Attachment G_Industry Questions and Comments 00002.pdf

Question Number

SOW or RFP Section Number

Page Number Section Title Paragraph Questions and Comments USCIS Response

1 Proposal Instructions, Item 3 Pg 57 of 97

RFP requirement states, "Tables and figures may use a twelve-point or larger font."

Would the government allow a smaller font size of 9 or 10 point for tables and figures?

No, the government will not allow a smaller font size.

Proposal Instructions, Volume 1 - Technical Volume

Pg 55 of 97

RFP requirement states, 'The Technical Volume shall be limited to 40 PowerPoint slides.' Would the government confirm that a Cover Page is not included in the 40 slides?

See updated RFP.

Proposal Instructions, Factor 4 - Corporate Experience

Pg 57 of 97

Can the government confirm the corporate experience slides are not included in the 40-slide limit?

We recommend they be considered outside of the 40-slide limit to allow Factors 1, 2, and 3 adequate space to provide our solution.

The corporate experience slides are included in the slide limit. The RFP has been updated to allow for 50 slides.

4 Attachment F Pg 140 of 143

With regard to attachment F: Offeror Pricing Template- Will the government please clarify whether Optional CLINS 0006, 0007, and 0008 will be included in the government’s calculation of the total evaluated price?

Yes, Optional CLINs 0006, 0007 and 0008 will be included in the total evaluated price. Total Evaluated Price block has been added to Attachment F.

5 Attachment F Pg 140 of 143

With regard to attachment F: Offeror Pricing Template- Will the government please clarify whether Optional CLINS 0006, 0007, and 0008 should be included in the Operations & Maintenance (O&M) CLIN pricing calculation?

As CLINs 0006, 0007, and 0008 are optional, this will cause a difference in price.

See updated Attachment F and SF1449. Separate CLINs has been added for the O&M for the optional equipment.

Volume 2: Business Proposal; Other Information

Pg 59 of 97

In the 'Other Information' section, it states 'The Offeror shall provide any information, or documents required by this notice.'

Can the government specify exactly what information and/or documents are required?

See updated RFP.

U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) Industry Questions and Comments

RFP - Attachment G Should the responses herein conflict with amended RFP, the amended RFP takes precedence.

SOURCE SELECTION INFORMATION - SEE FAR 2.101 AND 3.104

7 SOW, 2.0 Scope SOW Pg 1

In Section 2.0 - Scope, it lists “approximately 550 “cabinet style” machines, 12 “card scan” style machines, and 150 “mobile” style machines). In addition, approximately 131 document authentication systems and 131 check in Kiosks.”

The quantities listed in the SF 1449 and pricing schedule of the RFP are not the same (530 cabinets, 190 mobile units, and 140 Card Scan units).

Can the government confirm which numbers are accurate? Additionally, this makes it seem as though there would be ASCs (listed as 131 currently) that would not have document authentication or check-in kiosks. Is this correct?

The numbers listed on the SF1449 are correct. The lists in section 2.0 - Scope is an approximate number of existing machines.

8 SOW, 6.0 Test and Acceptance SOW Pg 11

"No later than 10 days after award, the contractor shall deliver one (1) complete type of cabinet unit, one (1) complete card scan unit, five (5) complete mobile units and 1 document authentication system (only if purchased in the initial order), to the government"

Are the units required for the technical demo and testing and acceptance considered to be part of the total unit count to be provided or separate from that?

The tech demo units are not included in the total unit count.

USCIS is not purchasing these units. Upon award the winning contractor has the option to repurpose the tech demo unit for testing/total unit count in CLIN 0001. Units required for testing should be considered part of the total unit count.

9 Proposal Instructions Pg 55 of 97

Since this is an email submission, is there a file size limit for Volume 1 and/or 2? USCIS has a firewall limit of 10MB per e-mail, therefore if sending multiple emails; mark each accordingly such as, 1 of X, 2 of X and so on.

10 SF 1449 and Price Sheet N/A

There are discrepancies with the CLINS in the SF 1449 and the Price Sheet (Attachment F).

