Attachment B - SOW.pdf

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (DHS)

U.S. CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION

STATEMENT OF WORK (SOW)

FOR

VENUE RENTAL TO HOST THE MONTHLY NATURALIZATION CEREMONY

1.0 GENERAL

1.1 BACKGROUND

United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is an administrative federal agency that oversees lawful immigration to the United States. The agency is a component of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

USCIS is responsible to administer and determine the eligibility of individuals who wish to become U.S. citizens through the naturalization process. Naturalization is the process by which U.S.

citizenship is granted to a foreign citizen or national after he or she fulfills the requirements established by Congress in the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). If approved, USCIS will schedule the individuals to take the Oath of Allegiance to the United States of America at an administrative naturalization ceremony.

The agency has multiple field offices nation-wide which process the applications of individuals who wish to become U.S. citizens. Sacramento Field Office (SAC) is a component of USCIS. The office is located at 650 Capitol Mall, Sacramento, California 95814 and has jurisdiction over 15 counties in Northern California.

1.2 SCOPE

Sacramento Field Office serves a diversified population of the State of California. Each month, the field office naturalizes approximately 1,000 individuals at the naturalization ceremony. It is the Sacramento Field Office’s goal to conduct the naturalization ceremony to preserve the importance, dignity, and solemnity of the occasion. The scope of this goal includes all aspects of a standard administrative naturalization ceremony program:

• Play “Faces of America;”

• Play the national anthem, The Star-Spangled Banner, instrumental or vocal version;

• Deliver opening (welcome) remarks by Master of Ceremonies—a USCIS federal employee;

• Announce the “call of countries;”

• Administer the Oath of Allegiance to the naturalization candidates;

• Deliver keynote remarks (USCIS leadership or guest speaker);

• Play Presidential, DHS Secretary’s, or Director of USCIS’ congratulatory remarks;

• Recite the Pledge of Allegiance;

• Deliver concluding remarks (Master of Ceremonies or USCIS field leadership); and

• Present the Certificate of Naturalization by USCIS officers.

file://hqnas/SHARED/G-A/G-ACS/CAAT%20Team/TOOLBOX/SCOPE%20PARAGRAPHS.doc

**The Contractor is not responsible for the development of a standard administrative naturalization ceremony program; conducting the program; videotaping the ceremony, or providing the printed materials and publications used during the ceremony:

• U.S. Citizenship Welcome Packet (including the President’s Congratulatory Letter);

• American flags;

• Citizen’s Almanac;

• Pocket-size Declaration of Independence and Constitution of the United States.

1.3 OBJECTIVE

Sacramento Field Office is committed to elevating the importance of the naturalization ceremony as a venue to recognize the rights, responsibilities, and importance of citizenship and provide access to services for new citizens. The naturalization ceremony is the culmination of the naturalization process. Sacramento Field Office aims to make administrative naturalization ceremonies positive and memorable moments in the lives of the participants. Sacramento Field Office honors the Oath of Allegiance with policies and practices that reflect the importance of the occasion.

The Sacramento Field Office is seeking quotations from a venue that has the capacity to host up to 2,000 individuals, including USCIS personnel, for its once a month administrative naturalization ceremony. Although the Sacramento Field Office prefers to conduct the naturalization ceremony in one single event, the Sacramento Field Office will consider the option to split the ceremony into multiple events, not to exceed 3, on the same date to accommodate up to 2,000 people.

Additionally, this venue shall have the ability to provide and/or house lighting system, audiovisual system, and sound system. The venue shall be located within a 40-mile radius from the Sacramento Field Office located at 650 Capitol Mall, Sacramento, CA 95814.

Accessibility: The venue shall have either onsite parking spaces available; have parking lots/garages within a quarter mile of the venue; and/or be within a two-block radius of mass transit (bus, train).

2.0 GOVERNMENT TERMS & DEFINITIONS

2.1 CO – Contracting Officer

2.2 COR – Contracting Officer’s Representative

2.3 DHS – Department of Homeland Security

2.4 USCIS – United States Citizenship and Immigration Services

2.5 SAC – Sacramento Field Office

2.6 SOW – Statement of Work

2.7 INA – Immigration and Nationality Act

3.0 APPLICABLE CONDITIONS

3.1 PROTECTION OF INFORMATION

Contractor access to unclassified and/or classified information is not currently required under this SOW. However, the Contractor and all employees shall make all possible effort to safeguard the government information against unauthorized disclosure or dissemination.

Contractors will be required to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement.

