Thread: Report: DHS spends $1B to digitize, only 1 immigration form available online

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Published November 09, 2015FoxNews.com

A Department of Homeland Security agency spent more than $1 billion in taxpayer money to digitize immigration paperwork -- and after a decade of work, only has managed to put one document online.

The Washington Post reported Monday that officials at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services still are only able to offer a single form -- out of nearly 100 -- for online applications, and make a single fee payable electronically.

All other forms can still only be filed with paper.

The report sheds light on a struggling effort that not only has frustrated immigrant applicants but raises national security concerns and could put at risk any effort to overhaul immigration policies.

The project was originally supposed to be done in 2013, for a half-billion-dollar price tag.

Now, according to the Post, it isn't projected to be done for another four years and could cost over $3 billion.

"It's a huge albatross around our necks," Kenneth Palinkas, former head of the USCIS union, told the Post.

The report from the Post described a startling sequence of mismanagement in the program.

According to the report, agency officials did not finish a basic plan for the new system until three years after the initial contract was given to IBM, rendering part of the plan outdated before work began.

Only three forms were ever digitized, but two needed to be taken down after problems. The only available online form is an application for renewing or replacing a lost green card.

According to the Post, even that system has had problems and delays.

While DHS officials acknowledge these setbacks, they say the department has abandoned earlier plans and is moving toward a new system based in part on cloud computing, according to the Post.

"We took a fresh start -- a fix that required an overhaul of the development process -- from contracting to development methodology to technology," a USCIS spokesman told the newspaper.

The spokesman said they're "confident we are moving in the right direction."

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015...ilable-online/

By Mario Trujillo - 11/11/15 01:22 PM EST

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) chief is arguing that his agency is using the techniques of major technology companies to turn around its plan to transfer all immigration applications online, an undertaking that is years past due and billions of dollars over budget.

DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson issued a strong defense of the 2006 “Transformation Program” on Wednesday after The Washington Post reported that only one of about 100 application forms is available online and only one of 40 fees can be paid online.

Johnson did not contest any of the facts in the Post article but said “the story fails to recognize” the progress the agency has made since 2012 to turn the program around.

“This is the same approach used in leading technology companies such as Netflix, Amazon, and Etsy, and large companies like Target, Nordstrom, Disney, and Capital One,” Johnson said.

The “reboot” started in 2012. Still, only one application — to renew or replace a green card — can be processed online. Similarly, only one fee — paid by lawful permanent residents immigrating to the country — can be paid online.

Johnson said that the single form accounts for 16 percent of all immigration processing. More forms will be added to the online portal by the end of 2016, he said, which are expected to account for 41 percent of all filings.

Johnson acknowledged the past delays and budget concerns.

IBM was the sole contractor when the project started, and the Post story notes that the Government Accountability Office (GAO) blamed the government for shoddy planning, while agency officials blamed IBM for future failures.

The department, which houses U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, has since ended its relationship with IBM and moved to multiple contractors. It also transitioned to open-sourced software and is developing software in small “agile” increments, instead of longer sequential phases.

“Rather than deem the original program ‘too big to fail’ and continue further down the wrong path, DHS made the hard decision to fundamentally reboot the program around the latest industry best practices and approaches,” Johnson said. “We pulled the plug on the original program, phased out the contractor, and moved to a different approach.”

The Post reported that the program was pushed along years ago despite concerns about President Obama’s reelection and push for immigration reform, which would have unleashed a spate of new applicants who would have benefited from a streamlined system.

The move online is now expected to be completed in March 2019 and cost $3.1 billion. According to the GAO, that is four years past the initial deadline and $1 billion over budget.

As recently as this May, the GAO recommended that the department improve governance and oversight of the program to make sure it keeps with the updated timeline and budget.

http://thehill.com/policy/technology...gration-system