DHS has delivered US-VISIT entry, and evaluated exit, capabilities in a  series of increments. DHS reports that  enumeration is being used by DHS’s U.S. Accordingly, we  recommended that DHS develop a plan for delivering a comprehensive  exit capability that included, among other things, key milestones and  performance measures. Processing. To this end, the US-VISIT program  office has established integrated project management plans, and has  adopted an integrated approach to interacting with and involving project  stakeholders, both of which are important ingredients to project success. However, US-VISIT has not developed and employed an integrated  approach to scheduling, executing, and tracking the work that needs to be  accomplished to deliver the Comprehensive Exit solution. Rather, it is  relying on several separate and distinct schedules to manage individual  aspects of the project. Moreover, not all of these individual schedules are  reliable because they have not been derived in accordance with relevant  schedule estimating guidance. Without a Comprehensive Exit integrated  master schedule that is derived in accordance with relevant guidance, the  program office cannot reliably commit to when and how the work needed  to deliver the Comprehensive Exit solution will be performed, and it  cannot adequately manage and measure its progress in executing the work  needed to deliver it. Both the Air Exit Pilots schedule and the Temporary Worker Visa Exit  Pilot schedule only fully meet one of the nine key schedule estimating  practices, and either partially, minimally, or do not meet the remaining  eight. In contrast, the prime contractor’s schedule is largely reliable, as it  fully or substantially meets all nine practices. Conclusions

To DHS’s credit, it has completed or has under way five of six components  that fall under the auspices of its US-VISIT Comprehensive Exit project,  the status of which range from preplanning to transitioning to operations  and maintenance, and it is managing some aspects of these various project  components in an integrated manner. Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and Methodology

Our objectives were to determine (1) the status of the Department of  Homeland Security’s (DHS) efforts to deliver a comprehensive exit  solution for the United States Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator  Technology (US-VISIT) program and (2) the extent to which DHS is  applying an integrated approach to managing its comprehensive exit  solution.
Why GAO Did This Study

The Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) U.S. Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology (US-VISIT) program stores and processes biometric and biographic information to, among other things, control and monitor the entry and exit of foreign visitors. Currently, an entry capability is operating at almost 300 U.S. ports of entry, but an exit capability is not. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has previously reported on limitations in DHS's efforts to plan and execute its efforts to deliver US-VISIT exit, and made recommendations to improve these areas. GAO was asked to determine (1) the status of DHS's efforts to deliver a comprehensive exit solution and (2) to what extent DHS is applying an integrated approach to managing its comprehensive exit solution. To accomplish this, GAO assessed US-VISIT exit project plans, schedules, and other management documentation against relevant criteria, and it observed exit pilots.

What GAO Found

DHS has established a Comprehensive Exit project within its US-VISIT program that consists of six components that are at varying stages of completion. To DHS's credit, the US-VISIT program office has established integrated project management plans for, and has adopted an integrated approach to, interacting with and involving stakeholders in its Comprehensive Exit project. However, it has not adopted an integrated approach to scheduling, executing, and tracking the work that needs to be accomplished to deliver a comprehensive exit solution. Rather, it is relying on several separate and distinct schedules to manage individual components and the US-VISIT prime contractor's work that supports these components. Moreover, neither of the two component schedules that GAO reviewed are reliable because they have not been derived in accordance with relevant guidance. Specifically, both the Air Exit Pilots schedule and the Temporary Worker Visa Exit Pilot schedule only fully meet one of nine key schedule estimating practices, and either partially, minimally, or do not meet the remaining eight. In contrast, the prime contractor's schedule is largely reliable, as it fully or substantially meets all nine practices. Without a master schedule for the Comprehensive Exit project that is integrated and derived in accordance with relevant guidance, DHS cannot reliably commit to when and how the work will be accomplished to deliver a comprehensive exit solution to its almost 300 ports of entry, and it cannot adequately monitor and manage its progress toward this end.