, faster system performance, and a solid platform in line with the 

current industry standard. The upgrades also will support deployment of the 

advanced technology tools needed to manage digitized case files and support 

electronic processing. Additionally, OCIO hopes to use the upgrade process 

as an opportunity to institute asset tracking to better manage workstation 

inventories. 

These initial IT upgrades have met with widespread user approval. Managers, 

employees, and contractors both at headquarters and in the field consider the 

upgrades great progress and a good indication that transformation is 

achievable. Repeatedly, field office personnel told us that the upgrades were 

well managed and executed. They also appreciated OCIO performing the new 

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ Progress in Modernizing Information Technology 

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equipment installations outside of normal business hours to minimize 

interruptions to their daily work. 

Funding Approval Needed for the Remaining Upgrades 

USCIS still awaits budgetary approval to move ahead with deployment of new 

equipment to hundreds of other field locations. USCIS estimates that the 

additional cost to upgrade the remaining domestic field sites will be 

approximately $72 million. However, as of September 2006, the next 

installment of funding for the remaining locations had not been confirmed yet 

and corresponding deployment schedules were uncertain. Until all the 

upgrades are completed, USCIS offices will continue to experience limited 

productivity, service disruptions, and increased maintenance costs to support 

the outdated infrastructure. 

This recommendation will remain open until USCIS demonstrates that it has 

funding and a schedule in place to complete infrastructure upgrades at the 

remaining sites. 

Limited User Participation in Transformation Planning 

Office of Management and Budget Circular A-11 directs agencies to reduce 

project risk by involving stakeholders in the design of IT assets.10 However, 

according to our September 2005 report, several major system development 

efforts did not include adequate user input, causing employees to create 

workarounds or in-house applications to meet their needs. To increase 

stakeholder commitment to modernization initiatives, we recommended that: 

USCIS ensure representation and participation of users at the various 

levels from across the bureau in all process reengineering and IT 

transformation activities. 

Over the past year, USCIS outlined several strategies for increasing 

stakeholder involvement in its transformation planning efforts. USCIS 

expects that such strategies will help promote buy-in and minimize the risk 

that redesigned processes, systems, and IT services may not meet user needs. 

Approach to Improving User Participation and Outreach 

Since our September 2005 report, USCIS outlined plans for generating broad 

stakeholder support for transformation activities. USCIS leadership has made 

10 Circular A-11, Part 7, Planning, Budgeting, Acquisition, and Management of Capital Assets, Executive Office of the 

President, Office of Management and Budget, June 2006. 

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ Progress in Modernizing Information Technology 

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business transformation a top priority. As such, according to a TPO official, 

USCIS leadership now is committed to investing time and money to ensure 

that the organization is well-prepared and educated to operate with the new 

processes, systems, and tools that will be deployed bureau-wide. The TPO 

has organized several transformation sub-teams, comprised of subject matter 

experts from across the organization, to help promote awareness, validate 

business and technical requirements, redesign processes, and communicate 

information on transformation progress. An April 2006 Transformation 

Change Management and Communications Plan outlines the TPO’s strategy 

for leveraging these sub-teams to improve outreach to users bureau-wide. 

Figure 4 outlines a number of outreach activities that the Transformation 

Change Management sub-team has planned to promote bureau-wide 

awareness and buy-in to the transformation program. 

TRANSFORMATION CHANGE MANAGEMENT 

PLANNED OUTREACH ACTIVITIES 

• Establish a collaboration site on the • Leverage traditional 

DHS network communication vehicles (i.e., 

intranet, internet, and newsletters) • Map external stakeholders 

• Conduct site visits to targeted • Benchmark similar efforts 

offices 

• Involve union representation 

• Establish points of contact across 

USCIS organizations 

Figure 4: Planned Outreach Activities 

For the most part, these outreach activities remain in the planning phase and 

have not been executed yet. However, USCIS' strategy for conducting site 

visits, a key element of the outreach approach, has already been finalized. 

