Fact Sheet: US-VISIT

US-VISIT is a top priority for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security because it enhances security for our citizens and visitors while facilitating legitimate travel and trade across our borders.  US-VISIT helps to secure our borders, facilitate the entry and exit process, and enhance the integrity of our immigration system while respecting the privacy of our visitors.  

US-VISIT is part of a continuum of security measures that begins overseas and continues through a visitor’s arrival in and departure from the United States.  It incorporates eligibility determinations made by both the Departments of Homeland Security and State.  

In those cases where a visa is issued by the Department of State, biometrics such as digital, inkless fingerscans and digital photographs allow the Department of Homeland Security to determine whether the person applying for entry to the United States is the same person who was issued the visa by the Department of State.  Additionally, the biometric and biographic data is checked against watch lists, improving the Department of Homeland Security’s ability to make admissibility decisions as well as the Department of State’s ability to make visa determinations.

US-VISIT currently applies to all visitors (with limited exemptions) holding non-immigrant visas, regardless of country of origin.  

Starting September 30, 2004, US-VISIT procedures will be expanded to include visitors traveling to the United States under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) arriving at airports and seaports of entry.  See Appendix A for a list of the countries in the Visa Waiver Program.

US-VISIT entry procedures are currently in place at 115 airports and 14 seaports.  Exit procedures are being piloted in two airports and one seaport and will be in an additional 11 airports and two seaports in the fall of 2004.  By December 31, 2004, US VISIT entry procedures will be implemented at secondary screening at the 50 busiest land ports of entry and to all 165 land ports entry by December 31, 2005.    

The Goals of US-Visit are to:

• Enhance the security of our citizens and visitors
• Facilitate legitimate travel and trade
• Ensure the integrity of our immigration system
• Protect the privacy of our visitors

How It Works  

Pre-Entry:

• Visitors applying for a visa have their information reviewed before they enter the United States.  Both the Departments of Homeland Security and State play a role in determining the eligibility of a visitor to receive a visa.

Entry:

• Many of the entry procedures in place today at airports and seaports remain unchanged and are familiar to international visitors.  When a visitor arrives through an airport or seaport, he or she is enrolled in US-VISIT as part of the primary inspection process.  Once land border processing is operational, visitors arriving with a visa at a land border will be enrolled in US VISIT at the secondary inspection area. (This does not initially apply to those Mexicans who use their Border Crossing Cards for trips under 30 days and within the 25-mile border zone.)

• The new, inkless digital fingerscanner is easy to use.  Visitors first put the left index finger, then the right index finger on a glass plate that electronically captures their fingerscans.

• Visitors will also look into a camera and their digital picture will be taken.

• U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officers will review travel documents and ask questions about the visitor’s stay in the United States.

• The biometric enhancements to the entry procedures add minimal time to the process – an average of 15 seconds in most cases.

• Biometric identifiers also protect our visitors by making it virtually impossible for anyone else to claim their identity should their biometrically-enhanced travel documents (such as a visa) be stolen or duplicated.

Status Management:

• Should a visitor seek to adjust status or extend his/her stay, US-VISIT would be updated with any modifications to the individual’s status.

Exit:

• US-VISIT is exploring departure confirmation alternatives.  The tests and evaluation will continue in 2004.  Ultimately, all visitors will be required to check out before leaving the United States.  

• US-VISIT exit procedures are operating in three locations: Chicago O’Hare International Airport, Baltimore Washington International Airport, and Miami International Cruise Line Terminal.  Visitors leaving from these locations must check out.  

• The exit pilot program will be expanded from its current locations and will be piloted at the following airports and seaports in the fall of 2004:
  
  o Atlanta (Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport)
  o Dallas/Fort Worth (Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport)
  o Denver (Denver International Airport)
  o Detroit (Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport)
  o Ft. Lauderdale, Florida (Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport)
  o Newark, New Jersey (Newark Liberty International Airport)
  o Philadelphia (Philadelphia International Airport)
  o Phoenix (Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport)  
  o San Francisco (San Francisco International Airport)
  o San Juan, Puerto Rico (Luis Muñoz Marin International Airport)
  o Seattle (Seattle-Tacoma International Airport)
  o Los Angeles (San Pedro and Long Beach Seaports)
  
  A visitor can expect to encounter one of these departure procedures at the ports above. After evaluating these exit procedures, DHS will select the most effective process to implement at airports and seaports system wide.

