Department of
Homeland Security (DHS)

U.S. Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology (US-VISIT) Program Support

Challenge:

Establish US-VISIT’s program-level Data Governance and management capability, as needed to effectively instantiate policy, processes, empowered stakeholders and technology to more effectively address data issues hand-in-hand with the Immigration and Border Management extended enterprise.   US-VISIT, by virtue of its mission, has a responsibility to broker (collect, transform, analyze, segment, summarize, and disseminate) information shared across other organizational elements (OEs) within and outside of DHS.   Furthermore, US-VISIT has a responsibility to share this information as a "data confident" organization.   The mission of US-VISIT is central to providing trusted operational biographic and biometric data to determine whether an individual should be prohibited from entering the United States; can receive, extend, change, or adjust immigration status; should be apprehended or detained for law enforcement action; or needs special protection/attention.  

Solution:

KGS partnered with the US-VISIT Office of Mission Operations Management in identifying and implementing US-VISIT’s Data Governance and management goals, objectives, and strategies.  Project phases include assessment and planning, laying the foundation for Data Governance in accordance with a tailored road map for US-VISIT within the Immigration and Border Management extended enterprise, and evolving to maturity.   Key facets to our approach include extensive stakeholder engagement and outreach; application of our Enterprise Data Management mature policies, processes, and work aids for Data Governance; leveraging existing building block initiatives, products, and working groups; establishment of touch points to other key process and management areas; metadata management; and performance measurement.

Results:

As a result of KGS’s efforts the US-VISIT Program’s Data Governance capability is facilitating, aligning and integrating with the vital information and data management practices of other DHS data stakeholder organizations.  US-VISIT is heavily engaged in communicating Immigration Data Standards through a DHS-Wide partnership with other Immigration and Border Management community organizational elements.   OEs included in this particular effort are the Office of Immigration Statistics (OIS), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Unites States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).  US-VISIT Program’s Data Governance team is also working closely with the DHS CIO’s Enterprise Data Management Office (EDMO).