Without effective contract management and oversight, US-VISIT does not know whether the necessary work is being done on time and within budget, or whether proper payments are made, the GAO said.

The GAO recommended that the secretary of DHS implement contract management and financial controls for all contracts awarded by the US-Visit program office.

In written comments, DHS officials said while they dispute some of the GAO's findings, they agree with the need for improvement. For example, DHS disagreed with the GAO finding that a duplicate payment for US$3 million had been made to one contractor. The DHS said the contractor that had sent the duplicate invoice ultimately refunded the second payment.