Browse Definitions :
Definition

national file tracking system (NFTS)

TechTarget Contributor
By

The national file tracking system (NFTS) is a centralized database for tracking the movement of immigration files. 

NFTS, which has a web component, is used by the United States Citizen and Imigration Services (USCIS), Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Department of State. The web interface for NFTS allows file requests and status changes to be updated within minutes, providing system users with near real-time information about the location and status of paper file folders.  NFTS is currently tracking nearly 115 million immigrant files and supporting over 17,000 concurrent users. 

The national file tracking system (NFTS) was developed to better track alien file (A-File) location information. Each person who applies for immigration benefits in the United States is assigned an identifier that consists of nine digits and the letter A.  This A-file can contain anywhere from one page to hundreds of pages of documents such as benefit applications and petitions, supporting documents, photographs, notifications, memorandums of investigation, record of proceedings before administrative review boards and third-party information related to violation of law. 

Missing A-files can have an impact on the process of adjudicating applications in several ways. For example, when an A-file is not available at the location indicated in the automated file-tracking system, additional time is spent trying to locate the file, which slows the adjudication process. In addition, missing A-files can hinder USCIS’ s ability to uncover immigration benefit fraud and limit the Department of Homeland Security's ability to enforce actions.

There are plans underway to move all A-list documentation from paper records to electronic records. 

Learn More:

The National File Tracking System (NFTS) is part of the Federal IT Investment Dashboard.

The Department of Homeland Security Chief Information Officer conducted a comprehensive review of the USCIS National File Tracking System (NFTS) on April 30, 2010.

This was last updated in June 2010

SearchCompliance

  • information governance

    Information governance is a holistic approach to managing corporate information by implementing processes, roles, controls and ...

  • enterprise document management (EDM)

    Enterprise document management (EDM) is a strategy for overseeing an organization's paper and electronic documents so they can be...

  • risk assessment

    Risk assessment is the identification of hazards that could negatively impact an organization's ability to conduct business.

SearchSecurity

  • cyber espionage

    Cyber espionage, also called cyber spying, is a form of cyber attack that is carried out against a competitive company or ...

  • virus (computer virus)

    A computer virus is malicious code that replicates by copying itself to another program, computer boot sector or document and ...

  • honeypot (computing)

    A honeypot is a network-attached system set up as a decoy to lure cyber attackers and detect, deflect and study hacking attempts ...

SearchHealthIT

SearchDisasterRecovery

  • risk mitigation

    Risk mitigation is a strategy to prepare for and lessen the effects of threats faced by a business.

  • call tree

    A call tree is a layered hierarchical communication model that is used to notify specific individuals of an event and coordinate ...

  • Disaster Recovery as a Service (DRaaS)

    Disaster recovery as a service (DRaaS) is the replication and hosting of physical or virtual servers by a third party to provide ...

SearchStorage

  • cloud storage

    Cloud storage is a service model in which data is transmitted and stored on remote storage systems, where it is maintained, ...

  • cloud testing

    Cloud testing is the process of using the cloud computing resources of a third-party service provider to test software ...

  • storage virtualization

    Storage virtualization is the pooling of physical storage from multiple storage devices into what appears to be a single storage ...

Close