Developing a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) Handbook for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

The purpose of this applied research project was to provide U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), a component under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), with a Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) handbook for the clerical department in the San Bernardino (SBD) and San Diego (SND) Field Offices. To maximize consistency and quality across the clerical department, it is vital to understand the process of employing a SOP for a large- scale organization. This was determined by conducting participant observations, semi- structured interviews and a thorough document analysis, focusing on three specific research questions: 1) What key components of a SOP are not in place/missing in the supporting documents? 2) How does the use of effective language and format incorporate to convey a clear instructional tone? 3) In what ways do regulations, guidance, and institutional policies correlate with the goals of the clerical department? The study was conducted in the Spring Semester of 2020 in the clerical department at the SBD Field Office. This report offers guidance to leadership at USCIS to implement a SOP as a communication vehicle to promote uniformity, increase productivity, and reduce the risk of errors, thus, contributing to the success of the clerical department. The deliverable for this project is a reference guide located in Appendix B that provides a guide, How to Develop an Effective Standard Operating Procedures (SOP), to facilitate the development of reference documents.