CVTEK LLC (70SBUR25R00000009)

B-423943,B-423943.2 Feb 12, 2026 Jump To FULL REPORT VIEW DECISION RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights CVTEK, LLC, a small business of McLean, Virginia, protests the issuance of a task order to Spatial Front, Inc. (SFI), a small business of Bethesda, Maryland, under request for proposals (RFP) No. 70SBUR25R00000009, issued by the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for information technology support services. The protester challenges the agency's evaluation of proposals and resulting source selection decision. We deny the protest. View Decision DOCUMENT FOR PUBLIC RELEASE The decision issued on the date below was subject to a GAO Protective Order. This redacted version has been approved for public release. Decision Matter of: CVTEK, LLC File: B-423943; B-423943.2 Date: February 12, 2026 Michelle F. Kantor, Esq., and Daniel Schoeni, Esq., McDonald Hopkins LLC, for the protester. Jonathan T. Williams, Esq., Katherine B. Burrows, Esq., Josephine R. Farinelli, Esq., and Kelly A. Kirchgasser, Esq., Piliero Mazza PLLC, for Spatial Front, Inc., the intervenor. Richard W. Postma, Jr., Esq., and Jessica A. Easton, Esq., Department of Homeland Security, for the agency. Jungi Hong, Esq., Samantha S. Lee, Esq., and Peter H. Tran, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST 1. Protest alleging the awardee engaged in a “bait and switch” of key personnel is denied where the record does not support the allegation. 2. Protest that agency failed to assess the awardee's responsibility is denied where there is no requirement that an agency determine responsibility prior to issuing a task order when a responsibility determination was made at the time of the award of the infinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract. DECISION CVTEK, LLC, a small business of McLean, Virginia, protests the issuance of a task order to Spatial Front, Inc. (SFI), a small business of Bethesda, Maryland, under request for proposals (RFP) No. 70SBUR25R00000009, issued by the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for information technology support services. The protester challenges the agency's evaluation of proposals and resulting source selection decision. We deny the protest. BACKGROUND On May 8, 2025, under the fair opportunity procedures of Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) subpart 16.5, the agency issued the solicitation to holders of indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contracts under the General Services Administration's (GSA) 8(a)[1] Streamlined Technology Acquisition Resource for Services (STARS) III governmentwide acquisition contract (GWAC) vehicle. Agency Report (AR), Exh. 17, RFP at 5;[2] Contracting Officer's Statement (COS) at 1-2. The agency sought proposals to manage and provide technical operations and support services to maintain and enhance operations and maintenance capabilities at USCIS's Technical Operations Center (TOC) in Stennis, Mississippi. AR, Exh. 18, Performance Work Statement (PWS) at 4-5; COS at 1. The solicitation contemplated issuance of a hybrid time-and-materials and fixed-price type task order with one 8-month base period, four 12-month option periods, and a final 4-month option period for a total of 60 months. RFP at 2-4, 47; COS at 1. The RFP provided for award to be made on a best-value tradeoff basis, considering four evaluation factors, listed in descending order of importance: (1) corporate experience; (2) staffing matrix; (3) operational approach; and (4) price. RFP at 86-88; COS at 1. When combined, the non-price factors are significantly more important than price. RFP at 87. The RFP provided for proposals to be submitted in two phases, addressing corporate experience in phase I and the three other evaluation factors in phase II. Id. at 86-88. For each non-price factor, USCIS would assess its “confidence level” and assign a corresponding adjectival rating of “high confidence,” “some confidence,” or “low confidence.”[3] Id. at 89. The agency received eighteen phase I proposals, including those submitted by CVTEK and SFI, by the June 2, deadline for submission. AR, Exh. 42, Award Decision Document at 3-4. Following the phase I evaluation, USCIS issued an advisory “down-select” notice to four offerors, including CVTEK and SFI, to proceed to phase II. Id.; RFP at 82-83; COS at 2. The table below summarizes the agency's evaluation of CVTEK's and SFI's proposals for both phases:   CVTEK SFI Corporate Experience High Confidence High Confidence Staffing Matrix Some Confidence Some Confidence Operational Approach High Confidence High Confidence Price $43,340,052 $39,205,459 AR, Exh. 42, Award Decision Document at 3-4.