• CLINS 0003 is listed as ‘Optional’ in SF 1449 but not in the price sheet

• CLIN 0004 is listed as ‘Optional’ in SF 1449 but not in the price sheet

• CLIN 0005 is listed as ‘Optional’ in SF 1449 but not in the price sheet

• CLIN 1006 is listed as ‘Optional’ in SF 1449 but not in the price sheet

• CLIN 2006 is listed as ‘Optional’ in SF 1449 but not in the price sheet

• CLIN 3006 is listed as ‘Optional’ in SF 1449 but not in the price sheet

• CLIN 4006 is listed as ‘Optional’ in SF 1449 but not in the price sheet

• CLIN 4007 (O&M) is listed as 11 months in SF 1449; but 12 months in price sheet

Please confirm that the ‘OPTIONAL LINE ITEM’ markings on Attachment F are correct and that SF 1449 will be updated to match.

See updated Attachment F.

11 N/A N/A Please verify that the Mobile Livescan memory requirements 32GB? Verified the Mobile Livescan

RAM requirement is 32MB. See SOW Section 3.3.2.9

Proposal Instructions, Factor 3 - Technical Capability

Pg 56 of 97

For the live Technical Demonstration, does USCIS expect software to be loaded on the demo systems? If yes, can the government let us know when the software will be provided to allow time to load prior to shipment of the demo systems?

No, USCIS does not expect software to be loaded on the demo systems.

Proposal Instructions, Factor 3 - Technical Capability

Pg 56 of 97

Can the government confirm we are to provide a live technical demonstration of the following:

Cabinet Livescan Mobile Livescan Card Scan

Yes, a live tech demo of the cabinet livescan, mobile livescan, and card scan will be provided.

14 Proposal Instructions, Item 6 Pg 57 of 97

"Offerors may have no more than 3 additional personnel accompanying the program manager."

Will the government provide a dial-in for the oral and technical presentation and allow for other personnel to join the call, in addition to the maximum of four in-person presenters?

No, offerors will not be provide a dial-in number to allow for other personnel to join the demonstration.

15 SOW 3.3.1.8 SOW Pg 4

The original 3.3.1.8 requirement states: The cabinet system’s fingerprint scanner shall be able to slide outward up to eight (8) inches from the cabinet towards an applicant, so that applicants in wheelchairs are easily accommodated for fingerprint capture.

The new 3.3.1.8 requirement states: Fingerprint scanner shall be able to detach from the cabinet, and shall extend a minimum of two feet , so that applicants in wheelchairs are easily accommodated for fingerprint capture.

Since the fingerprint scanner needs to be removeable, is it correct to assume that the requirement for the fingerprint scanner to slide out eight inches no longer applies?

The requirement in 3.3.1.8 is the current requirement - Fingerprint scanner shall be able to detach from the cabinet, and shall extend a minimum of two feet, so that applicants in wheelchairs are easily accommodated for fingerprint capture.

16 Price Sheet N/A

The number of iris scanners (741) does not match the number of mobile and cabinet livescans (720) listed in the pricing volume.

Is it the intention of USCIS to have spares, or will some of the iris scanners be retrofitted to existing cabinets?

The Units for both Configuration and Compatibility Testing and Production Testing are included in the total.

17 SF 1449 and SOW N/A

In the SF 1449, it states that we have 120 days to deliver the livescans, but in section 5.0 of the SOW it states we have 26 weeks to deliver and have operational the livescans after testing and acceptance.

Please confirm which is correct.

SF 1449 has been updated to reflect 26 weeks.

18 SOW 3.3.5 SOW Pg 9 What data entry, forms, and validation will be required for the check-in kiosk, aside from barcode?

Data entry via scanned 2D Barcode is the preferred method.

In the event the barcode/scanner fails, would need to enter a unique identifier - examples include A-number or a receipt number, in order to query NASS. See Section 3.3.5.4

19 SOW 3.3.5 SOW Pg 9 The kiosk is required to be ADA compliant - Does this include sight and hearing impaired, or only mobile impaired?

