USCIS Proposes Background Check Service

Pursuant to the Privacy Act of 1974, the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, proposes to add a new system of records to the Department's inventory, entitled Background Check Service. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Office of Field Operations operates the Background Check Service. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services conducts background checks on petitioners and applicants who are seeking immigration related benefits. To facilitate the background check process and to improve efficiency, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services developed the Background Check Service as a centralized repository that contains the consolidated data on all background check requests and results. The Background Check Service allows authorized U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services representatives to request background checks and access the data stored in the Background Check Service during the adjudication process in order to facilitate informed decision-making.

The established system of records will be effective January 3, 2007 unless comments are received that result in a contrary determination.

USCIS conducts three different background checks on applicants/petitioners applying for USCIS benefits: (1) A Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Fingerprint Check, (2) a FBI Name Check, and (3) a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Treasury Enforcement Communication System/ Interagency Border Inspection System (TECS/IBIS) Name Check. BCS will maintain the requests and results of all background check activity for USCIS.

As a centralized repository containing all background check activity, BCS will provide the status and results of background checks required for completion of immigration eligibility petitions and application determinations from one web-based system to geographically dispersed field offices. This system supports USCIS's initiatives to reduce immigration benefit/petition case backlog and provide significant efficiencies in vetting and resolving the background checks that are required for USCIS benefits. Prior to BCS, information relating to the FBI Fingerprint Checks and the FBI Name Checks were stored in the FD-258 system and FBI Query system respectively. Information relating to the TECS/IBIS Name Checks was not stored in any system.

The information maintained in BCS is initially collected and maintained in one of the following USCIS case management systems and then it is transferred to BCS:

1. Computer-Linked Application Information Management System (CLAIMS) 3, which is used to process applications including, but not limited to, an Adjustment of Status (Green Card) and Temporary Protective Status (TPS);

2. CLAIMS 4, which is used to process applications for Naturalization;

3. Refugee Asylum Parole System (RAPS), which is used to process Asylum applications; and

4. Marriage Fraud Assurance System (MFAS), which is used for processing information relating to investigations of marriage fraud.

The above systems will send necessary and relevant information to BCS in order to generate a Name Check Request for both the FBI Name Check and TECS/IBIS Name Check. Both the requests and results will be stored in BCS.

Fingerprint information is collected from the applicant at the time the fingerprints are taken in order to conduct the FBI Fingerprint Check. Fingerprints are taken electronically at a USCIS Application Support Centers (ASC) or taken from hard copy fingerprint cards (FD- 258) that are submitted for those applicants who are unable to go to an ASC. The fingerprints are currently stored in the Benefit Biometric Support System (BBSS), which interfaces directly with FBI's Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS). The responses to the FBI Fingerprint Check are collected electronically from the FBI and stored in BCS.

The information collected in BCS as part of the background check process provides USCIS with information about an applicant/petitioner that has National Security or Public Safety implications or indicia of fraud. Having this information and taking action to prevent potentially undesirable and often dangerous people from staying in this country clearly supports two primary missions of DHS: preventing terrorist attacks within the United States and reducing America's vulnerability to terrorism, while facilitating the adjudication of lawful benefit applications.

The results of these background checks will be used to make eligibility determinations, which will result in the approval or denial of a benefit. If fraudulent or criminal activity is detected as a result of the background check, information will be forwarded to appropriate law enforcement agencies including Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), FBI, CBP, and/or local law enforcement.

BCS maintains three general categories of records: applicant/ petitioner identification information, Background Check Request information, and Background Check Result information.

A. Applicant/Petitioner information includes biographic information associated with each applicant/petitioner including, but not limited to; Name, Date of Birth, Country of Birth, Address, and employment status. The applicant/petitioner information also includes uniquely identifiable numbers, including but not limited to: Alien Number, Z- number, Receipt Number, Social Security Number, Armed Forces Identification Number, etc. This information would be derived from newly created benefit applications in USCIS Systems of Records or an update to previously submitted benefit applications.

B. Background Check Request information contains data necessary to perform a background check through the FBI Fingerprint Check, FBI Name Check and CBP IBIS Name Check services. This data may include: Transaction Control Numbers associated with FBI Fingerprint Checks, Receipt Numbers, date/time of submission, physical description of subject, and a reason for the submission of the application (i.e. USCIS Form Code). This category also covers logs associated with the requests of background checks, which may include: requesting location and requesting person.

C. Background Check Result information encompasses data received from the FBI and CBP. This data may include: identifying transactional information (i.e. transaction control number), biographical information, a subject's FBI Information Sheet (informally known as a RAP Sheet) as a result of an FBI Fingerprint Check, an FBI Name Check Report, and information from the CBP IBIS Database. The CBP IBIS Database includes data from TECS and NCIC databases.

Records in the system will be stored in a central computer database.

A combination of the following BCS data elements may be used to initiate a query in order to retrieve data from the BCS User Interface. These data elements include, an individual's Alien File Number; Name and Date of Birth; and Receipt Number.

(12/08/2006)

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