JA Redacted_20250516.pdf

www.uscis.gov

Rev: 12/4/2024

Other than Full and Open Competition Justification, IAW 41 U.S.C. 3304(a)(1) and 41 U.S.C. 3304(a)(2), Secure Identification Platform (SIP) Indefinite-Delivery Indefinite-Quantity (IDIQ)

REFERENCE: Justification Log Number: FY25-0064 and PR Number: DMD250020

Pursuant to the requirements of the Competition in Contracting Act (CICA) as implemented by the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Subpart 6.3 and in accordance with the requirements of FAR 6.303-1, the justification for the use of the statutory authority under FAR Subpart 6.3 is justified by the following facts and rationale required under FAR 6.303-2 as follows:

1. Agency and Contracting Activity.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Office of Contracting, proposes to increase the maximum value of existing Single-Award IDIQ, 70SBUR-21-D-00000002 on a basis other than full and open competition on behalf of the Office of Intake and Document Production, Document Management Division to prevent a break in card production and support Executive Order (EO) 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion, signed by the President on January 20, 2025.

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

(a) Nature of action. USCIS intends to procure additional Permanent Resident Card (PRC) quantities under the SIP IDIQ contract No. 70SBUR-21-D-00000002 on a sole-source basis to prevent a break in card production and support EO 14159. The total contract value of the SIP IDIQ, 70SBUR-21-D-00000002 is $70,260,000.00. To date, the cumulative ordered amount is $69,130,230.00.

On April 15, 2025, OCON received a request for additional PRCs with an estimated value of $3,700,000.00, to be immediately placed against the SIP IDIQ, which is $2,570,230.00, over the established IDIQ ceiling price of $70,260,000.00. To accommodate this request and others which are imminently anticipated, USCIS must increase the established maximum dollar value of the current SIP IDIQ contract.

Currently, order(s) totaling $1,129,770.00 can be placed until the end of the ordering period that ends March 31, 2026. Market research is currently underway to recompete the SIP contract which is projected for award in June 2027.

To meet the demand for additional cards now and in the near future, the SIP recompete would need to be awarded in a matter of weeks. The anticipated procurement lead time must be lengthened to refine and adapt the requirements to the agency’s evolving needs. USCIS examined the possibilities of shorter or interim contract actions and found it impracticable and would put the production of the cards at unacceptable risk.

Since the cards are required to complete the immigration intake process it is imperative that there is no break in the production of the cards. Therefore, to avoid this, USCIS is seeking approval to raise the IDIQ maximum value by $18,000,000.00 resulting in a new maximum (ceiling) amount of $88,260,000.00. This increase equates to the original price for the last option year on IDIQ 70SBUR-21-D-00000002 that was determined fair and reasonable at the time of award.

(b) Name and address of the contractor.

Other than Full and Open Competition Justification, Secure Identification Platform Maximum Value Increase Justification Log Number: FY25-0064

HID Global Corporation 611 Center Ridge Drive Austin, TX 78753

(c) Contract type. Indefinite-Delivery Indefinite-Quantity. Orders placed under the SIP IDIQ are predominantly Firm-Fixed Price.

(d) Estimated total value, including options. The ordering period of April 1, 2021 to March 31, 2026 will remain unchanged. The estimated value of the proposed increase is $18,000,000.00.

(e) Type of funding. To be determined upon obligation of funds in individual orders.

(f) Year of funding. To be determined upon obligation of funds in individual orders.

(g) Solicitation number. Not applicable

(h) Background information about the requirement. The IDIQ contract was awarded competitively to HID Global Corporation on March 25, 2021. The contract stipulates a delivery period up to one year after the last day in the ordering period, and will remain unchanged.

3. Description of Supplies/Services. The Single-Award IDIQ contract was established to purchase of an integrated card solution that is configurable for various immigration benefits which serves as proof of adjudicated benefits or immigrant status and may allow entry into the United States. Specifically, the integrated solution includes a 100% polycarbonate solid body card stock with Radio Frequency Identification and metallized optically variable devices embedded within the card construction substrate layers, new and/or modified card design services, high volume manufacturing, storage for card stock, and related technical support services to be configurable for various immigration benefits, including, the current PRC and Employment Authorization Document (EAD) cards.

Based on the description above, the requirement for additional PRCs is within scope of the existing IDIQ. This justification proposes to raise the IDIQ maximum value on a sole source basis.

4. Authority and supporting rationale. The statutory authorities permitting other than full and open competition is 41 U.S.C. 3304(a)(1), implemented by the FAR Subpart 6.302-1 entitled “Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements,” and 41 U.S.C. 3304(a)(2), implemented by the FAR Subpart 6.302-2 entitled “Unusual and Compelling Urgency.” This requirement does not apply to a response to or a recovery from a natural disaster, act of terrorism, or other non-made disaster and falls under the one-year limitation implemented under FAR 6.302-2(d).

5. Demonstration that the proposed contractor’s unique qualifications or the nature of the acquisition requires use of the authority cited.

HID Global Corporation is uniquely qualified and immediately capable of meeting the imminent and near future need of PRC and EAD cards of the quality required and at the relatively short notice it receives orders for delivery of varied quantity.

This request for an unusual and compelling action is not the result of poor planning by USCIS. The delivery order No. 70SBUR-25-F-00000063 was placed on April 4, 2025, leaving the amount remaining on the IDIQ to $1,266,450.00. The program office’s intention at the time of the delivery order award was to use the remaining value to order quantities in a future delivery order before the expiration of the IDIQ. However, on April 15, 2025, the USCIS Head of Contracting Activity was informed that additional cards beyond the remaining quantities were needed as part of USCIS’ responsibility to promptly enforce immigration law as required in EO 14159.