The kiosk shall be fully ADA compliant.

SOW Section 2.0 along with

SOW Section 3.2.7.

Attachment A, Page 1, “2.0. Scope”, Paragraph 1, Sentences 2-3.

along with

Attachment A, Page 2, “3.2. Functional Specification”

Page 1 of the SOW states:

“The Contractor shall provide Livescan systems that can be integrated with Biometric Enrollment Tool (BET) software. The contractor shall support BET team to configure and set up Livescan system.”

And, Page 2 of the SOW also states:

“Livescan Systems shall be capable of functioning using the USCIS Biometric Enrollment Tool (BET) software.”

Question:

Does USCIS want the Contractor to provide a Software Development Kit (SDK) for the Fingerprint capture, Signature capture, and other devices so the USCIS BET development team can integrate with the hardware, or is a different approach desired?

Yes, USCIS wants the contractor to provide SDK or equivalent, to assist with integration will be required. See updated SOW Section 3.2.16.

SOW Section 3.3.4.16.

Attachment A, Page 8, “3.3.4. Document Authentication System

The SOW states:

“The DA System shall read input from a government-generated barcode prior to identity document being scanned.”

Question:

How will the Contractor know the format of the content within the barcode or the encoding of the data in the barcode?

The 2D bar code can contain but is not limited to: Country of birth, country of citizenship, gender, race, eye color, hair color, height, and weight. The intent is for the scanner to be programmable for functionality on data output.

SOW Section 3.3.5.10.

Attachment A, Page 9, “3.3.5. Electronic Check-In System”

The SOW states:

“The vendor’s electronic check-in system shall read input from a government-generated barcode and search for data contained in the barcode in an agency system to display check-in results to customer.”

Questions:

a) How will the Contractor know the format of the barcode?

b) How will the Contractor know how to connect to the agency system to search for the customer information?

a) See response to #21

b) BET will handle all interactions with other agency systems.

SOW Section 3.3.5.11

Attachment A, Page 9 Check-In System

The SOW states:

“The vendor’s electronic check-in system shall print a ticket containing queue number and category, barcode with appointment and customer information, customer information, and appointment information.”

Question:

How will the Contractor know the format of the barcode?

See response to #21

SOW Section 3.3.5.12.

Attachment A, Page 9, “3.3.5. Check-In System”

The SOW states:

”The vendor’s electronic check-in system shall convey check-in results to agency system.

At a minimum, the system shall store an application identifier, such as the application receipt number, to confirm check-in occurred.

Questions:

a) How will the check-in system communicate with the agency system?

b) What additional information could be communicated?

See response to #22

RFP Section 3.2.d.

RFP page 56, “Factor 4”

The RFP states:

“Factor 4 - The offeror shall provide at least one (1), but up to three (3), recent and relevant Corporate Experience example(s). Recent is defined as performed within the past four (4) years from the date of the RFP issuance. Relevant experience includes experience in which prime offeror acted as a prime and provided biometric hardware and in person maintenance across the United States in multiple locations (at least 100 different locations) to state and federal government customers, with Capturing fingerprints that meet FBI’s quality threshold and experience providing hardware that captures fingerprints that meet FBI’s quality threshold and captures high quality face photographs.”

Questions:

(a) Can the vendor submit Corporate Experience examples for relevant services where the vendor was the Prime for deployments at more than 100 locations across multiple US State/Local agencies that submitted data to the FBI biometric systems? (But each agency was part of a separate contract.)

(b) Can the vendor submit Corporate Experience examples in which the vendor worked directly with a US Federal Agency to provide relevant services in coordination with a Prime contractor.

(a) No, it must be from the same contract.

(b) See updated RFP.

SOW Section 1.0. SOW page 1, “Background”

The SOW states:

“The USCIS uses Livescan electronic fingerprint scanning systems to electronically capture and submit applicant fingerprint images to the FBI and OBM.”

