10/19/2006

USCIS has announced that it has created a new directorate within the USCIS merging Fraud Detection/National Security function and Records function under one umbrella. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Emilio T. Gonzalez has established a new operational Directorate, National Security and Records Verification. This new Directorate is made up of two divisions formerly embedded within the Domestic Operations Directorate, Fraud Detection and National Security (FDNS) Division and the Records Division plus a new Verifications Division.

FDNS functions as USCIS’ law enforcement liaison and handles all USCIS’ intelligence work, fraud detection and, as part of the new Directorate, the national security cases previously handled in Domestic Operations. The Records Division has diverse responsibilities, primary among them the storage and retrieval of close to 100 million immigration records, virtually all paper based. The new Verification Division now encompasses the Basic Pilot and SAVE volunteer employment and status verification programs, which allows participating employers to confirm employment eligibility of all newly hired employees.

"As USCIS’ National Security functions continue to increase in both complexity and visibility, they need to be strategically positioned to deliver services both internally and externally," Director Gonzalez stated. "The merger of Records, FDNS and Verification into the National Security and Records Verification Directorate will enhance the security of our immigration system and stamp out fraud and abuse, through improved operational efficiency."

The National Security and Records Verification Directorate will be led by Acting Associate Director Janis Sposato, a 31-year veteran of the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security, and the former Deputy Associate Director of the Domestic Operations Directorate.