Inactive

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is conducting market research which may or may not result in a procurement action in the future. The result... The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is conducting market research which may or may not result in a procurement action in the future. The results of this research will be used to assess the marketplace’s ability to address the Agency’s needs, with the intent to expand competition to the greatest extent possible. Information collected will be used for acquisition planning and is not intended to be a proposal request. Your company’s participation, or lack thereof, will have no bearing on its ability to complete on any future proposal requests from the Agency. Included in this Sources Sought Announcement (SSA) are DRAFT copies of the Performance Work Statement (PWS) and associated Attachments. In your response, please refrain from treating this as a proposal response or an effort to market your company. Responses should be succinct and to the point. Keep in mind that the intent of this market research is to assess the marketplace as a whole with regards to its ability to meet the Government’s needs; this is not a request for proposal. If you wish to include marketing information on your company, please do so in a separate document. Any information provided which contains trade secrets or other proprietary or confidential research, development or commercial information must be clearly marked in your responses. However, doing so will limit the use of your responses when developing an acquisition strategy and considering the information collected in a requirements document for any resulting request for proposal. Therefore, unless necessary, respondents are encouraged to avoid including such information. The Government will not provide reimbursement for any information submitted in response to this SSA. Respondents are solely responsible for any expenses associated with responding to this SSA. Respondents will not be notified of any results derived from a review of the information provided. However, information gathered may be used for future Government purposes. This SSA is intended to gather information on the availability of both large and small businesses with the capability to provide the Language & Interpretation Support Services, on-demand and at the volume anticipated by the USCIS Refugee, Asylum, and International Operations (RAIO) Directorate. The USCIS-RAIO Asylum Division Headquarters (HQASM) is responsible for the overall planning, development, coordination, and evaluation of the USCIS Asylum Program. The Asylum Officer Corps currently comprises over 625 interviewing Asylum Officers presently located in 13 offices in the United States and numerous detention facilities and circuit ride locations throughout the country. The HQASM requires Language & Interpretation Support Services for anticipated and/or routine interactions as well as during times of surges. The Contractor(s) would be required to provide sufficient employees to timely meet and fulfill the volume and language demands. Additionally, the Contractor(s) would be required to have the capacity to quickly increase staffing levels to address surges and meet time-sensitive Language & Interpretation Support Services requirements. Most of the work will occur between the hours of 6:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. Monday through Friday in the local time zone where the interview takes place. However, the Contractor(s) may be expected to provide interpretation services seven (7) days a week and, on rare occasions, twenty- four (24) hours per day. The Contractor(s) would be required to provide foreign language interpretation monitoring telephonically for monitoring interviews conducted via telephone between HQASM personnel and other interpreters (e.g., provided by applicants for immigration benefits). In these cases, the interpreters monitor the interpreted interviews for accuracy. The Contractor(s) would be required to provide telephonic interpretation services at the Contractor’s sites (which may include telework locations) and Government designated facilities. The Contractor(s) would be required to provide telephonic foreign language interpretation “meaning for meaning” related to scripted information: Interpret “meaning for meaning” oral communication from the source languages to the target languages via scripted telephone conversation for individuals and businesses to ensure consistency and accuracy of interpreted calls and ensure meaningful access to DHS services for those who have Limited English Proficiency (LES). The Government will determine the service required (monitoring or direct interpretation services), the method of delivery (telephonic, video assisted, and in-person) and in rare circumstances may require an interpreter of a particular gender. HQASM may require the interpreter’s physical presence at the interview site for cases in which in-person interpreter services are necessary. The types of interviews that may require in-person interpretation include but are not limited to the following: individuals that require sign language interpretation and individuals deemed to be high security risks. Video assisted interpretation is the most common method, but a viable alternative for in-person interpretation might be required, in certain circumstances. The Contractor(s) shall work with the Government to schedule in-person or video assisted interpretation when requested. This may require interpreters travelling to USCIS or DHS facilities to participate in person or by video conference. The Government shall fund the travel costs required for when in-person interpretation is required. Interested parties should provide the following information. Responses should be submitted in Adobe PDF format via electronic mail address only to the Primary Point of Contact listed in this SSA and be no more than ten (10) pages including any Attachments, Exhibits, etc.: (1) Unique Entity ID as registered in the System for Award management (SAM). (2) Company Name as listed in SAM. (3) Confirmation if your Company is a small or other-than-small (i.e., large) business for the subject North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Code: 541930 based on the Small Business Administration (SBA) size standard of $22.5 Million average annual receipts per the SBA Table of Small Business Size Standards effective March 17, 2023. (a) If a small business for NAICS Code: 541930, confirm any socioeconomic category or categories of your Company. (4) Respondent name, telephone number and electronic mail address. (5) Responses to this SSA should demonstrate the company’s capability to provide the services as summarized above and detailed in the DRAFT PWS and associated Attachments. Documentation of technical expertise needs to be presented in sufficient detail for the Government to determine that your company possesses the necessary functional area expertise and experience to compete for this acquisition. Responses should outline the company’s experience with requirements like USCIS’, to include experience with on-demand, interpretation, at volumes similar in size to USCIS. Responses should include the approximate total number of Language & Interpretation Support Services individuals currently employed by the company and their ability to support the Languages and Estimated call Volumes listed in the DRAFT Attachment 25.1 (Required Languages). Note that completed copies of the DRAFT Attachment 25.2 (Confidentiality & Neutrality Statement) are not being requested under this SSA.