Questions:

(a) Which Livescan vendor provided the hardware originally, including the cabinet.

b) What Livescan hardware models are currently deployed. (This will help us know if your proposed Livescan hardware, or similar newer models, have previously been integrated with BET.)

(a) Idemia is the Prime Contractor

(b) USCIS will not be providing the currently deployed Livescan hardware models.

SOW Section 3.3.1. SOW page 3, “Cabinet System”

The cabinet specifications are very detailed in this section.

Questions:

(a) Do you have a cabinet vendor identified that provides a cabinet that meets all these requirements? If so, can you please provide this vendor name.

(b) Can we work with this cabinet vendor as a subcontractor in our Proposal?

(a) No, USICS does not have cabinet vendor identified. (b) N/A

RFP Cover Page, Item 8.

along with

RFP Section 3.

RFP page 1, “Offer due date” along with:

RFP page 55, “Questions”

The Offer Due Date is listed as:

6/10/2022 1700 ET

along with

The Question submission deadline is:

6/02/2022 3pm ET

Question:

When does DHS anticipate providing answers to all the submitted questions so that the vendors have adequate time to incorporate this information into their proposal? Less than 1 full week does not seem adequate.

USCIS will publish the response to questions ASAP. The Offeror Due date will be extended to June 22, 2022 1700 ET.

Standard Form A

(SF1449)

Page 1 of 143 / Block #8 Offeror Due Date/Local Time

Would USCIS kindly consider extending the “Offeror Due Date” by two weeks, to June 24th? This will allow offerors the time to process and update content based on responses to RFP questions.

See response to Q28.

RFP Part II Page 55 of 97

3. Proposal Instructions

In the FINAL RFP, Volume 1, Factor 4–Corporate Experience has merged with and essentially replaced Volume 2, Factor 5—Past Performance. The result is Offerors need to provision up to three, 2-page corporate experience examples within the Technical Volume 1 and this will significantly reduce the page capacity needed to present technical, integration, O&M, deployment, and other information.

Will USCIS kindly consider allowing the placement of high-level summaries of Corporate Experience in the Technical Volume and allow Offerors to use the Business Proposal section to provide lengthier, detailed Corporate Experience/Past Performance information, as requested in the draft RFP.

No, but see response to Q3 for increased slide allowance.

RFP Part II Page 57 of 97

3. Proposal Instructions, #3. For Factor 3

Does the specified font/formatting apply to all proposal sections, including Volume 2? Yes, the specified font/formatting applies to all proposal sections including Volume 2.

RFP Part II Page 57 of 97

3. Proposal Instructions, #3. For Factor 3

A 12-point font is prohibitive when used with graphics, infographics, labels and other visual elements in PowerPoint. Would it be acceptable to USCIS if smaller font sizes are used within graphic elements as long as they are easily readable on the required printed document?

No, it is not acceptable if smaller font sizes are used.

33 RFP Part II Page 55 of 97 Proposal Instructions

If document file size exceeds transferrable limits, can it be submitted to USCIS in identified parts?

See response to Q9.

34 Attachment A - SOW Section 3.3.1 Cabinet System #3.3.1.8

Is it USCIS’ intent that the fingerprint scanner completely detaches (except for the USB cable) from the cabinet? Or is a slide out feature (minimum of two feet) from the cabinet an option?”

See response to Q15.

RFP Part IV, Volume II, Business Proposal, No. a

Page 59 of 97 Volume II -- Business Proposal No. a.

This section states: “The offeror shall provide at least one (1) but up to three (3), recent and relevant Corporate Experience example(s).”

Is it acceptable to provide the Corporate Experience of a subcontractor if they were/are the prime contractor for the provided reference?

To the extent the offeror is requesting if the Government will consider the Corporate Experience of a subcontractor, the answer is

no. See RFP Section 3 Proposal Instruction Paragraph 2. d.

