Exhibit J - USCIS Special Requirements.pdf

**(Location)** **(Office Type)** Office

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District and Field Office Special Requirements

USCIS Facilities Management Division Version 6 – November 2025

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Table of Contents Overview

Building Hours of Operation

Building Design

Additional Site Characteristics

Public Transportation

Employee Parking

Visitor Parking

Facility Security Level

Blast Resistant Windows

Loading Area

Branding

Lady Liberty

Exterior Signage

Test Fit Layout

Field Office Model Plans (Small & Medium/Large Office adjacencies plan)

General Notes

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Overview The USCIS Mission: USCIS upholds America’s promise as a nation of welcome and possibility with fairness, integrity, and respect for all we serve.

A U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Field Office is charged with administering the immigration laws of the United States. Specifically, field offices interview applicants for immigration benefits to determine eligibility and provide in-person customer assistance.

[Proposed Location] District/Field Office (DO/FO) Facility Information

• Field Offices handle scheduled interviews on non-asylum related applications.

• District Offices handle administrative oversight of multiple Field Offices.

• [Proposed Location] is available to applicants ____ hours per day, Mondays through

Fridays. [Proposed Location] office may see about ____ applicants per day, most of whom have scheduled appointments.

• [Proposed Location] holds approximately _____ naturalization ceremonies per week and resolves ____ in-person queries.

• On average, [Proposed Location] naturalizes ____ new U.S. Citizens at a naturalization ceremony.

USCIS will provide security screening for all visitors entering our space to include guard services and associated screening equipment, as well as perimeter security to be provided by the government but coordinated with the Lessor.

USCIS maintains a strong tradition of public building design that reflects the highly respected stature of the U.S. Government. All USCIS facilities should embrace and illustrate this principle and present a building or office environment that exhibits good stewardship of investments and contributes to the vitality of the surrounding area.

Building Hours of Operation The entire building is considered operational from ***6:00am to 6:00pm*** (PM to verify with the local office.) five days per week (except for Federal Holidays). If an Application Support Center (ASC) is co-located with the USCIS office, the hours of operation are 6:00am to 6:00pm six days per week (except for Federal Holidays) including Saturday (PM to verify with the local office.). All USCIS space must be capable of having HVAC services on Saturdays. The Computer LAN Room and any wire/telephone closets will require 24/7 HVAC services. USCIS recognizes that utility costs outside of normal operations hours will be paid for as overtime utilities through Government reimbursable work authorization funding.

Building Design USCIS space shall be located in an office, research, technology, or business park that is modern in design with a campus-like atmosphere; and in a modern office building that is professional in appearance with the surrounding development well maintained and in consonance with a professional image. The space shall be within an appropriately zoned district, i.e., Central Business District, Business Park, Commercial, or Office. Buildings located

Special Requirements Version 6– November 2025 Page 4 of 11 within any type of Manufacturing, Industrial, Warehouse, Retail or similar zones will not be accepted. Space shall be BOMA Class “A” or Class “B” Office space with no exceptions.

a. Class A - Buildings competing for premier office users with rents above average for the area. Buildings have high quality standard finishes, state-of-the-art systems, exceptional accessibility, and a definite market presence.

b. Class B - Buildings competing for a wide range of users with rents in the average range for the area. Building finishes are fair to good for the area and systems are adequate, but the building does not compete with Class A at the same price.

USCIS prefers single floor occupancy, first floor space aligns best with mission operations. If it is determined that USCIS space can be located on more than one story, the public entry, security, waiting room, public restrooms, interview rooms and ceremony rooms should remain on the same floor serving public functions. A minimum of XXXX sf will be required on one floor for the public function of this office. The remaining USCIS required space will be planned accordingly to include separate access (including elevators). The separation of the public and employee space will be an important aspect of this facility. All visitors shall enter through a single, well-defined, secure entrance. The entrance sequence will include a public entry that provides for protection from the weather while waiting for the security screening. USCIS employs an online appointment scheduling system, so visitors will come in a consistent stream throughout the day. The busiest time will be first thing in the morning when the first round of customers arrive at the same time. An additional entrance is required for our Fraud Detection unit and must remain separate from the general public entrance and the employee entrance.

The employees will enter through a separate entrance. Three (3) separate means of entering and egressing the space is required.

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Additional Site Characteristics

Public Transportation - a commuter rail, light rail, or subway station shall be located within the immediate vicinity of the building, but generally not exceeding a safe walkable ¼ mile.

Alternatively, two or more public bus lines usable by tenant occupants and their customers shall be located within the immediate vicinity of the building, but generally not exceeding a safe walkable ¼ mile. Bus stops to occur on a regular, frequent basis (schedule required to be provided).

Employee Parking - parking spaces either on site or commercially available shall be within a safely walkable one (1) city block from the principal functional entrance of the building.

Government Owned Vehicle Parking Secure, onsite parking will be required for XX government owned vehicles (GOVs).

Visitor Parking - parking spaces either on site or commercially available shall be within a safely walkable ¼ mile from the principal functional entrance of the building.