Although USCIS originally planned to begin the site visits in June 2006, 

travel was delayed until August 2006 due to funding constraints and the need 

to finalize details related to the visits. The change management team plans to 

continue the site visits to more than 25 offices across all USCIS regions in fall 

2006. The TPO expects to use these visits to provide a transformation 

overview, conduct focus groups, and interview field leadership regarding their 

business needs. 

Similarly, the TPO has sought new ways to involve users, working in their 

remote field office locations instead of at headquarters, in transformation 

activities. For example, the TPO identified points of contact in USCIS field 

locations to periodically disseminate information on transformation efforts to 

colleagues in their regions. The TPO also plans to implement a “charter 

office” concept whereby the TPO, with the help of local users, will conduct 

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ Progress in Modernizing Information Technology 

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transformation activities such as requirements gathering and process redesign 

at selected field locations. These will be the primary methods for targeting 

experts outside of headquarters, who understand business requirements and 

expected outcomes, to assist in redesigning processes and developing IT 

solutions to support transformation. 

Limited Stakeholder Involvement and Communication 

USCIS expects that its plans for increasing user involvement in transformation 

activities will reverse problems with limited awareness and commitment to 

transformation objectives. Up until now, transformation efforts have largely 

been confined to selected team members at headquarters. Instead of soliciting 

broad-based input, USCIS structured opportunities for user feedback and 

participation around a few specific transformation activities. For example, 

during planning for the H-1B visa pilot, the TPO conducted requirements 

gathering with a small number of users, primarily at the Vermont Service 

Center. After discontinuing this pilot, the TPO did not advise participants of 

this decision or of future pilot plans. Further, the Integrated Design Team had 

limited user input in documenting transformation process designs. Users at 

one field office stated that they have witnessed a number of local business 

process reengineering efforts, but none at a national level. Without adequate 

input or participation from a range of users, USCIS may develop 

transformation solutions that may not meet user needs. 

As a result of its lack of participation, OCIO awareness and commitment to 

business transformation has waned. The OCIO has not been consistently 

involved over the past year as the initial IT modernization program shifted to 

a more business-driven effort. The prior CIO who began the previous IT 

modernization was not involved in business transformation. OCIO has had 

only one full-time representative involved in transformation activities: A 

detailee from a field location, assigned to the Technology Solution Team. 

This team had limited involvement in transformation from the outset, as the 

requirements it needed to support its systems design activities had not been 

gathered. The team ultimately lost resources and discontinued its work due to 

funding cuts. Additional OCIO involvement in transformation generally has 

been limited to IT project managers working on related efforts, such as 

infrastructure upgrades and data integration. Since joining USCIS in June 

2006, the new CIO has taken steps to assist with transformation activities, 

such as enterprise architecture planning and technical systems design; 

however, the role that this official ultimately will play in transformation has 

not been determined. 

This recommendation will remain open until USCIS makes additional 

progress in ensuring representation and participation of users at various levels 

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ Progress in Modernizing Information Technology 

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from across USCIS in business process reengineering and IT transformation 

activities. 

Conclusion 

USCIS recognizes the unique challenges it faces to reengineer business 

processes and modernize technology to better accomplish mission objectives. 

Over the past year, the bureau has undertaken a structured approach to 

addressing these challenges through its business transformation program. 

With this program, the bureau has established cross-functional teams with 

dedicated management participation and generated several strategic level 

plans, which provide a business-centric vision and guidance for implementing 

technical solutions. The accomplishments to date are steps in the right 

direction for both business and IT modernization. However, USCIS remains 

entrenched in a cycle of continual planning, with limited progress toward 

achieving its long-term transformation goals. 

