U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)

Changes to Requirements Affecting H-2A Nonimmigrants and Changes to Requirements Affecting H-2B Nonimmigrants and Employers Final Rules

December 18, 2008. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is publishing this Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) in conjunction with two Final Rules titled Changes to Requirements Affecting H-2A Nonimmigrants and Changes to Requirements Affecting H-2B Nonimmigrants and Employers.

Alien Change of Address Card (AR-11)

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is required to track address changes of individuals who have a pending or recently approved application, petition, or request form. USCIS is updating this Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) for the Alien Change of Address Card (AR-11) to account for the modernization of the data systems that track change of address information. USCIS is in the process of modernizing several systems, including AR-11, by retiring their mainframe applications and transitioning their operations and functions to a cloud environment. USCIS uses three independent systems to collect change of address information from individuals.

Correspondence Handling and Management Planning System (CHAMPS)

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) operates the Correspondence Handling and Management Planning System (CHAMPS) at the Texas Service Center (TSC), which is designed to facilitate workflow management, production evaluation, and time and attendance functions.

DHS/USCIS/PIA-008 Enterprise Service Bus 2 (ESB 2)

USCIS is updating and reissuing this Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) to document the migration of the Lockbox Intake Service (LIS), Adoption Orchestration Service (AOS), Visa Support Services Project (VSSP), and Refugee Asylum Support Service (RASS) from ESB 2 to EGIS. USCIS fully decommissioned Central Index System Support System (CIN-SS) and no longer needs to use its services. E-Verify no longer uses the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA) Hub Service (AHS), but uses the Verification Service to receive data from the National Law Enforcement Telecommunications System (NLETS). USCIS plans to update both the ESB 2 and EGIS PIAs to document the changes to these systems as changes occur. USCIS is updating this Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) to evaluate the privacy risks and mitigations associated with the collection, use, and dissemination of personally identifiable information (PII) by the integrated subsystem services hosted by ESB 2.

FOIA/PA Information Processing System (FIPS)

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), a component of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), operates the Freedom of Information Act/Privacy Act (FOIA/PA) Information Processing System (FIPS) to process Freedom of Information Act and Privacy Act requests from any person or entity requesting access to USCIS records. FIPS is being decommissioned and a new system is being designed and developed, named the FOIA Immigration Records System (FIRST), which will ultimately replace FIPS. USCIS is releasing a public-facing portal of FIRST for requesters who choose to receive records electronically, enabling the viewing and downloading of responsive FOIA/PA records.

DHS/USCIS/PIA 009 Central Index System

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) maintains the Central Index System (CIS). CIS is a repository of electronic data that contains an index of basic data elements related to an individual as he or she passes through the immigration process. CIS contains information on the status of applicants and petitioners seeking immigrant and non-immigrant benefits, including: lawful permanent residents, naturalized citizens, United States border crossers, aliens who illegally entered the United States, aliens who have been issued employment authorization documents, individuals who petitioned for benefits on behalf of family members, and other individuals subject to the provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). Recently USCIS migrated records from a legacy mainframe database to a cloud platform and renamed legacy CIS to CIS 2. CIS2 continues to look and function like the CIS mainframe application, with subtle formatting enhancements.

Written testimony of USCIS Acting Director for a House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Oversight and Management Efficiency hearing titled “Immigration Benefits Vetting: Examining Critical Weaknesses in USCIS Systems”

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Acting Director Lori Scialabba addresses information technology systems at USCIS.

DHS/USCIS/PIA 040 Center Adjudication System Electronic Processing

DHS/USCIS/PIA-040 Center Adjudication System Electronic Processing

DHS/FEMA/PIA-026 Operational Data Store and Enterprise Data Warehouse

ODS and EDW replicate source system-provided data from other operational FEMA systems and provides a simplified way of producing Agency reports for internal use as well for external stakeholders.

Exercising Prosecutorial Discretion with Respect to Individuals Who Came to the United States as Children and with Respect to Certain Individuals Who Are the Parents of U.S. Citizens or Permanent Residents

Exercising Prosecutorial Discretion with Respect to Individuals Who Came to the United States as Children and with Respect to Certain Individuals Who Are the Parents of U.S. Citizens or Permanent Residents