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GAO-07-1013R 1 (2007-07-17)

handle is hein.gao/gaocrptaukp0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Sai Accountability * Integrity * Reliability United States Government Accountability Office Washington, DC 20548 July 17, 2007 Honorable David E. Price Chairman Honorable Harold Rogers Ranking Minority Member Subcommittee on Homeland Security Committee on Appropriations United States House of Representatives Honorable Robert C. Byrd Chairman Honorable Thad Cochran Ranking Minority Member Subcommittee on Homeland Security Committee on Appropriations United States Senate Subject: USCIS Transformation: Improvements to Performance, Human Capital, and Information Technology Management Needed as Modernization Proceeds The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) adjudicates benefits requests and petitions for individuals seeking to become citizens of the United States or to study, live, or work in this country. However, as previously reported,' USCIS' ability to annually process more than 7 million benefit applications has been hindered by inefficient, paper-based processes, resulting in: * a backlog that peaked in 2004 at more than 3.8 million cases, * tens of thousands of files that are missing or not easily located, * difficulties in verifying the identity of applicants and providing other government agencies with the information necessary to identify criminals and potential terrorists, and * benefits that were issued to applicants whose eligibility and potential risk to national security were not yet determined. USCIS also faces a potentially significant increase in workload as a result of proposed legislation for a guest worker program, which could further add to its performance problems. 'Department of Homeland Security, Office of Inspector General, USCIS Faces Challenges in Modernizing Information Technology, OIG-05-41 (Washington, D.C.: September 2005). GAO-07-1013R USCIS Transformation