JEFO_70SBUR21F00000124 P00041.pdf

Justification for Exception to Fair Opportunity, Exceeding the Micro-purchase Threshold, SPEED - Highlight

REFERENCE: Justification Log Number: FY26-0090 and PR Number: OIT265041

1. Agency and Contracting Activity.

The Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Office of Contracting, proposes to award a delivery/task order or modify an existing delivery/task order on behalf of Office of Information Technology (OIT) / Systems Delivery Division (SDD), pursuant to RFO 16.507-6(b), Exceptions to the fair opportunity process.1

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. P00041 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). Three 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; the second and third were in accordance with FAR 16.505(b)(2)(i)(B), only one awardee is capable of providing the services required at the level of quality required because the services ordered are unique or highly specialized.

3. Description of Supplies/Services.

The Services for Product Engineering and Enterprise Delivery (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 one two-month period and two two-month option periods for a total performance period from 07/01/2026 through 12/31/2026. The total estimated price for this performance period is $4,855,858.05. The performance period of the proposed extension is allowable under the CIO-SP3 SB GWAC which remains valid through 10/29/2026, with periods of performance available up to 12/31/2028.

1 In this document, citations and references to RFO Part 16, RFO Part 10, RFO Part 11 and RFO Part 15 are citations specifically to Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Class Deviation 26-04, Rev. 1 for FAR Part 16, FAR Class Deviation 26-12, Rev. 1 for FAR Part 10, Rev. 1 for FAR Part 11, Rev. 1 for FAR Part 15, which were issued as part of the Revolutionary FAR Overhaul (RFO), which was implemented in response to Executive Order 14275, Restoring Common Sense to Federal Procurement, signed April 15, 2025.

www.uscis.gov Rev: 02/10/2026 http://www.uscis.gov/

JEFO, Exceeding the SAT, SPEED - Highlight Justification Log Number: FY26-0090

This justification seeks approval to continue the following work unique to 70SBUR21F00000124 on systems which are not limited to the Computer Linked Application Information Management System

(CLAIMS3):

1. Continue to revise the I-485 form

2. Monitor implementation of automatic biometrics scheduling after I-148 updates.

3. Continue decommissioning outdated forms from internal systems.

4. Statutory exception and supporting rationale.

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

☒ RFO16.507-6(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 major USCIS system, CLAIMS3. In addition, Highlight performs the maintenance and development on the networks that connect and integrate information to and fromCLAIMS3. 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 CLAIMS3 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. The development work for CLAIMS3 under speed maintains the integrity of the relationship between CLAIMS3 and the systems which print and deliver benefit adjudication decisions to petitioners. As the data migration between CLAIMS3 and BenefitsHub continues, the Government must ensure that CLAIMS3 is maintained to deliver notices to petitioners. To receive benefit from CLAIMS3, SPEED developers ensure the data processing within CLAIMS3 is monitored, accurate, and bug free. Ongoing monitoring of, and corrections to, CLAIMS3 data processing pipelines is necessary for the system to operate efficiently and produce accurate notices.

Without these ongoing services, CLAIMS3 does not provide benefit to USCIS and does not fulfil its intended purpose. Any lapse in CLAIMS3 would bring USCIS’s mission to a standstill, making it impossible to assign immigrant benefits and petition cases and therefore to process and adjudicate them. CLAIMS3’s 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.

Maintenance on CLAIMS3 was to be transitioned to awardees of the Resources for InnoVation and Enterprise Readiness (RIVER) task orders; however, USCIS received protests under both the initial award and the re-award of RIVER, 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 while the protests are pending.

Second, the work is highly specialized because 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. To transition a new contractor into this position would not be feasible and would result in an unacceptable lapse of acceptable services should this order not be extended.

The established Acceptable Quality Levels and PWS require the contractor 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 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 because of the protests and resulting work suspension on RIVER. Considering a 90 day Entrance On Duty timeline for a new contractor, the agency must extend the current orders to allow for system maintenance and then transition. Without both of these factors, a new contractor would not be successful in transitioning into the SPEED portfolio work within the allotted transition timeline. Resulting, CLAIMS3 would not continuously meet the agency’s requirements for a system which maintains, tracks, and provides adjudications for benefits petitions.

The Government performed market research through January 2026 using techniques including surveying industry and Government experts and surveying similar requirements. 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 required services.

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

• Patches to the I-485 form in accordance with 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.

MARILYN D

TEUNIS

Digitally signed by

MARILYN D TEUNIS

Date: 2026.06.25

The Contracting Officer has determined that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable. The Government will use any price analysis technique(s) found within RFO 15.404-1(b) to evaluate the extension proposal and may conduct negotiations as necessary to ensure that the pricing provided is fair and reasonable. The cost estimate for this work was based on two factors.

One, four years of acquisition history for the SPEED procurement which shows that the vendor did not require additional funding to complete the requirement as outlined in the PWS. Two, the original award was made on a competitive basis and determined to be the best value to the Government. The pricing for labor to complete this requirement is competitive such that it is readily available within the marketplace. The labor rates awarded on the CIO-SP3 SB GWAC were determined fair and reasonable by the awarding Contracting Officer. Further, the discounted labor rates resulting from the SPEED competition were determined fair by the ordering Contracting Officer.

6. Any other facts supporting the justification.

Due to filed protests, USCIS has issued stop work order on the RIVER awards. This continues to delay the 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 CVP task order until the pending protests are resolved and sufficient period is given to new awardees to transition in.

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 RIVER without further delay. This extension includes only the work necessary to maintain CLAIMS3 and complete in progress work on the system. The agency continues to reduce the cost of sole source extensions by efficiently transitioning work to new awards as they are available.

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

9. Technical/Requirements Personnel Certification.

Pursuant to RFO 16.507-6(d)(2)(ix), I certify that this requirement meets the Government’s minimum need and that the supporting data, which form a basis for the justification, are accurate and complete

Marilyn Teunis, Chief, OIT/TDD Date

10. Contracting Officer Certification

Pursuant to RFO 16.507-6(d)(2)(viii), I certify that this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

MONTY N KURTZ

Digitally signed by MONTY N

KURTZ

Date: 2026.06.25 11:11:24 -06'00'

Monty Kurtz, Lead Contract Specialist Date Contracting Officer

APPROVAL: Pursuant to RFO 16.507-6(d)(2)(x), I hereby determine the circumstance identified in Section 4 applies to the order.

AMANDA K DUQUETTE

Digitally signed by AMANDA K

DUQUETTE

Date: 2026.06.26 10:34:10 -04'00'

Amanda Duquette, Head of Contracting Activity Date Procuring Activity Advocate for Competition