Facility Security Level - refer to Facility Security Level (II, III or IV) requirements to ensure that considerations are made for the building security systems that may be required (ie.

Perimeter standoff distances, bollards, blast film, etc.).

Blast Resistant Windows – All exterior windows to the USCIS space will require the installation of blast film per the attached requirements.

Loading Area – A loading area with double doors or an overhead door must be available in the building in which the space is offered for the handling of pallet sized loads. The loading area is not required to be above-grade.

Branding USCIS has branding standards that will be incorporated into the design of the space. This will include Lady Liberty, interior signage, wayfinding, and exterior signage.

Lady Liberty This image should be provided on the exterior perimeter of the building near the public entry or within the public lobby space. Sizing, color, and material application will be determined during the design.

Exterior Signage Signage must be provided on the exterior of the building or in the entrance area to the USCIS space. Additionally, USCIS requires a freestanding monument sign if USCIS is the sole tenant or has a dedicated vehicular entrance / parking area. The proposed sign location should be located on the site plan or building elevation plans. Based on the Offeror’s location, additional exterior directional signage may be required for campus or professional park environments.

(Dimensions utilized in the following layout are for scaling purposes only.

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Test Fit Layout A test fit layout with the necessary adjacencies must be provided to demonstrate the Offeror’s intent to meet the USCIS requirements. This test fit should follow the model office plan (below) to meet adjacencies and room requirements. When designing office square footage requirements less than 20,000 square feet a single floor design will be required. If the office square footages range from 20,000 to 40,000 square feet a contiguous two-floor design can be considered. If the office is more than 40,000 square feet, a contiguous three-floor design can be considered.

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Field Office Model Plans (Small & Medium/Large Office adjacencies plan)

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General Notes

In the event a conflict exists between the GSA Request for Lease Proposal (RLP) and the USCIS Special Requirements, the USCIS Special Requirements shall prevail.

1. Building Services – Demarcation (Voice/Data Requirements) – Provide two (2) – 4-inch conduits (EMT Metallic raceway – inside) with pull strings from the Main building demarcation routed directly in the USCIS LAN/Computer Room. The separate conduit raceways shall be utilized for copper, fiber optic, and CATV service into the facility based on circuit requests/orders submitted by USCIS. Indicated below shall be utilized to determine site requirements. (Note: For new facilities, provide three (3) – 4-inch conduits (PVC – Schedule 80 outside) with pull strings from the Main building demarcation within the facility directly to the Service Provider Utilities for copper, fiber optic, CATV, etc. at telephone pole, enclosure, etc. on the exterior building.

Coordination will be required with local Service Providers to identify locations).

a. Voice circuit – copper requirement – The voice lines and circuit requirements shall meet the staffing criteria, which shall utilize copper to deliver service to the Building Demarcation on existing or upgraded infrastructure for implementation that includes approximately (____) analog lines (approx. 2 -4) and (____) Leased construction build-out per lease will require the coordination by the lessor with the local service provider to install the copper cable requirement to support facility for USCIS voice requirement installation. NOTE: The lessor shall be responsible for providing the required amount of analog lines as part of the shell cost to include all monthly recurring costs for the duration of the lease term. One (1) line will be dedicated for the IDS connection (noted in bullet 1 below). All other lines are the requirement of the Lessor as well.

1. The Federal Protective Service Mega Center

2. Local fire safety systems such as the local fire alarm and any other systems (elevators, etc.).

b. The building lessor is responsible for providing POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service) lines to support the on-site security system. Analog POTS lines are the preferred method of service to support these systems; however, if analog POTS service cannot be procured due to a service provider no longer offering the service in a specific region then alternate options may be procured. Be advised that any solution other than POTS, such as Voice Over IP (VoIP) or cellular communication technologies, may impede the alarm system’s ability to send and receive valid alarm activity. VoIP or cellular based systems can be procured with the following restrictions and should be tested with on site hardware before USCIS accepts the lessor provided service as a working solution.

1. POTS Alternate Solution Requirements

1. The service provider’s solution must utilize the G.711 narrowband audio codec.

2. The service provider’s solution must not change audio codec types along the media path which is also known as transcoding.

3. The service provider’s solution must not change audio codec algorithms based on bandwidth usage.

2. Recommended Cellular Based Solutions:

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a. MetTel POTS Transformation Solution https://www.mettel.net/resource/datasheet/pots-transformation-pots-in-a-box/

b. EPIK Granite https://www.granitenet.com/solutions/voice-solutions/epik-pots-replacement/

c. Data circuit – fiber optic requirement – For office and staffing requirements, the data circuit type shall be (_____) (example: 200Mbps, 500Mbps, 1G, etc.), which requires that the existing fiber optic cable in the facility shall be utilized to support the network.

If fiber cable does not exist within the facility or meet needed circuit requirement, coordination is required by the Lessor and the local service provider to install accordingly or upgraded infrastructure included per lease agreement for implementation with the site upgrades to support the USCIS network deployment.

