News Release: DHS awards $200K
DHS S&T awarded $200,000 to SecureKey Technologies based in Toronto, Canada to adapt its identity network solution to support the issuance and validation of digital credentials.
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DHS S&T awarded $200,000 to SecureKey Technologies based in Toronto, Canada to adapt its identity network solution to support the issuance and validation of digital credentials.
On January 9, 2019, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to share biometric and associated biographic data on refugees seeking to resettle in the United States. DHS and UNHCR entered into this MOU to expand the scope of the existing information shared through the State Department to support the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP). Under the 2019 MOU, UNHCR is now directly sharing biometric and associated biographic information with DHS Office of Biometric Identity Management (OBIM) Automated Biometric Identification System (IDENT) (soon to be replaced by Homeland Advanced Recognition Technology (HART)). The electronic transmission of data between UNHCR and IDENT/HART is facilitated by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Enterprise Service Bus (ESB). USCIS is conducting this Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) to evaluate the privacy risks associated with collecting and using biometric and associated biographic UNHCR data for identity verification purposes. This PIA is limited to covering the collection and use of UNHCR data for identity verification purposes, as well as to identify any incident of potential identity fraud, by DHS and other entities authorized by the MOU. Any additional uses of UNHCR data will be addressed in a future PIA.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is migrating its information technology systems to the cloud environment to align with the Cloud Smart initiative. To support this modernization effort, USCIS launched the Enterprise Gateway and Integration Services (EGIS) to connect and share data from different systems.
ZADD develops innovative solutions and fosters collaborations to protect the Nation’s agriculture and public health sectors against high-consequence foreign animal, emerging, and zoonotic disease threats.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), a component of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), developed the Content Management Services (CMS), a cloud-based platform for use across USCIS to manage immigration-related electronic content and services. CMS serves as a backend repository of all digital immigration-related content to be accessed and retrieved through a user interface called STACKS (not an acronym), or through separate USCIS interconnected systems. USCIS is conducting this Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) to analyze the privacy impacts associated with CMS, including STACKS, because this system collects, uses, stores, and disseminates personally identifiable information (PII).
On February 14, 2019, the Office of the Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman (Ombudsman) hosted a teleconference with speakers from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to discuss how the agency is changing the way it provides support services to applicants. USCIS is calling this initiative the Information Services Modernization Program, or InfoMod for short.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) uses Data Streaming Services as intermediary messengers to effectively and efficiently move data among USCIS systems in near real-time. The use of these services allows USCIS to transport data without the technical and administrative burden usually placed on the operating systems. USCIS is publishing this Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) to evaluate the privacy risks and mitigations associated with the transport of personally identifiable information (PII) using these services.
Earlier this month, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced its plan to release a revised Form I-539 and Form I-539A, Supplemental Information for Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status (edition date 02/04/19) on March 11, 2019. The revised form makes several changes, including the addition of signature and biometrics fee requirements.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), a component of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), operates the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Immigration Records System (FIRST) to process FOIA requests, Privacy Act requests, and Privacy Act amendment requests from any eligible person or entity requesting access to or amendment of USCIS records. FIRST serves two purposes: (1) FIRST has a public-facing portal that allows members of the public to submit FOIA/Privacy Act requests online and allows USCIS to electronically deliver responsive records, and (2) FIRST is an internal case management system for USCIS. USCIS is conducting this Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) to analyze the privacy impacts associated with USCIS’ use of FIRST, as well as the information collected, used, maintained, and disseminated.
After close collaboration with USCIS, in November 2018, Director Cissna approved a change in policy that upheld the original interpretation while giving meaning to the instructions: "If you file Form I-131, Application for Travel Document, to request an advance parole document and depart the United States without possession of an advance parole document that is valid for the entire time you are abroad, your Form I-131 will be considered abandoned. At times, an individual may have an approved advance parole document while a second one is pending. Individuals may travel on the approved advance parole document, provided the document is valid for the entire duration of their time abroad. The pending Form I-131 will not be considered abandoned in this situation." Our office was pleased that our tenacity, coupled with a strong partnership with our colleagues at USCIS, helped the Ombudsman’s Office make a meaningful impact on the stakeholders in our immigration system.