36 RFP Part II

Page 59 of 97 Volume II – Business Proposal

b. Other Information

Would the government please consider allowing an ‘Executive Summary’ as part of the Volume II Business Proposal submission that details high-level teaming arrangements, technical capabilities, and other pertinent information about the prime vendor and all subcontractors? The Executive Summary would allow vendors to augment the basic information requested within the cover page to articulate each vendor’s value to the USCIS mission.

No, the government will not allow and Executive Summary as part of Volume II.

RFP Attachment F Offeror Pricing Template

N/A We perceive materials and services that are not clearly delineated within the CLINS. To address these items, is it permissible for Offeror to modify the Pricing Template if needed?

To the extent your question pertains to alternative line item proposals, they are permitted as per FAR 52.204-22 and FAR 52.212-1(e).

38 Attachment A - SOW Page 5 - Cabinet System 3.3.1.26, Page 7 - Card Scan System 3.3.3.4, Page 10 - 4.0 Delivery

When will USCIS provide the referenced “appropriate USCIS Windows image” for the vendor to load onto the various systems?

Windows image will be made available post-contract award.

Current version in use is Win10 20H2.

39 Attachment A - SOW Page 11

5.0 Shipping

USCIS requires the use of G-504 Form, report of properly shipped/received. Can USCIS kindly provide a sample of that form, so we can better understand the level of effort required for the shipping process? Also, is this an electronic online form?

Yes, a copy will be provided. See attachment H.

No.

40 Standard Form A

(SF1449)

Pages 5-7 of SF 1449 and Page 1 of SOW

The quantities mentioned in Section 2.0 of the SOW do not match those on pages 5-7 of SF1449. Can USCIS please clarify?

Please see below.

See response to Q7.

SOW SF1449

Livescan systems (approximately 550 “cabinet style” machines, 12 “card scan” style machines, and 150 “mobile” style machines)

#0003 - Cabinet System (Livescan) –

530 EA

#0005 – Card Scanning System –

140 EA

#1001 – Cabinet System (Livescan)

– ? EA

In addition, approximately 131 document authentication systems and 131 check in Kiosks.

#0007 – Electronic Check-in System (Kiosk) – 129 EA

#1005 Electronic Check-in System (Kiosk) -- ? EA

#2005 -- Electronic Check-in System (Kiosk) -- ? EA

#3005 -- Electronic Check-in System (Kiosk) -- ? EA #4005 -- Electronic Check-in System (Kiosk) -- ? EA

41 RFP Part II N/A Instructions for proprietary marking of RFP response documents are not specified in the RFP. Can USCIS please provide guidance?

Any proprietary markings will be made in accordance with FAR 52.215-1 (e)(1)(2)

RFP Attachment F Offeror Pricing Template

Pages 1-2

The IDIQ identifies the base ordering period for CLIN’s 0001-0009 with quantities. The optional CLIN’s 1001-6 to 4001-6 are noted without quantities. Should the vendor enter Qty. 1 with corresponding pricing for these optional purchase periods?

If not, will the offeror provide quantities for these CLINS?

See Attachment update

RFP Attachment F Offeror Pricing Template

Pages 1-2

The IDIQ does not specify a product “Type” or specific purchase Quantity for each of the optional CLIN’s 1007, 2007, 3007, 4007, and 5001. Should the vendor total all CLIN product types and quantities listed in the base year to SUM a total O&M price listed for each 12-month period?

If additional CLIN Types and Quantities are purchased in the optional years, how should the O&M support be itemized as there are no quantities listed?

Is it acceptable for the offeror to modify the cost proposal to accommodate the entries or will USCIS provide an updated Pricing Template?

Optional O&M CLINs have been added to the SF1449 and Attachment F.

See response to Q37.

RFP Attachment F

Offeror Pricing Template

#0002 AD

and #0002 AE

Based on subsequent CLINs/tables, it appears CLIN #0002AD & 0002AE are duplicates with the same Type and Quantity. Please confirm if CLIN 0002AE should read “Electronic Check in System (Kiosk)? If so, should the offeror modify the cost proposal to accommodate the correction or will USCIS provide an updated Pricing Template?

See updated Attachment F.

Sheet1