Note with existing buildings – The location within the facility where the building demarcation resides (telephone room, electrical closet, etc.) may require site upgrades that may include, but not limited to, the installation of electrical outlets (typically two (2) dedicated L5-15R's or requested equivalent), plywood backing, grounding to the Main Electrical Service, busbar, etc., as part of the Shell requirements.

2. Mobility Inbuilding Requirements – The Lessor shall be responsible for providing acceptable and reliable cellular service within all parts of the building to include the basement and garage levels if applicable. They will coordinate with the carriers, provide all labor, supervision, materials, and equipment necessary to install a cellular In-Building wireless solution to enable seamless outdoor to indoor coverage of mobile voice and data services. The solution will be capable of providing enhanced coverage for all AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon, and FirstNet cellular bands and frequencies (local area service). Acceptable cellular service is defined as having a Signal to Interference and Noise Ratio (SINR) greater than 5dB with data upload and download speeds above 25Mbps. A lease agreement will be required and maintained between each cellular carrier and the lessor.

3. Assembly Spaces – for building egress related concerns, there are numerous spaces throughout the design that may be designated as assembly spaces based on the planned occupant load. These areas would include the waiting room, naturalization ceremony room and any large multi-use meeting spaces. It is the lessor’s responsibility to ensure that all local codes are met from an egress standpoint concerning these spaces.

4. Electronic Security System (ESS) – The Lessor shall furnish and install an operational ESS. The Lessor will maintain the systems during the one-year warranty listed to the installer which commences on the date of the facility acceptance. The Government will own and maintain all installed equipment upon expiration of the one-year warranty. The ESS will comprise of an HSPD12 Compliant Access Control System (ACS), Intrusion Detection System (IDS), and Internet Protocol Video Surveillance System (IPVSS) that will be capable of operating on an integrated standalone platform which can provide USCIS with the ability to access, monitor, administer and control of all three systems through a single client. The costs of the ESS shall be paid by the Government through the Tenant Improvement Allowance. The complete requirements for the electronic security systems are provided in the attached USCIS Facility Security Specific

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Requirements (FSSR) for Electronic Security Systems. Refer to paragraph 1.a for POTS line requirements.

5. Fire Alarm System (FAS) – The Lessor shall provide, install, and maintain a compliant FAS for any building(s) which is occupied by USCIS. The FAS shall be compliant with the space’s intended use and meet all applicable NFPA while also meeting all requirements of the local authority having jurisdiction. If the GSA lease requirements and/or the local building codes require a compliant system as part of the building shell, those costs will be included with the shell rent. In this case USCIS will only focus on what is needed for the tenant improvement (TI) fit out and its integration with the shell FAS. The main fire alarm panel should not be installed in the LAN room or OIT spaces.

6. Plumbing – In addition to the required restrooms for the building tenants as part of the shell requirement, USCIS will have additional plumbing installed in select areas that may affect other building tenants. These areas include the drinking fountains, showers, single occupancy restrooms, breakrooms, galley kitchenettes and lactation rooms.

There will also be separate visitor restrooms off the main waiting room space. The plumbing and water lines should not be installed above in perimeter walls in the LAN room or OIT spaces.

7. Surge Protective Devices(s) (SPD) – SPD will be required and must be located prior to the building’s main distribution panel (or at least before the panels/service serving the Government's leased space). The Lessor shall be responsible for replacement of MX modules when a failure occurs, and the system indicates the module is defective. The USCIS Information Technology (IT) staff will periodically inspect LED indicator lights and contact GSA/Lessor when LED indicators to show replacement is necessary. The Lessor shall be responsible for providing, installing, and maintaining this system throughout the term of the lease.

8. Security Clearances – USCIS will install a HSPD12 Compliant Access Control Systems in all USCIS facilities. PIV access will be required by all contract staff to include the lessor contract staff and their designees, lessor’s maintenance team and custodian/janitorial staff. Once USCIS has taken occupancy of the space, it is required that all contractors, janitorial and lessor staff requiring routine access to the USCIS space will have completed the required NACI security background check as mandated by HSPD12 for unescorted access during normal working hours. The Government will facilitate, monitor for compliance, and pay for all required NACI security background checks for the duration of the lease.

9. Automatic Door Openers – Automatic door openers are required on any entrance door into USCIS space, restroom door and any door that may separate the USCIS visitor lobby and waiting room. Requirement to install M-FORCE Automatic Swing Door Opener by Stanley.

10. Additional Documents – the below current documents will be provided as part of the design process for the space.

a. USCIS Design Guide

b. USCIS Drawings and Wall Types

c. USCIS HSDN Room Specifications

d. USCIS Facility Security Specific Requirements

e. USCIS RLP FSL Attachment

f. USCIS Computer and Telephone Room Standards

g. USCIS Computer and Telephone Room Standards Appendix A

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h. USICS Structured Cable Plant Standards

i. USCIS Audiovisual Standards

j. USCIS Signage Standards

General Notes