Overcoming hindrances to moving from planning to implementation is critical 

to addressing longstanding USCIS process and systems issues and realizing a 

more effective benefits processing environment. Specifically, obtaining the 

funding needed to support implementation of the business transformation 

program is a continual concern. Establishing a clearly defined transformation 

strategy, including the funding plans, goals, and performance measures 

needed to manage its execution, is fundamental. Linking IT objectives to this 

transformation strategy and ensuring sufficient internal and external 

stakeholder involvement in IT and process improvement initiatives also will 

be key. Until USCIS addresses these issues, the bureau will not be in a 

position to either effectively manage existing workloads or handle the 

potentially dramatic increase in immigration benefits processing workloads 

that could result from proposed immigration reform legislation. 

Management Comments and OIG Evaluation 

We obtained written comments on a draft of this report from the Deputy 

Director, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. We have included a 

copy of the comments in their entirety at Appendix B. 

In the comments, the Deputy Director generally agreed with our follow-up 

assessment of progress made and provided updates on the status of USCIS 

efforts to implement each of the six recommendations included in our prior 

2005 report. The Deputy Director acknowledged the work that remains to be 

done and said that transforming USCIS business processes, coupled with 

updating IT, remains a high priority for the bureau. The Deputy Director 

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ Progress in Modernizing Information Technology 

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outlined recent USCIS actions to further its Transformation Program, 

including development of a long-term Strategic Plan and Acquisition Plan, 

contract support for process development, and continued site visits to the 

field. The Deputy Director expressed appreciation for our assessment and 

offered to provide future updates on transformation progress in each 

recommendation area. 

Specifically, the Deputy Director detailed recent USCIS actions to address our 

first recommendation, related to ongoing challenges in finalizing and 

executing the transformation strategy. The Deputy Director outlined the 

bureau’s near-term efforts to ensure more effective planning and management 

of the Transformation Program, including the completion of a Concept of 

Operations to accompany the draft Strategic Plan. Further progress is 

expected when a draft Acquisition Plan becomes available to help identify an 

approach to transformation funding. We are encouraged by the recent actions 

completed and believe that the steps outlined mark progress toward reaching a 

finalized and executable transformation strategy. 

Further, the Deputy Director highlighted goals and ongoing plans for 

addressing our second recommendation related to OCIO centralization. 

USCIS restated progress made during the past year as a number of IT 

employees were transferred to the OCIO. The Deputy Director recognized 

nonetheless that some IT employees and activities still exist outside of OCIO 

purview. USCIS remains focused on transitioning the OCIO to an enterprisecentric view of IT matched with enterprise standards, planning, governance 

and controls along with an effectively staffed, structured, and trained OCIO. 

We appreciate the information provided and believe that these are good steps 

toward achieving a more centralized IT operation. We look forward to 

receiving periodic updates as the Deputy Director has promised on progress in 

this area. 

The Deputy Director disagreed with our follow-up determination of limited 

OCIO involvement in business transformation activities, contrary to our third 

prior report recommendation. To counter our finding that the OCIO’s 

awareness and commitment has waned, USCIS provided additional evidence 

of a growing alignment between the Transformation Program and the CIO. 

Specifically, the Deputy Director stated that the IT office has remained 

involved over the past year, even while making the transition to a new CIO. 

Additionally, the Deputy Director described how the new CIO has played a 

vital role in the USCIS Transformation Program, including serving on the 

Leadership Team, advising on IT-related issues and planning, and establishing 

a Federal Enterprise Architecture Branch to complement TPO efforts. The 

Deputy Director outlined future plans, to strengthen such collaboration by 

collocating the OCIO and transformation program offices. 

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ Progress in Modernizing Information Technology 

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We acknowledge the steps that USCIS has taken to assure alignment between 

OCIO and the transformation program since the new CIO was hired in June 

2006. Indeed, our report discusses such recent improvements as related to 

enterprise architecture planning and systems design. However, during the 

course of our review, we found little evidence that the CIO’s role in business 

transformation had been clearly defined. Further, as we state in our report, the 

prior CIO who began the previous IT modernization was not involved in 

business transformation. OCIO had only one full-time representative involved 

in transformation activities: A detailee from a field location, assigned to the 

Technology Solution Team. This team had limited involvement in 

transformation from the outset, as the requirements it needed to support its 

systems design activities had not been gathered. The team ultimately lost 

resources and discontinued its work due to funding cuts. Additional OCIO 

involvement in transformation generally was limited to IT project managers 

working on related efforts, such as infrastructure upgrades and data 

integration. We recognize USCIS’ efforts since then to promote collaboration 

between its IT and business leaders. We are encouraged by the progress 

outlined by the Deputy Director and expect that the growing partnership will 

help ensure that future technologies meet the mission needs of the 

organization effectively. 

