---
title: "No bid, no price, no schedule: ICE moves visa vetting onto Palantir Foundry"
description: "ICE is moving the applications behind U.S. visa screening onto Palantir's Foundry without a competition, with the price redacted and a 2022 audit's findings still open. In London the same un-competed model is in the High Court, and analysts say a single terminated government contract could collapse the premium."
publisher: "The Inference"
section: "Policy"
published: 2026-10-10T15:30:38.482Z
modified: 2026-10-10T15:30:38.482Z
canonical: https://theinference.org/article/no-bid-no-price-no-schedule-ice-moves-visa-vetting-onto-palantir-foundry
language: en
keywords: "Palantir, ICE, Government Contracts, Surveillance, United Kingdom, Valuation"
---

# No bid, no price, no schedule: ICE moves visa vetting onto Palantir Foundry

> ICE is moving the applications behind U.S. visa screening onto Palantir's Foundry without a competition, with the price redacted and a 2022 audit's findings still open. In London the same un-competed model is in the High Court, and analysts say a single terminated government contract could collapse the premium.

## The vetting machine changes hands

On October 7, ICE published a [five-page justification for canceling the competition](https://www.biometricupdate.com/202610/ice-scraps-visa-vetting-system-recompete-in-favor-of-palantir-foundry) it had scheduled for July to keep supporting its Visa Security Program Tracking System: operations move to [Palantir](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/palantir)'s Foundry instead [1]. VSPTS holds the screening reviews, investigative findings and case notes behind U.S. visa decisions, kept for up to 25 years, or 75 for terrorism-related reviews [1].

## A bridge contract, and no price for the move

The incumbent, Steampunk, was awarded $1,652,240.82 on September 23 to keep the old system alive for up to two years while ICE researches who can run the migration itself [1]. The justification's pricing figures are redacted, it discloses no schedule, and it does not explain how Palantir was selected [1].

In April, this same work was forecast as a five-year, $5 million to $10 million competition [1]. The two-year bridge alone is a third of that estimate's low end, before any migration price exists [1]. Palantir had already collected about [$45.8 million from ICE in June for an HSI Enterprise Lakehouse](https://theinference.org/article/palantir-s-126-million-ice-tool-profiled-people-who-film-ice-agents-a-court-filing-shows) linking case files across federal systems [1]. [ICE's terms keep the data agency-owned](https://www.biometricupdate.com/202610/ice-observer-lawsuit-shows-how-palantir-records-can-feed-border-screening-analytics) [2]; the ground it runs on is Palantir's.

## The audit that outlived the system it flagged

A September 2022 DHS inspector general audit examined 120 visa applications and found 13 where analysts had not supported their conclusions, and in two more, data-transfer failures truncated case notes [1]. ICE said it had removed the 4,000-character limit behind the truncations, yet all three audit recommendations were still listed as open on October 9 [1]. The justification says nothing about whether the migration fixes those defects or inherits them [1].

## The growth that carries 158 times earnings

Palantir's [second-quarter revenue was $1.935 billion](https://beinsure.com/news/palantir-pltr-stock-surges-as-ai-growth/), up 93% [4], [a growth rate that has climbed every quarter since late 2023](https://theinference.org/article/palantir-grew-93-last-quarter-as-europe-and-india-build-its-rivals) [3]. U.S. government revenue rose 90% to $809 million, roughly two-fifths of the total, and U.S. commercial jumped 149% to $764 million, with 2026 guidance raised to $8.150 billion to $8.158 billion [4].

*Chart: **U.S. customers are four-fifths of Palantir's business, split evenly between government and commercial** Pie chart of Palantir's second-quarter 2026 revenue: U.S. government $809M, U.S. commercial $764M, international and other $362M.*

*Second-quarter 2026 revenue of $1.935B split by segment, per Palantir's reported quarterly figures: U.S. government $809M, U.S. commercial $764M, and the remaining $362M international and other business derived from the total. Sources: BeInsure; Palantir SEC filings. [3][4]*

The stock trades at 158.1 times trailing earnings against 21.5 for the S&P 500 [4]. [Goldman Sachs upgraded it to buy on October 8 with a $230 target](https://finance.yahoo.com/technology/ai/articles/goldman-sachs-sees-18-upside-120046352.html) [5]. What breaks it, by name: a quarter of U.S. commercial growth below 100%, or [a material government contract termination](https://theinference.org/article/goldman-sachs-230-palantir-call-leans-on-nvidia-the-first-customer-of-their-ai-platform), and government contracts stay terminable at the buyer's convenience [6].

