Project to digitize visa processing encounters roadblocks

A program to computerize visa processing has run into management difficulties that could jeopardize operations at the Homeland Security Department's U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services bureau, according to the DHS chief information officer.

Last week, the nonpartisan Brookings Institution think tank released a report counseling the Obama administration to reform U.S. immigration, without waiting for Congress to act, by digitizing visa processing and by granting priority to skilled workers over family members. Since 2008, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and contractor IBM have been developing the so-called Transformation project to consolidate and automate the government's mainly paper-based filing systems for all immigration cases.

But DHS CIO Richard Spires on Dec. 29, 2010, gave the program poor performance marks that resulted in Transformation receiving a 2.5 overall rating on a 10-point scale on the IT Dashboard, a governmentwide score card that tracks the progress of major computer investments. The dashboard's website stated DHS had spent $613 million on the project as of December.

"The USCIS Transformation program, as currently planned and managed, presents significant risk to the USCIS organization's ability to perform its mission," Homeland Security officials wrote in comments on the site.

Those dangers include an overdependence on contractors and an overly ambitious timeline.

"The DHS CIO found that the size of the development contractor team (over 500 staff at peak) and composition of the [Program Management Office] (over-reliance on contractor PMO support rather than federal employees) represents a significant risk in effectively managing the program," officials noted. Spires also labeled the aggressiveness of the project's schedule as a significant risk.

DHS and USCIS officials are addressing these problems by seeking an independent assessment of the project and possibly bringing on oversight staff from the paper-based system to ensure the transition goes smoothly.

According to the Brookings report, upgrading the visa system would reduce errors and delays that prevent foreign students and professionals, including technology workers, from taking the first step toward U.S. citizenship and contributing to the nation's economy.

The timetable for rollout of Transformation, last updated Dec. 16 on the USCIS website, stated that the new system will be able to handle certain nonimmigrant benefit forms by fall 2011. The applications include Temporary Protected Status (I-821) forms and Extension/Stay of Nonimmigrant Status (I-539) papers, as well as Employment Authorization (I-765) and Travel Documents (I-131). Additional nonimmigrant applications will move online in 2012.

A program assessment posted on the dashboard after a July review details actions USCIS officials are taking to address concerns about the timeline and the high proportion of contract workers.

Spires asked managers to follow a segmented schedule strategy that resembles one the White House recommended for all agencies in December as part of a 25-point plan for overhauling IT purchases. The administration's approach hinges on launching system features every six months for federal staff to test, instead of the current practice of forging ahead with a billion-dollar, multiyear development cycle.

The Transformation evaluation stated the "DHS CIO recommended revising [the] program schedule to roll out capabilities in a more incremental manner, demonstrating success in delivery of capability before moving on to downstream phases." USCIS officials are working on resolving this concern, the report added.

In addition, Spires advised USCIS to recruit additional federal employees for the program "to achieve a more proper fed-to-contractor ratio." The program has made significant progress in finding more government staff, according to the report. Officials also have crafted a plan to provide better contractor oversight and are hiring a dedicated program manager for the IT work.

On Friday, USCIS press secretary Chris Bentley said the bureau "is currently on budget as we move toward deploying the first phase of our Transformation effort by the fall of this year. Once implemented, the new system will provide customers -- through Web-based accounts similar to online banking -- with a single, electronic means to submit and track applications."