JEFO_70SBUR21F00000124 P00037.pdf

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

REFERENCE: Justification Log Number: FY26-0025 and PR Number: OIT265016

1. Agency and Contracting Activity.

The Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Office of Contracting (OCON), 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) 16.507-6, Exceptions to fair opportunity.

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

This action seeks approval for a sole source extension to Highlight Technologies, Inc. (Highlight) via modification No. P00037 to Task Order No. 70SBUR21F00000124 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). Two prior exceptions to fair opportunity were issued; the first was in accordance with FAR 16.505(b)(2)(i)(C), logical follow-on to an already issued order, and the second was in accordance with FAR 16.505(b)(2)(i)(B), unique or highly specialized services. Both justifications cited FAR exceptions effective at the time of approval and prior to the Overhaul pursuant to Restoring Common Sense to Federal Procurement Executive Order. The final completion date of the order was extended from 07/01/2025 to 12/31/2025 non-competitively via modification No. P00033.

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 three two-month option periods, for a total performance period from 01/01/2026 through 06/30/2026. 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 04/29/2026, with an additional period of performance available of up to five years on each task order awarded before the expiration date of 04/29/26.

This justification seeks approval to continue work unique to 70SBUR21F00000124 on systems, not limited to, Benefits Hub and Computer Linked Application Information Management System (CLAIMS3). These systems are integrated or share data to support the end-to-end processing of immigration benefits and ensure efficient case management. The DevSecOps work on these systems is iterative. Each iteration involves planning, developing, testing, deploying, and monitoring, with www.uscis.gov

JEFO, Exceeding the SAT, SPEED - Highlight Justification Log Number: FY26-0025 security being integrated at every stage. While some projects were successfully completed, the 6-month extension is needed to allow for continuation of the following work:

1. Continue to revise the I-485 form in accordance with the Director’s accelerated timeline.

2. Implement automatic biometrics scheduling after I-148 updates, slated for Q3 of FY26.

3. Continue decommissioning outdated forms from internal systems. Slated to continue through transition to RIVER.

4. Proceed with implementing new interview waiver requirements. Slated to be completed in

Q2 of FY26.

5. Recurring work supporting efforts to enhance integration with Electronic Immigration

System (ELIS).

4. Statutory exception and supporting rationale.

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

☒ FAR 16. 507-6(b)(2). 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. Highlight performs DevSecOps work for the CLAIMS3 major USCIS system. In addition, Highlight 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-contractor environment in which they are developed, the scope of work within this order can only be provided at the acceptable quality levels by Highlight.

Despite being agile development work, the work performed on these systems is highly specialized for two reasons. First, the systems Highlight develops are major endpoints for USCIS. Internally, CLAIMS3 is the single point for case intake, assignment, management, and adjudication system for the agency. Any lapse in CLAIMS3 would bring USCIS’ mission to a standstill, making it impossible to assign immigrant benefits and petition cases and therefore to process and adjudicate them. This system has continued to become highly specialized as legacy systems for adjudication and benefit processing have been decommissioned and work has been moved to CLAIMS3 to increase efficiency and reduce redundancy across the agency.

Their ability to reduce redundancy, provide accurate information, and utilize automation for administrative tasks has allowed immigration officers to focus on more critical areas of an application and make better informed decisions on behalf of the agency. The work under SPEED was to be transitioned to awardees of Resources for InnoVation and Enterprise Readiness (RIVER) and Rapid Application & Product Integrated Delivery (RAPID) task orders, however, USCIS received protests under both recompetes thus pausing the transition until protests are resolved. No vendor other than Highlight can complete the work that Highlight performs on this task order at full capacity at acceptable quality levels without sufficient transition time. The Government does not have sufficient time for an interim fair opportunity solicitation and award to recruit highly specialized contractors while the protests are pending. In addition, the recent Government shutdown brought the regular bid protest process to a standstill, creating a substantial backlog and delaying decisions, thus impacting the schedule of contract awards and performance.

Second, the work is highly specialized in that it operates in a multi-contractor environment with a consistently changing division of work. No less than three contractors have teams which complete work on CLAIMS3. As such, these contractors 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 CLAIMS3. To transition a new contractor into this position while the protests under its recompetes are pending, would not be feasible and result in an almost entire lapse of acceptable services should this order not be extended. Discontinuing or reducing these efforts would increase risk exposure, slow down delivery, and potentially compromise the security and reliability of these mission critical systems.

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 Highlight 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 six (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 that 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 Highlight is capable of providing the supplies or services required.

Should this task order not be extended, the following forms and tools which are critical to the USCIS mission will not be supported:

• The agency will continue to experience regular delays in deployment and patches due to the Windows 11 phased updates. The agency has already experienced several instances of delayed deployments and update incompatibilities, and any extension of the delays will further delay implementation of all SPEED development work.

• Patches to the I-485 form in accordance with Director priorities and 508 compliance requirements will go undone. Without 508 and usability update, the work the agency has already completed to digitize the I-485 will have little realized benefit and not be accessible for users.

• Outdated form types will continue to bog down the systems used to upload paper forms and add risk to file adjudicators.

• Time sensitive Requests for Evidence and appointment notices and distributions, which will cripple the biometrics and interview processes for electronic filing.

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 scheduled requirements outlined in the PWS. Two, the original task order award was made on a competitive basis and determined to be the best value to the Government. The labor rates awarded on the CIO-SP3 SB GWAC was determined fair and reasonable by the awarding Contracting Officer. Further, the labor rates resulting from the SPEED competition were determined fair by the ordering Contracting Officer. The Government will use any price analysis technique(s) found within FAR 15.404-1(b) to evaluate the extension proposal and may conduct negotiations as necessary to ensure that the price is fair and reasonable.

6. Any other facts supporting the justification.

Due to filed protests, USCIS has issued stop work order to SPEED recompetes. while awaiting Government Accountability Office (GAO) decision. This further delays Government’s efforts to transition work from SPEED contractors to new awardees. The Government has determined that a non-competitive extension to the current award is the most efficient method to continue system maintenance and the current iteration of SPEED requirements under the Highlight task order until the pending protests are resolved and sufficient period is given to new awardees to transition in. The above listed delays, combined with system delays outside of the control of OCON and OIT, contributed to the current need for an exception to fair opportunity.

7. A statement of the actions, if any, the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers that led to the exception to fair opportunity before any subsequent acquisition for the supplies or services is made.

The Government will continue to work on pending protests and hopes for a swift resolution that will allow it to remove the stop work orders on SPEED recompetes without further delay.

8. USCIS intends to post this requirement on Sam.gov pursuant to FAR 16.507-6(f).

9. Technical/Requirements Personnel Certification.