Northrop Grumman lands DHS biometrics deal

Northrop Grumman Corp. won a Homeland Security Department contract potentially worth $750 million over five years to scan and record the fingerprints of foreigners applying for U.S. residency and citizenship.

The Citizenship and Immigration Services, a unit of DHS, awarded the indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract to Northrop Grumman. The contract, which is worth $357 million for the first year, has four one-year options.

Northrop Grumman has been performing the fingerprinting services for the immigration agency since 1999. The work involves electronic scanning and recording of fingerprints, along with the collection of photographs and signatures.

The company will perform the work at 136 application support centers around the country.

Under Northrop Grumman's management, the fingerprint rejection rate has been reduced to 1.5 percent, down from 20 percent initially, the company said. Northrop Grumman instituted additional training and a certification program for quality assurance.

Northrop Grumman's teammates are USE Inc., Orlando, Fla.;
Pinkerton Government Services Inc., Mansfield, Mass.; and
International Organization for Migration, Geneva.

Northrop Grumman of Los Angeles has more than 120,000 employees and had revenues of $30.7 billion in 2005. The company ranks No. 2 on Washington Technology's 2006 Top 100 list of the largest federal IT contractors.