*Chart: **Revenue has climbed every quarter for three years, and Q3 is guided higher** Line chart of Palantir's quarterly revenue in billions of dollars, rising from $0.558B in Q3 2023 to $1.935B in Q2 2026, with Q3 2026 guided at $2.162B and drawn as an estimate.*

*Reported quarterly revenue, US$ billions, from Palantir's SEC filings. The final point is the midpoint of management's Q3 2026 guidance of $2.160B to $2.164B, drawn as an estimate. [3][4]*

## London: the platform already works, and it is in court

The Metropolitan Police [fired the head of its volunteer Special Constabulary this week](https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cjx23yxwe73qo) after Palantir's Foundry, inside the force's lawful business monitoring, caught him copying "view once" images on his work phone [7]. The federation representing officers says staff were never told the monitoring upgrade included Palantir's AI [7].

On a separate two-year contract worth up to £50 million, the mayor's policing office [called the Met's process a "clear and serious breach" of procedure](https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/palantir-met-police-sadiq-khan-b1289320.html), noting the force had only ever considered Palantir [8][9]. [Palantir is suing to force the award](https://theinference.org/article/a-maine-court-filing-puts-palantir-s-ice-database-in-evidence-weeks-before-britain-s-330m-decision), and [the mayor's texts and emails are being searched for disclosure](https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/sadiq-khan-emails-searched-palantir-legal-battle-met-ai-deal-b1295675.html) ahead of a January 2027 hearing [10]. Prime Minister Andy Burnham faces pressure from Labour MPs and unions to end the company's government contracts [7].

## What decides it next

Three readings matter: the migration award ICE has not yet made [1], the January hearing on whether a city can refuse a platform its police already run [10], and third-quarter revenue against the $2.16 billion guide [4]. The files will outlive the people they describe; the paper deciding where they live runs five pages with the price blacked out [1].

## Takeaway

ICE has handed visa vetting to Palantir Foundry without a competition, with the price redacted and a 2022 audit still open, while the same un-competed model is in a London court and analysts say one terminated contract could break the 158x premium.

## Sources

1. [Biometric Update, ICE scraps visa vetting system recompete in favor of Palantir Foundry, October 9, 2026](https://www.biometricupdate.com/202610/ice-scraps-visa-vetting-system-recompete-in-favor-of-palantir-foundry)
2. [Biometric Update, ICE observer lawsuit shows how Palantir records can feed border screening, analytics, October 4, 2026](https://www.biometricupdate.com/202610/ice-observer-lawsuit-shows-how-palantir-records-can-feed-border-screening-analytics)
3. [Palantir, quarterly figures from its SEC filings, retrieved October 10, 2026](https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0001321655)
4. [BeInsure, Palantir (NASDAQ: PLTR) stock surges 57% as AI growth tests its 158x valuation, October 2026](https://beinsure.com/news/palantir-pltr-stock-surges-as-ai-growth/)
5. [Yahoo Finance, Goldman Sachs sees 18% upside for Palantir on sovereign AI growth, October 8, 2026](https://finance.yahoo.com/technology/ai/articles/goldman-sachs-sees-18-upside-120046352.html)
6. [24/7 Wall St. via Yahoo Finance, Palantir's Investment Case is Very Simple Now, September 16, 2026](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/palantir-investment-case-very-simple-120024412.html)
7. [BBC News, Volunteer police chief fired after Palantir probe, October 10, 2026](https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cjx23yxwe73qo)
8. [The Standard, Sadiq Khan blocking Met's £50m Palantir deal was unlawful, High Court documents claim, July 9, 2026](https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/palantir-met-police-sadiq-khan-b1289320.html)
9. [BBC News via MSN, City Hall defends blocking Met's £50m Palantir deal, July 31, 2026](https://www.msn.com/en-xl/news/other/city-hall-defends-blocking-mets-50m-palantir-deal/ar-AA2994dT)
10. [The Standard, Sadiq Khan's emails to be searched in Palantir legal battle over Met AI deal, September 3, 2026](https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/sadiq-khan-emails-searched-palantir-legal-battle-met-ai-deal-b1295675.html)


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No bid, no price, no schedule: ICE moves visa vetting onto Palantir Foundry — The Inference. Canonical: https://theinference.org/article/no-bid-no-price-no-schedule-ice-moves-visa-vetting-onto-palantir-foundry