The Deputy Director sought to dispel our concern about a lack of progress 

made in process reengineering and pilot implementation, counter to our fourth 

recommendation. The Deputy Director stated that USCIS awarded a contract 

in September 2006 that emphasizes the reengineering of business processes to 

include the technological solutions that will enable USCIS to effectively meet 

performance objectives and target metrics. This effort will involve field office 

participation to ensure that processes are developed in the context for which 

they will be needed. Further, the Deputy Director said that USCIS plans to 

develop its first increment of end-to-end electronic processing by summer 

2007, starting with inter-country adoption benefit requests. The Deputy 

Director went on to clarify a statement in our draft report that $25 million 

allotted to help develop business capabilities was used solely for program 

planning activities instead. According to the Deputy Director, over half of the 

funds were applied to develop new business capabilities, with the remaining 

funds allocated for business requirements development, project management 

support, and transformation program planning. We look forward to learning 

about the results of these planning activities and the funds expended. 

Updating business processes to enable an end-to-end electronic workflow will 

be critical to manage existing and potential increases in immigration benefits 

processing workloads effectively. 

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ Progress in Modernizing Information Technology 

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The Deputy Director agreed with our assessment that USCIS has made 

significant progress in implementing IT infrastructure upgrades, in line with 

our fifth recommendation to replace aging hardware and software. However, 

the Deputy Director said that the bureau’s efforts in this area continue to be 

hampered by resource constraints. We believe it will be critical for USCIS to 

prioritize and determine an approach to funding IT upgrades at remaining sites 

in order to prepare for future transformation initiatives. 

Finally, in response to our follow-up assessment of user participation in 

transformation activities per our sixth recommendation, the Deputy Director 

highlighted USCIS progress in outreach to its field employees through site 

visits. During the past two months, the Deputy Director said, the TPO has 

traveled to various field locations to provide briefings and conduct focus 

groups on transformation. The TPO believes that its progress in completing 

over 25 field visits has further engaged field leadership and staff in the 

transformation program. We agree that such outreach to field sites is key and 

urge USCIS to continue to solicit input from field employees who complete 

most of the day-to-day benefits processing and therefore may have invaluable 

insights to offer. 

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ Progress in Modernizing Information Technology 

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Appendix A 

Scope and Methodology 

We began our follow-up audit by researching new developments and 

information related to USCIS immigration benefits processes and systems 

since our September 2005 report. Specifically, we examined proposed 

immigration reform legislation, which may result in potentially dramatic 

increases in USCIS benefits processing workloads. We reviewed recent 

Government Accountability Office (GAO) and OIG reports that discuss 

USCIS' backlog elimination program and its effort to automate immigration 

files. We also met with the prior USCIS CIO to learn about changes in the 

bureau’s IT modernization efforts and supporting organization structure. In 

line with our compliance follow-up responsibility, we evaluated documents 

that USCIS provided in December 2005 and May 2006, including updated 

action plans and milestones, on bureau activities to address our September 

2005 report recommendations. Using this information, we designed a data 

collection approach, consisting of focused interviews and documentation 

analysis, to conduct our follow-up review. We developed a series of questions 

and discussion topics to facilitate our interviews. 

Subsequently, we conducted a range of interviews at USCIS headquarters and 

field offices and gathered supporting documentation to meet our audit 

objectives. At headquarters, we interviewed senior USCIS business leaders, 

including the new Chief of Staff and Chief Financial Officer, to discuss their 

roles and responsibilities related to USCIS business and IT modernization. 

