JEFO_70SBUR21F00000125.pdf

Justification for Exception to Fair Opportunity, Exceeding the Simplified Acquisition Threshold, SPEED Extension/Steampunk

REFERENCE: Justification Log Number: FY25-0071 and PR Number: OIT256048

1. Agency and Contracting Activity.

The Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Office of Contracting, proposes to modify an existing task order on behalf of the Office of Information Technology (OIT) / Systems Delivery Division (SDD) pursuant to Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 16.505(b)(2), Exceptions to the fair opportunity process.

2. Nature and/or description of the action being approved.

This action seeks approval for a sole source extension to Steampunk, Inc via modification to Services for Product Engineering and Enterprise Delivery (SPEED) Task Order number 70SBUR21F00000125 to continue the system maintenance and security work currently within the technical scope being performed. The current task order was competitively awarded in June 2021 through a small business set aside solicitation under the Chief Information Officer—Solutions and Partners 3 (CIO-SP3) Small Business (SB) Government-Wide Acquisition Contract (GWAC). Prior exception to fair opportunity was issued in accordance with FAR 16.505(b)(2)(i)(C), logical follow-on to an already issued order. The final completion date of the order was extended from 01/01/2025 to 06/30/2025 non-competitively via modification P00025.

3. Description of Supplies/Services.

The SPEED Performance Work Statement (PWS) details Information Technology Development, Security and Operations (DevSecOps) services to operate and maintain major USCIS systems. The Government requires these services for six (6) months, with two two-month and two one-month option periods, for a total performance period from 7/1/2025 through 12/31/2025. The total estimated price for this performance period is . The performance period of the proposed extension is allowable under the CIO-SP3 SB GWAC which remains valid through April 29, 2026.

This justification seeks approval to continue the following work unique to 70SBUR21F00000125 on Customer Service Web Portal (CSWP) and related systems:

1. Resolve administrative requests for Case Filing Online, change of address functions, eRequest case inquires, and e-Verify. Without this work, the benefit of the agency’s investment in automating administrative work on case files will go unrealized.

2. Complete the Drupal upgrade in Q4 of FY25 as mandated by DHS. Implement new navigational and site redesign in accordance with director priorities between Q2 and Q3 of FY25. Without this work, the agency will be non-compliant with DHS mandates and other development work may be paused until the initiative is completed at a later date.

www.uscis.gov

Rev: 10/13/2023

JEFO, Exceeding the SAT, SPEED - Steampunk Justification Log Number: FY25-0071

3. Resolve glossary bug in e-Verify, to be implemented in Q4 of FY25. Without this work, the agency will not be able to use e-Verify to its fully capacity, thereby slowing down I-9 processing.

4. Finish development work for ASC Lookup in Q4 of FY25. Without the final sprints on this work, the agency will not realize any benefit on the investment currently made into automating this function.

4. Statutory exception and supporting rationale.

The applicable statutory FAR citation and basis for using an exception to fair opportunity process is:

☒ FAR 16.505(b)(2)(i)(B). Only one awardee is capable of providing the supplies or services required at the level of quality required because the supplies or services ordered are unique or highly specialized.

Rationale:

The work performed on this task order covers the entire agile development process, from planning and establishing user stories and acceptance criteria through maintenance of code and systems after enhancement. Steampunk performs DevSecOps work for two major USCIS systems: myUSCIS, and CSWP. In addition, Steampunk performs the maintenance and development on the networks that connect and integrate information to and from these systems. Due to the urgent nature of the information contained within these systems as it relates to the mission and the multi-vendor environment in which they are developed, the scope of work within this order can only be provided at the acceptable quality levels by Steampunk.

Despite being agile development work, the work performed on these systems is highly specialized for two reasons. First, the systems Steampunk develops are major endpoints for USCIS. myUSCIS is the primary external system by which petitioners can submit petitions and claims, monitor the status of their claim, sign up for biometrics appointments and receive digital notices, and submit administrative changes to their applications. Over the course of the SPEED task order, several vendors have contributed to growing and rewriting both the myUSCIS website and application. It has been integrated such that it is a single point for digital notices and application submissions as the Agency has made significant progress in the effort to digitize and increase the efficiency of the immigration process. The team’s work with e-Verify is particularly critical and an ongoing requirement insofar as the Agency relies on information within e-Verify to confirm those working, and registering businesses, within the United States are doing so lawfully.

In addition, CSWP provides external users and customers access to information to assist in their petition process and reduces the required agency personnel to answer redundant, administrative questions. The transition of this work to the vendors who will be awarded Rapid Application & Product Integration Delivery (RAPID) task order is slated to take four months given the size and scope. No vendor other than Steampunk can complete the work that Steampunk performs on this task order at full capacity at acceptable quality levels without sufficient transition time. The Government does not have sufficient time to competitively award an order while RAPID continues to route through internal processes.

JEFO, Exceeding the SAT, SPEED - Steampunk Justification Log Number: FY25-0071

Second, the work is highly specialized in that it operates in a multi-vendor environment with a consistently changing division of work. No less than three vendors have teams which complete work on both myUSCIS and CSWP. As such, these vendors have division of work stand-ups, discussions, and have developed methods and relationships that allow them to execute deployments several times per week in the case of myUSCIS. To transition a new vendor into this position just prior to the transition of all of the work to the new awardees for RAPID would not be feasible and result in an almost entire lapse of acceptable services should this order not be extended.

In summary of the established Acceptable Quality Levels and PWS, the contractor is required to release code on a weekly (or greater) basis, release code without error, collaborate and cooperate with other SPEED contractors, and understand the work well enough to being innovative in problem solving and efficient in resource use. The Government does not anticipate recovery of competition costs for this short extension as the best value remains most achievable with Steampunk under this task order. The contractor remains uniquely capable of maintaining staffing and providing satisfactory services specified in the PWS without having to compromise performance standards that may otherwise be anticipated with a change in contractors to complete initiatives already in progress.

Another major risk associated with staffing is that the Agency’s Entrance On Duty timeline for new contractors is roughly 90 days. This, coupled with the requirement for transition to a new contractor at the end of the proposed performance period, would render the next 6 months as valueless in terms of development, testing and deployment progress.

The Government performed market research through June 2025 using techniques including surveying industry and Government experts and surveying similar requirements. The conclusions pertaining to economy and efficiency described above are supported by market research. The market research conclusions remain unchanged in supporting that only the current contractor is capable of providing these highly specialized services at the quality level required. It is concluded that only Alethix is capable of providing the supplies or services required.

Should the Government not extend this task order, the Agency will not realize the benefit of the investment it has made into myUSCIS and CSWP. Processes and procedures that keep administrative information accurate for adjudicators and automate administrative functions will cease to be of use to the Agency and immigration officers will have less bandwidth to monitor cases for fraud, waste, and abuse as well as adjudicate petitions for benefits. Further, customer needs will go unmet, and the Government will not reap the benefits it has experienced in case processing time and management.

5. Determination by the contracting officer that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable.

The Contracting Officer has determined that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable. The Independent Government Cost Estimate (IGCE) for this work was based on two factors. One, four years of acquisition history for the SPEED procurement which shows that the contractor did not require additional funding to complete the requirement as outlined in the PWS.

Two, that the original award was made on a competitive basis and determined to be the best value to the Government.