IBM tapped to help speed immigration services

New York - The Department of Homeland Security has tapped IBM to help speed U.S. immigration services in a deal that could total nearly half a billion dollars over the next five years.

Under the agreement announced Thursday, IBM will help move the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services agency from a "pencil and paper operation" to a centralized, electronic system.

The agency hopes the transition will cut down on the time it takes to screen applications for citizenship and determine immigration benefits. It gets roughly 6 million to 8 million immigration applications each year.

The first 90 days of IBM's contract is worth $14.5 million. Additional options over the next five years could total up to $491.1 million.

Immigration Services spokeswoman Chris Rhatigan said the agency's goal is to cut application wait times down to an average of five months by the end of fiscal 2009 in September.

A deluge of applications in 2007, driven by national attention on immigration reform and a pending fee hike, drove wait times as long as two years, she said.

"What we've just gone through in the last year is the largest surge anyone can remember," she said. "And we had to pencil in every application."

IBM shares fell $4.29, or 4.8 percent, to $85.15.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.