HERNDON, Va., Oct. 3, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) has been awarded a $357 million indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), an agency within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), to continue providing biometric capture services in support of U.S. citizenship applications and green card renewals. The contract is for one base year with four one-year options and has a potential value of $750 million over a five-year period.
Biometric capture services involve electronic scanning and recording of fingerprints, and photograph and signature collection, for identification purposes. The contract work will be performed in all 50 U.S. states at 136 Application Support Centers (ASC), with possible future expansion overseas. Northrop Grumman has provided these services to USCIS since 1999.
"Northrop Grumman is proud of its past performance and continued opportunity to significantly contribute to our nation's homeland security," said James Cameron, president Northrop Grumman's Technical Services sector. "Whether supporting our Department of Defense warfighters in the field or the Department of Homeland Security here in the United States, our goal remains the same: to provide innovative solutions and services to our valued customers."
Under Northrop Grumman's management of the biometric ASC program, USCIS has reduced its fingerprint rejection rate from 20 to 1.5 percent, the lowest such rate at DHS. Rejections are caused by improper fingerprint recording. Factors that have led to the reduction in the reject rate include additional fingerprint technician training, the creation of a certification training program for quality assurance, and improvements USCIS made to fingerprinting computer systems.
"Our commitment to our customer and the mission was essential to us keeping this work," said Gregg Donley, vice president and general manager of the Systems Support Group at Northrop Grumman's Technical Services sector. "We're dedicated to providing highest-quality personnel, services and support to enhance our nation's homeland security efforts."
Northrop Grumman's teammates include USE, Inc. of Orlando, Fla., Pinkerton Government Services, Inc. of Mansfield, Mass., and International Organization for Migration of Geneva, Switzerland.
"This contract win reinforces our position as a leading provider of biometric capture services to the U.S. government," said Lee Bandel, Northrop Grumman ASC program manager.
Northrop Grumman Corporation is a global defense company headquartered in Los Angeles, Calif. Northrop Grumman provides technologically advanced, innovative products, services and solutions in systems integration, defense electronics, information technology, advanced aircraft, shipbuilding and space technology. With more than 120,000 employees and operations in all 50 states and 25 countries, Northrop Grumman serves U.S. and international military, government and commercial customers.