US-VISIT extension for Accenture

18 August 2008

 

The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has said it intends to award an extension of the US-VISIT contract to Accenture.

The original contract was awarded to Accenture in 2004, and included a five-year base period plus five one-year options.

The DHS has asked Accenture to increase the biometric identity capability at ports of entry from two to 10 fingerprints. Work on the 10-fingerprint implementation began in 2007, with the subsequent rollout to 10 US airports completed earlier this year. The DHS plans to replace all two-fingerprint scanners with 10 fingerprint scanners at all US ports of entry by the end of this year.

“The US-VISIT program will evolve over time with increasingly robust biometric technologies and interoperability with other countries’ systems,” says Jerry Briggs, managing director of Accenture’s US Federal practice.

Accenture leads a team that includes L-3 Communications (previously The Titan Corporation); Raytheon Company; and Systems Research and Applications Corporation. Key small business team members include Blackstone Technology Group; Intelligent Decisions; SyApps; and TSymmetry.

US-VISIT was established to record the entry and exit of non-US citizens to the US, to verify the identity of incoming visitors and confirm compliance with visa and immigration policies. The system uses digital finger scans and digital photos captured at ports of entry to record the entry and exit of visitors.