Language & Interpretation Support Services

The Department of Homeland Security's US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is seeking Language and Interpretation Support Services for its Refugee, Asylum & International Operations Directorate. The solicitation requires contractors to provide comprehensive telephonic, video conference, and occasional in-person interpretation services across multiple languages, with a focus on supporting asylum interviews and refugee processing. Key contract requirements include maintaining 24/7/365 coverage, providing interpreter response within 3 minutes, and supporting both common languages like Spanish, Arabic, and Mandarin and less common languages. The technical evaluation will assess offerors based on three primary factors: Technical Approach & Required Language Capabilities, Management Approach & Staffing Plan, and Past Performance, using a Highest Technically Rated Offeror with Fair & Reasonable Price methodology. The pre-solicitation notice indicates a proposal response deadline of March 15, 2025, with an anticipated contract award and performance period beginning August 1, 2025.

The solicitation does not include a specific small business set-aside, but does require large business offerors to submit a subcontracting plan targeting 47% small business participation. USCIS plans to award 3-5 multiple-award Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contracts with a total contract ceiling of $200 million, including a guaranteed minimum of $100,000 per awardee. The contract will cover an estimated 13-23 million interpretation minutes annually, with Spanish representing the highest volume at approximately 19.5 million minutes per year. Pricing will be structured across different service categories, including asylum cases, Operation Allies Welcome cases, and International and Refugee Affairs Division services, with separate pricing for over-the-phone interpretation, sign language interpretation, and document translation. The contract will have a five-year ordering period, running from August 2025 through July 2030, with vendors required to propose base year pricing and potential escalation percentages for subsequent option years.