Consular Systems Modernization (CSM)

Added: May 05, 2017 2:20 pm The mission of the U.S. Department of State ("DOS", "State", or "the Department") is to shape and sustain a peaceful, prosperous, just, and democratic world and foster conditions for stability and progress for the benefit of the American people and people everywhere. The Department's Bureau of Consular Affairs (CA) is charged with protecting and assisting U.S. citizens abroad, issuing passports to U.S. Citizens, and issuing immigrant and non-immigrant visas to foreign nationals according to the laws of the U.S. Government. To achieve this mission, CA actively pursues business, technology, and management enhancements and improvements.

The Office of Consular Systems and Technology (CST) is tasked with providing CA's mission critical information technology (IT) resources to support 300+ Consular locations including approximately 230 overseas posts, 29 domestic Passport agencies, 2 domestic Visa processing centers, and an array of information, book/card print, passport centers, DOS annexes, and contractor sites. CST supports approximately 10,000 worldwide clients, in over 300 locations, to include 1,200 CA customers at various locations in the National Capitol Region (NCR) (See Exhibit B, Worldwide Consular Locations).

CA/CST examined the efficiency of the services it provides to its customers and how technology can better support those services. The result of the examination was the recognition of an opportunity to modernize and consolidate the functionality contained within the existing suite of systems under a new technology framework.

CA established a strategic initiative called ConsularOne to implement the new technology framework and the online services. The ConsularOne initiative is intended to modernize and consolidate the operational environment under a common technology framework to better support the services provided to CA's customers (United States citizens and non-citizens living domestically and abroad).

As an investment, ConsularOne is intended to meet the following goals:
• Alignment with CA's desired business processes;
• Consistent, accurate, and real-time information access for CA personnel;
• Lower operational total cost of ownership and complexity as compared to the existing environment;
• Increased flexibility and scalability in meeting new and changing requirements;
• Utilization of a common and intuitive user interface;
• Support of paperless processing to the extent feasible;
• Reduction of redundant data entry and other administrative burdens;
• Improved quality, efficiency, and timeliness of services;
• Support of the collection and analysis of performance metrics;
• Increased mobile accessibility;
• Improved integration with external databases;
• Increased opportunity for greater accountability by improving process integrity and internal controls.

ConsularOne is envisioned as the means through which CA will modernize its tools and technology to provide capabilities for its business services (e.g., passports, visas, repatriation loans, travel alerts). It is anticipated that ConsularOne must be able to exchange data with current operational systems, while transitioning to the new capabilities. As new ConsularOne capabilities are designed and developed, the ConsularOne team will work with stakeholders, such as business area Subject Matter Experts (SME), to ensure a robust system is deployed that meets CA's needs.

ConsularOne capabilities will incorporate all CA processes and services including:

• Passports (application processing, adjudication and issuance)
• Visas (application processing, adjudication and issuance)
• Overseas Citizens Services (emergency services, child and family matters, and safety and security messaging)
• Internal CA Business Support Services

Most of the capabilities will be web-based, enabling access via the DoS wide-area network and the public Internet. Some capabilities will need to be integrated with other Government systems.