Computer Sciences wins INS contract

Computers Sciences said Wednesday that it has won a contract with the federal government to install a new computer system for the Immigration and Naturalization Service, the agency responsible for regulating the entry of foreigners into the United States and for naturalizing immigrants for U.S. citizenship. Under the terms of the seven-year, $31 million contract, Computer Sciences will develop and maintain a new system to verify the immigration status of non-citizens applying for government benefits and seeking employment in the United States. The new system will serve an estimated 50,000 federal, state and local government offices and replace a mainframe-based system now in use. The INS has come under intense scrutiny since Sept. 11 for mismanagement and outdated computer systems. --Alorie Gilbert, Special to ZDNet News