privacy_pia_uscis_cis.pdf

Privacy Impact Assessment for the Central Index System June 22, 2007 Contact Point Elizabeth Gaffin Privacy Officer U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (202) 272-1400 Reviewing Official Hugo Teufel III Chief Privacy Officer Department of Homeland Security (703) 235-0780 Privacy Impact Assessment USCIS, CIS Page 2 Abstract The Department of Homeland Security United States Citizenship and Immigration Services maintains the Central Index System (CIS), a database system originally developed by the legacy Immigration and Naturalization Service. CIS contains information on the status of 57 million applicants/petitioners seeking immigration benefits to include: lawful permanent residents, naturalized citizens, U.S. border crossers, aliens who illegally entered the U.S., aliens who have been issued employment authorization documents, individuals who petitioned for benefits on behalf of family members, and other individuals subject to the provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). This PIA addresses the current status of CIS, and will be updated accordingly as additional USCIS applications and system functionalities are added to CIS. Introduction Background CIS replaced the old Master Index System in 1985 to support a legacy INS reco