SOLICITATION NOTICE
R -- Customer Service Centers/Non-Immigrant Visa Operations
- Notice Date
- 2/21/2007
- Notice Type
- Solicitation Notice
- NAICS
- 561990
— All Other Support Services
- Contracting Office
- Department of State, Diplomatic Telecommunications Service Program Office, Acquisitions, 3920 Pender Drive, Fairfax, VA, 22030, UNITED STATES
- ZIP Code
- 00000
- Solicitation Number
- 2020-715808
- Response Due
- 3/21/2007
- Archive Date
- 4/5/2007
- Description
- 1.0 SUBJECT Request for Information (RFI) for customer service centers, located outside the continental United States to support non-immigrant visa operations at United States consulates and embassies abroad. Responses are due to this RFI by 4:00 PM on March 21, 2007. See section 8.0 for further information. 2.0 DESCRIPTION The Bureau of Consular Affairs, of the United States Department of State, is seeking information from industry that will assist in our consideration of a possible procurement of services where under the contractor would provide customer services for applicants for non-immigrant visas at locations overseas. Specifically, this RFI seeks the following information: Feasibility of the creation of customer service centers; ? that provide information about visa application processes, ? that provide data entry support (to include 10-fingerscan and live digital photo capture) to consulates and embassies for large numbers of visa applicants, ? to provide or arrange for courier services to return documents to visa applicants, ? to collect visa fees on behalf of the United States Government and deposit said fees, and ? to provide appointments for interviews as required. Potential cost of service information per client based on a given set of parameters; Quality assurance and risk mitigation strategies to prevent fraud, employee malfeasance and loss; Proposed business process that provides efficient, quality services to a diverse client base that complies with all requirements. 3.0 REQUIREMENTS This section outlines the functional requirements for a customer service center. For purposes of responding to the RFI, requirements in the form of hypothetical locations to be served and additional technical details such as systems information and hardware requirements will be delivered to respondents at an information exchange meeting to be scheduled at a later date (see Section 6.0, below). Customer service centers are intended to provide information, service support and data collection activities at sites that are convenient for applicants for non-immigrant visas but are not located on United States Government Property. As increased demand for non-immigrant visas creates infrastructure challenges for existing embassies and consulates, these centers must accommodate high numbers of customers without support from the U.S. Government. Ideally, the location of these centers would allow for easy and secure access by the public in an environment that does not detract from the image of the U.S. Government. In the case of this RFI, assume an initial site or sites located in Monterrey, Mexico and/or major population centers in the region. After establishment and evaluation, upon approval by the Department of State, the contractor could expand the service to approved cities supporting selected consular sections worldwide. The contractor, either directly, or through approved sub-contractors will provide the following services: ? Provision of visa process information via full-service call center; ? Visa Interview and Biometric Collection Appointment Scheduling; ? Machine Readable Visa (MRV) Fee Collection; ? Data entry or verification services for visa application forms in Department of State software; ? Initial collection of biometric data (10 fingerprint scanning) of applicants between 14 and 80 years of age; ? Live capture digital photograph of all visa applicants; ? Arrangement and payment for courier services for return of documents following visa interview appointment. The potential for adding video communications also exists as a secondary requirement at this time. Video services to be supported will include, but not be limited to, conferencing and multicast/broadcast. These services can be added on an as-needed basis after the establishment of the facility and will not be necessary at all facilities. Must be able to provision and maintain an IT infrastructure and high-speed internet access. (Specification pending from CST). Estimated throughput will be based on moving 500kb files from contractor site to State Department servers. Estimate 250,000 files per year. The purpose of this RFI is to gather information about those requirements enumerated above. To the extent simplifying assumptions are needed, respondents are encouraged to make and document such assumptions in their responses. 4.0 POSSIBLE SERVICE CENTER SCHEMA Customer Service Centers run by the contractor in selected cities are operated to serve as a one-stop facility for visa applicants to get information related to visas and to submit their online application. The interview will be conducted, and the application will be adjudicated by U.S. consular officers at a nearby consular section. Located in key population centers servicing a consular section, the service center requires applicants to come in person for collection of biometric data by the contractor. The applicant first makes contact with the contractor through one of several means, as published on the consular section website (this could be a call center, online appointment system, or other technique, to be determined). For the purposes of this RFI, assume use of the existing call center in Mexico, provided under CA?s user pays umbrella contract with Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC). Applicants will be scheduled for an appearance at the customer service center (in connection with making a visa interview appointment), at least 24 hours prior to their visa appointment. We would expect the customer service centers to be open at hours that allow for convenient access for applicants, including some evening hours and weekends. Currently, all applicants are required to enter their application information on a form available through the consular section?s website. The form, which allows for data entry to our database, returns a hardcopy application with a barcode when the applicant prints it out. When the applicant arrives at the customer service center, an employee can scan the barcode in a web-enabled application, which will bring up the applicant?s form. The contractor will verify data accuracy with the applicant?s passport and the applicant. The employee then scans the applicant?s fingerprints, takes a digital photo, with all images captured in the application. Upon completion of these steps, the employee transmits, via the web-enabled application, the form, which goes to the supported