The final option period of the SIP IDIQ contract expires March 31, 2026. A competitive contract is in process but will not be awarded in time to accommodate the additional quantity of cards needed as soon as possible so the Director of USCIS can fulfill the requirements of EO 14159.

Per the above stated EO, “The Secretary of Homeland Security shall take all appropriate action to enable the Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and the Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to set priorities for their agencies that protect the public safety and national security interests of the American people, including by ensuring the successful enforcement of final orders of removal.”

Per the information found on the Center for Presidential Transition website, the Director of USCIS’ priorities, “depends on the policy priorities of the administration”. The current administration has made it clear through the aforementioned EO that its priority is to ensure immigration laws as outlined in the Immigration and Nationality Act are enforced. USCIS is at the forefront of that initiative as demonstrated by Director of USCIS responsibilities that are outlined on Center for Presidential Transition website. Specifically, the Director of USCIS’ primary responsibility is to “oversee the lawful immigration to the United States” and “secure America’s promise as a nation of immigrants by providing accurate and useful information to customers, granting immigration and citizenship benefits, promoting an awareness and understanding of citizenship and ensuring the integrity of our immigration system”.

In order for the Director of USCIS to fulfill its responsibilities promptly in support of the administration’s mission to protect the public safety and national security interests of the American people, additional benefits cards need to be procured as soon as possible.

As stated above, the increased quantity required was known as of April 15, 2025, and since it was predicated on the aforementioned EO dated January 20, 2025, it was unforeseen when the original IDIQ was competed.

In addition to fulfilling this immediate, initial request, USCIS anticipates additional cards will be needed before the new SIP IDIQ is awarded in June 2027. Originally, the new SIP contract was going to be completed in time to support future requirements; however, the anticipated award date was extended due to workload and personnel changes required by the new Administration. Consequently, the new SIP contract will not be awarded in time to meet future requirements. For this reason, this request is to increase the maximum value by $18,000,000.00 and not just $3,700,000.00 for immediate need.

HID Global is the contractor currently providing supplies on the SIP IDIQ contract and has the resources, skills, and knowledge to meet the immediate need and continue uninterrupted production of cards until the award of a new contract is made. HID Global’s performance on the SIP IDIQ over the last four (4) years has been satisfactory and, in some cases, has exceeded expectations. For these reasons and the fact that card production has already been stood up, HID Global is uniquely positioned to meet the demand of card production with no undue delay, expeditiously to continue addressing the enforcement of immigration law.

Procuring requirements outlined herein through full-and-open competition is neither practical nor achievable since it will result in meaningful delays and substantial cost increases while also exposing card production to unnecessary risk to public safety and national security interests and negatively impacting the nation’s ability to enforce immigration law.

6. Description of efforts made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as is practicable.

USCIS does not intend to publicize this requirement prior to award based on the following FAR exception:

5.202(a)(2). As is discussed above, the proposed contract action is being made in part under the circumstances described in FAR 6.302-2.

7. Determination by the Contracting Officer that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable.

The Contracting Officer determines that the anticipated price(s) will be fair and reasonable based on the current procurement and the conclusions of a technical evaluation of the production schedule and delivery lots. If necessary, other than certified cost or pricing data will be obtained from the contractor if the proposal cannot be evaluated using the analysis methods in FAR 15.404-1.

8. Description of Market Research. A market research report was not formally prepared for this specific effort due to the urgent nature of the requirement. However, market research is currently being conducted in support of the forthcoming competitive procurement of the SIP IDIQ requirement.

9. Any other facts supporting the use of other than full and open competition.

The contractor has in place, a well performing design team and production capability to accommodate the recently increased need. Due to the urgent and compressed delivery of ensuing orders and the fact that the contractor is uniquely capable of fulfilling expedited orders, the proposed requirement cannot be modified to enhance competition as a stand-alone procurement. The anticipated administrative resources that would be required to conduct an interim procurement and estimated duplication of contract costs cannot be efficiently recovered through competition.

10. A listing of the sources, if any that expressed, in writing, an interest in the acquisition.

As exempted in FAR 5.202(a)(2), a synopsis to seek interested sources will not be issued in SAM.gov prior to the increase of the IDIQ maximum value. An announcement will be published on SAM.gov and made publicly available within 30 days after award and will be posted for a minimum of 30 days in accordance with FAR 6.305.

All communication received from interested sources will be incorporated into the ongoing market research effort referenced in section 9 above.

11. A statement of the actions, if any, the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers to competition before any subsequent acquisition for supplies or services required.

USCIS will make efforts to ensure that the subsequent contract to 70SBUR-21-D-00000002, which is anticipated to be competitively solicited, will be free of barriers. In doing so, USCIS will ensure the services/products remain aligned with the evolving needs of the DHS and reflect current market conditions and commercial best practices.

12. Technical/Requirements Personnel Certification. I certify this requirement meets the Government’s minimum need and that the supporting data, which forms a basis for this justification, is complete and accurate.

Date

Contracting Officer’s Representative

Justification Log Number: FY25-0064

14. Contracting Officer’s Certification. I certify that the data supporting the recommended use of other than full and open competition is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Date

Contracting Officer

APPROVAL:

USCIS, Office of Contracting Head of Contracting Activity