If the contractor inadvertently encounters unclassified and/or classified information, they will immediately report the discovered material to the CO and/or COR immediately and secure the material until the CO/COR retrieves the information. When reporting the incident, it should include the following:

The Contractor must provide a written report to USCIS immediately (within two hours) of discovering the information:

a. Narrative, detailed description of the events surrounding the suspected loss/compromise.

b. Date, time, and location of the incident.

c. Type of information compromised.

d. Contractor's assessment of the likelihood that the information was compromised or lost and the reasons behind the assessment.

e. Names of person(s) involved, including victim, Contractor employee/sub-Contractor and any witnesses.

3.2 DOCUMENT FORMAT

The Contractor shall provide all written reports, important communications, invoices, and receipts in electronic format using applications that are compatible with USCIS workstations (Window XP, Window 10, Microsoft Office applications, Adobe PDF).

3.3 HEALTH & SAFETY

During the COVID-19 pandemic, USCIS will strictly adhere to all local and state health guidelines and requirements. All USCIS personnel, naturalization candidates, and their guests will wear face mask when accessing the Contractor’s facilities. Any person without a face mask shall not be admitted into naturalization ceremony. This requirement also applies to all Contractor personnel whenever applicable. At the ceremony, USCIS will require all naturalization candidates and their guests to maintain at least 6 feet social distance at all times, unless they are from the same household.

The Contractor shall be responsible to provide supplies (i.e. masking tape, floor stickers, etc.) to assist with social distancing requirement. Additionally, the Contractor shall make hand sanitizers and/or washing stations with hand soap available to USCIS personnel and its guests during the ceremony.

3.4 PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

The primary place of performance will be the Contractor’s facility where the naturalization ceremony will be held.

In normal circumstances, SAC prefers to host monthly administrative naturalization ceremony indoors. For this base period (1 January 2021 – 31 December 2021), SAC also accepts any proposal to host the ceremony outdoors (i.e. parking lot, drive-through track, land, etc.) to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission. Whether the quote provides indoor or outdoor ceremonies during the dates of January 2021 – December 2021, this will have no effect on the evaluation of your quote as technically acceptable provided the quote is in compliance with Task 5.8 for outdoor events.

This SOW is written for an indoor ceremony. All terms and conditions, as outlined in this SOW, shall be applied to any proposal for an indoor ceremony. For any proposal for an outdoor ceremony, the same terms and conditions shall apply with the exception of visual equipment and/or lighting system that can be waived on a case-by-case basis.

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

The period of performance for this contract is a total of twelve (12) months, January 1, 2021 – December 31, 2021.

The duration of the ceremony is estimated to last approximately five (5) hours which also accounts for ceremony check-in process, distribution of ceremony materials, and preparation of the ceremony program. The venue shall be accessible to USCIS personnel on the day of the naturalization ceremony, at minimum, from 6:00 AM PST to 12:00 PM PST, in order to set up and close out the ceremony program. If multiple ceremonies are to be conducted, USCIS shall have access to the venue for a minimum of nine (9) hours on the day of the ceremonies.

Sacramento Field Office will provide the Contractor with three (3) preferred dates for each month.

The dates to be tentatively scheduled. The Contractor shall make all effort to secure the first option whenever possible. If the date needs to be changed after the contract is awarded, it shall be mutually agreed upon between USCIS field leadership and the Contractor. Additionally, the Contractor shall not schedule any conventions or conferences in conjunction with the ongoing naturalization ceremony.

Primary Secondary Tertiary 26 January 2021 27 January 2021 28 January 2021 23 February 2021 24 February 2021 25 February 2021 24 March 2021 25 March 2021 23 March 2021 21 April 2021 22 April 2021 20 April 2021 25 May 2021 26 May 2021 27 May 2021 23 June 2021 24 June 2021 22 June 2021 27 July 2021 28 July 2021 29 July 2021 25 August 2021 26 August 2021 24 August 2021 22 September 2021 23 September 2021 21 September 2021 26 October 2021 27 October 2021 28 October 2021 29 November 2021 23 November 2021 22 November 2021 29 December 2021 28 December 2021 30 December 2021

3.5 TRAVEL

Contractor travel shall not be required for the requirements under this SOW.

4.0 PERSONNEL

4.1 USCIS PERSONNEL

Only USCIS officers shall perform the ceremony check-in process before the start of the ceremony.

Additionally, only USCIS leadership and officers may present the Certificates of Naturalization to the naturalized U.S. citizens. Sacramento Field Office shall determine the ceremony program, including the order of events, the order of speakers, and the seating arrangement of the speakers on stage.