consular section. The digital fingerscans and photos are large files; the contractor must ensure that bandwidth and line speed will allow them to transmit these large files over the internet at sufficient speed to handle applicant volume. If a client has not filled out the appropriate on-line forms, a terminal should be provided for them to do so at the customer service center, or a customer service employee can complete this task for them. In some cases, the contractor may be required to courier applicant?s passports to the consulate in advance of the interview. The contractor will host a payment facility of the bank that currently has a Memorandum of Understanding with the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City to collect on behalf of the United States Government (USG) appropriate, State Department-approved fees for the application process. This fee will generally consist of a $100 MRV processing fee (subject to change), which must be deposited into a U.S. Government account on a daily basis, with receipts going to the official cashier at the supported consular section. The applicant also arranges with the contractor to receive the visa or border crossing card by courier or on the premises of the contractor in the event that the application is approved. Upon completion of the process, the contractor provides a receipt with the interview appointment date, receipt of fee and bar code printed on it. The applicant must take this receipt to the consulate for his or her appointment as it also serves as the ticket for entry. 4.1 Fees The Bureau of Consular Affairs has not established the nature of fees for this initiative, specifically whether there will be a user pays fee paid by the applicant separate from the MRV fee or whether the Department of State will cover the costs. Regardless, we make the following assumptions: The contractor should calculate the cost to the USG (in other words, what the contractor expects to charge) on a per-application basis for the requirements stated above. The method of contracting has yet to be determined, but the contractor?s estimate of costs is important to this RFI. We would appreciate an estimate for a customer service center processing 255,000 applicants per year to support the proposed pilot post, Monterrey. Costs should be broken down by step of the process, such as: ? Making the appointment by a proposed means; ? Collecting biometric data; ? Taking the digital photograph (directly into the web application); ? Hosting a banking collection facility; ? Courier service from Consular section to applicant?s residence, or designated contractor pickup point. While current high-volume posts average about 5 minutes to scan and verify data, you may calculate the amount of time required to service each client to be 7 minutes, give or take a minute. This time includes checking the application for completeness, scanning fingerprints, and taking the photograph. Making courier arrangements, data entry of applications (which might be required in the event that an applicant has no access to the internet), and cashier payment is not included in the 7-minute figure. At this time, for the sake of this RFI, assume that peripheral equipment (fingerprint scanners and digital cameras) will be provided by the Department of State, as will any specialized software. Contractors will supply computers, internet software (e.g., Internet Explorer), printers, and high speed internet connectivity. In addition to providing a facility, the customer service center will have to outfit its own furniture, servers, and PC?s. 5.0 SAMPLE RESPONSE OUTLINE Following is a suggested outline and suggested page counts for a response to this RFI. This outline is intended to minimize the effort of the respondent and structure the responses for ease of analysis by the government. Nevertheless, respondents are free to develop their response as they see fit. Section 1 ? Conceptual Approach Briefly describe how the contractor might satisfy requirements above, including any recommended alternatives to the proposed process. Section 2 ? Feasibility Assessment Briefly describe the feasibility of the conceptual approach and the contractor?s ability to ensure high-quality, low-risk services. Section 3 ? Cost and Schedule Estimates Provide cost estimates for the proposed process on a per application basis for the provided estimates in section 4.1 above. Section 4 ? Risk Mitigation Describe the proposed strategies to prevent fraud, employee malfeasance and loss. This section should describe security precautions taken with applicant?s personal documents (passport, visa, Border Crossing Card), as well as cash collection and transfer precautions. Security of sites of the customer service centers should be addressed. Section 5 ? Corporate Expertise Briefly describe your company, your products and services, history, ownership, financial information, and other information you deem relevant. (no suggested page count) In particular, please describe any projects you have been involved in that are similar in concept to what is described in this RFI, including management and operations approach, security requirements, security assurance processes, and any relevant lessons learned. Include any comments on the structure of the requirements for a formal RFP response. Section 6 ? Additional Materials Please provide any other materials, suggestions, and discussion you deem appropriate. 6.0 INFORMATION EXCHANGE MEETINGS The Bureau of Consular Affairs will hold an information exchange meeting to discuss this RFI with interested potential respondents on March 7, 2007. The designated time and location will be provided upon request. If you wish to attend this meeting, please respond to the contact provided in section 8.0, below. 7.0 DISCLAIMER This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes only and does not constitute a solicitation. All information received in response to this RFI that is marked Proprietary will be handled accordingly. Responses to the RFI will not be returned. In accordance with FAR 15.202(e), responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. Responders are solely responsible for all expenses associated with responding to this RFI. 8.0 CONTACT INFORMATION Following is the Point of Contact (POC) for this RFI, including the public information exchange meeting: Jeffrey C. Vick Management Analyst Office of the Executive Director Bureau of Consular Affairs Telephone (202)-663-2503 Vickjc@state.gov Please submit responses via e-mail in Microsoft Office format by 4:00 PM on March 21, 2007, to the POC at: govnet.ts.fts@gsa.gov. You may also submit supplemental hardcopy materials such as brochures, etc. (5 copies each) to the POC.
- Record
- SN01235728-W 20070223/070221220344 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
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