We were particularly interested in transformation planning, process 

reengineering, requirements gathering, and pilot program implementation 

activities. We collected numerous documents from these officials about 

USCIS accomplishments, current initiatives, and future plans for 

transformation. 

Further, we met with USCIS’ new CIO to discuss this official’s approach to 

managing IT across the organization, as well as ongoing plans for 

organizational restructuring. We interviewed OCIO personnel to learn about 

the office’s efforts to centralize IT personnel and upgrade and standardize IT 

hardware and software bureau-wide. OCIO managers discussed 

accomplishments in implementing the desktop upgrades, while OCIO 

employees discussed the office's involvement with transformation and IT 

investment management processes. To support their comments, these officials 

provided copies of OCIO reorganization plans, as well as documentation 

regarding IT systems, budgets, and operations. 

Additionally, we visited four USCIS field locations where we toured facilities 

and interviewed senior managers, IT specialists, and various other employees. 

We discussed the recent IT staff reorganization, local IT development 

practices, and user involvement and communications with headquarters 

concerning transformation. We gathered information input on current IT 

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ Progress in Modernizing Information Technology 

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Appendix A 

Scope and Methodology 

development initiatives and learned about system requirements specific to 

field offices. We sought to evaluate existing practices for managing IT in the 

field and the extent to which headquarters provides tools needed by field 

users. Where possible, we obtained reports and other materials to support the 

information they provided during the interviews. 

We conducted our review from June 2006 to August 2006 at USCIS 

headquarters in Washington, DC, and at USCIS field locations in Burlington, 

Vermont and Boston, Massachusetts. We performed our work according to 

generally accepted government auditing standards. 

The principal OIG points of contact for this audit are Frank Deffer, Assistant 

Inspector General for Information Technology Audits, and Sondra McCauley, 

Director, Information Management. Major OIG contributors to the audit are 

identified in Appendix C. 

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ Progress in Modernizing Information Technology 

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Appendix B 

Management Response to Draft Report 

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ Progress in Modernizing Information Technology 

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Appendix B 

Management Response to Draft Report 

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ Progress in Modernizing Information Technology 

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Appendix B 

Management Response to Draft Report 

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ Progress in Modernizing Information Technology 

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Appendix C 

Major Contributors to the Report 

Information Management Division 

Sondra McCauley, Director 

Kristen Evans, Audit Manager 

Steve Ressler, Auditor 

Therese Foote, Auditor 

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ Progress in Modernizing Information Technology 

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Appendix D 

Report Distribution 

Department of Homeland Security 

Secretary 

Deputy Secretary 

Chief of Staff 

Deputy Chief of Staff 

Executive Secretariat 

General Counsel 

Chief Information Officer 

Chief Information Security Officer 

USCIS Director 

USCIS Chief Information Officer 

USCIS Audit Liaison 

Chief Privacy Officer 

Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs 

Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs 

DHS OIG Audit Liaison 

Assistant Secretary, for Policy 

Office of Management and Budget 

Chief, Homeland Security Branch 

DHS OIG Budget Examiner 

Congress 

Congressional Oversight and Appropriations Committees, as appropriate 

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ Progress in Modernizing Information Technology 

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Additional Information and Copies 

To obtain additional copies of this report, call the Office of Inspector General 

(OIG) at (202) 254-4100, fax your request to (202) 254-4285, or visit the OIG 

web site at www.dhs.gov/oig. 

OIG Hotline 

To report alleged fraud, waste, abuse or mismanagement, or any other kind 

of criminal or noncriminal misconduct relative to department programs or 

operations, call the OIG Hotline at 1-800-323-8603; write to DHS Office of 

Inspector General/MAIL STOP 2600, Attention: Office of Investigations– 

Hotline, 245 Murray Drive, SW, Building 410, Washington, DC 20528; fax 

the complaint to (202) 254-4292; or email DHSOIGHOTLINE@dhs.gov. The 

OIG seeks to protect the identity of each writer and caller.