4.2 CONTRACTOR PROJECT MANAGER

The Contractor shall provide a Project Manager who shall be responsible for all Contractor work performed under this SOW. The Project Manager shall be a single point of contact for the Contracting Officer and the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR). The name, email and phone number of the Project Manager, and the name(s) of any alternate(s) who shall act for the Contractor in the absence of the Project Manager, shall be provided to the USCIS as part of the Contractor's proposal. The Project Manager is further designated as Key by the Government.

During any absence of the Project Manager, only one alternate shall have full authority to act for the Contractor on all matters relating to work performed under this contract. The Project Manager and all designated alternates shall be able to read, write, speak and understand English.

Additionally, the Contractor shall not replace the Project Manager without prior notification and approval from the Contracting Officer.

The Project Manager shall be available to the COR via telephone and/or email between the business hours of 8:00 and 17:00 PST, Monday through Friday, and shall respond to a request for discussion or resolution of technical problems within four (4) hours of notification.

4.3 CONTRACTOR PERSONNEL

The Contractor shall provide qualified personnel to perform all requirements specified in this SOW.

The Contractor shall ensure that the contractually required level of staffing for this requirement is always maintained. The Contractor shall ensure that all contract support personnel are present for all required hours of the workday. If for any reason the Contractor staffing levels are not maintained due to vacation, leave, appointments, etc., and replacement personnel will not be provided, the Contractor shall provide e-mail notification to the COR prior to employee absence.

Otherwise, the Contractor shall provide a fully qualified replacement.

The Contractor shall ensure Contractor employees always present a professional appearance and that their conduct shall not reflect discredit on the United States or the Department of Homeland Security or Citizenship and Immigration Services.

5.0 SPECIFIC TASKS

5.1 TASK ONE – AUDIO VISUAL SYSTEM / SOUND SYSTEM / LIGHTING SYSTEM

The Contractor shall have capability to provide audio-visual equipment, sound system, lighting system, and any relatable services to enhance the ceremony program with video and musical elements. The Contractor is responsible to set up the stage, video screen, podium with microphone, headset with microphone, sound system, a CD player hooked up to the sound system, and up to two (2) additional free-standing microphones.

5.2 TASK TWO – SEATING

Contractor shall be responsible to provide up to 2,000 chairs for naturalization candidates, their guests, and USCIS personnel. This requirement may be temporarily waived by the COR in order to adhere to all State of California mandates and public health guidelines related to COVID-19 pandemic.

As a substitution, the Contractor shall be responsible to provide masking tape or adhesive stickers to assist with social distancing requirement. Before each scheduled ceremony date, the Contractor shall consult with COR to finalize the seating / standing layout prior to setting up.

5.3 TASK THREE – TABLES & STANCHIONS

The Contractor shall be responsible to provide eleven (11) 6 ft. rectangular tables for USCIS personnel to conduct the check-in process. Additionally, the Contractor shall be responsible to provide at least 25 crowd control stanchions with retractable belts.

5.4 TASK FOUR – EARLY ACCESS TO THE VENUE

The Contractor shall grant early access to the venue to the USCIS personnel. USCIS employees will provide proper identification when requesting access to the Contractor’s venue. Generally, USCIS personnel will need access to the venue 2 hours before the start of the naturalization ceremony. In addition, USCIS personnel will need access to the venue for approximately 1-2 hours on the day before the ceremony to drop off ceremony supplies.

5.5 TASK FIVE – HOUSE STAFF

The Contractor shall provide sufficient house staff to assist USCIS personnel with crowd control and help directing the attendees and their guests around the venue.

5.6 TASK SIX – SECURED SPACE

The Contractor shall provide a secured space (e.g. room with lock capability) for the USCIS personnel to drop off ceremony supplies (i.e. pens, staplers, markers, etc.) on the day before the scheduled ceremony.

USCIS personnel shall not store secured forms (i.e. Naturalization Certificates, green cards, etc.) or sensitive properties (i.e. adjudication stamps, dry impression seals, etc.) in this space.

5.7 TASK SEVEN – SIGN DISPLAY

The Contractor shall allow USCIS personnel to post paper signs around the venue to help directing the crowd whenever deemed necessary. USCIS personnel will remove the signs after the conclusion of the naturalization ceremony.

5.8 TASK EIGHT – TENT

This task only applies when the ceremony is being held outdoors. The Contractor shall be responsible to deliver and set up at least two (2) canopy pop-up tents to provide shade for USCIS personnel.

6.0 CONTRACTOR FURNISHED PROPERTY

The Contractor shall furnish all facilities, materials, equipment and services necessary to fulfill the requirements of this contract.