• The exit procedures being piloted require foreign visitors to check out at an exit station or with a US VISIT exit attendant at the departure gate at the port.  Foreign visitors will go though one of the following three processes, depending on location.
  
  o Under one alternative, visitors departing the United States will check out of the country at exit stations located within the airport or seaport terminal.   As with the process the visitors encounter upon entry at airports or seaports, their travel documents are read, their two index fingers will be scanned at the exit station, their digital picture will be taken, and they will receive a printed receipt that verifies that they have checked out. An exit attendant will be available to assist with visitors’ check out.
  
  o The second alternative still uses the exit station but includes an additional step – verifying – at the departure gate.  Visitors will be required to present the receipt at their departure gate to confirm that they checked out at the exit station.  The exit attendant will scan the receipt and then ask the visitor to place an index finger on the scanning device.  Once the person’s identity is matched to the receipt, the exit attendant will hand the visitor his or her receipt back and the visitor will board the airplane.
  
  o Another alternative under the pilot program is a biometric check-out process with a US VISIT exit attendant at visitors’ departure gates.

• Currently, visitors with a visa who depart from a port where the departure confirmation system is in place must comply.  Starting September 30, 2004, visitors traveling to the United States under the VWP will also need to check out before leaving the United States. This exit confirmation information will help facilitate the visitor’s future visits to the United States.  

• US-VISIT compares arrival and departure biographical manifest data provided by the airlines and cruise lines to know when someone entered and exited the country.  

Applicability to Visitors Traveling Under the Visa Waiver Program

• To further the goal of DHS to secure our borders while facilitating legitimate travel and trade, visitors from VWP countries will be processed through the US-VISIT Program at airports and seaports of entry starting September 30, 2004.  

• The US-VISIT procedures are simple, clean and fast; collecting the biometrics takes less than 15 seconds.

Respecting Privacy and the Environment

• The Department of Homeland Security safeguards the biometric and biographic information provided by travelers and ensures that their privacy interests are not violated.  US-VISIT records will be protected in a manner consistent with all applicable privacy laws and regulations.  Personal information will be kept secure and confidential and will not be discussed with or disclosed to any person within or outside the US-VISIT Program other than as authorized by law and as required for the performance of official duties.  Careful safeguards, including appropriate security controls, will ensure that the data is not used or accessed improperly.  Visitors who feel they are in need of recourse on privacy issues can contact the US-VISIT Privacy Officer, who will address individual issues.

• US-VISIT has published a Privacy Impact Assessment that ensures that personal information is used appropriately, protected from misuse and improper disclosure, and destroyed when no longer needed.  This will be updated as necessary.

• Environmental assessments have been completed for airports and seaports and it has been determined that there are no significant impacts as a result of US-VISIT.

Timing and Delivery

• The Department of Homeland Security has met the December 31, 2003 Congressional deadline to have in place an entry/exit program that strengthens security and facilitates travel for legitimate visitors while respecting their privacy and our environment.  

• The Department of Homeland Security met Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge’s deadline to implement technology that will collect and match biometric information (digital fingerscans and photos) of foreign nationals required to obtain a visa to enter the United States at the airport and seaport primary inspection locations.

• US-VISIT awarded in May, 2004 a five-year, multi-billion dollar contract to Accenture LLP to provide a wide range of professional and technical services to support the modernization of our border management processes and information technology systems.  The procurement process for this acquisition took six months.  A Request for Proposals was issued in November 2003 to engage the private sector to help the US-VISIT program office identify the optimum solution for exit and entry systems at land borders.  

• Visitors traveling under the VWP will be enrolled in US-VISIT at airports and seaports of entry starting September 30, 2004.

• Visitors traveling under the VWP will be enrolled in US-VISIT at the nation’s 50 busiest land ports of entry beginning December 31, 2004.  

• Visitors traveling under the VWP will be enrolled at the nation’s remaining land border crossings beginning December 31, 2005.

• The US-VISIT program received $367 million for FY 03 and has been appropriated $340 million for FY 04.  A spending plan was submitted to the GAO and both appropriations committees have approved it.

 

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Appendix A - Countries in the Visa Waiver Program

• Andorra                                  
• Austria                                    
• Australia                                  
• Belgium                                    
• Brunei                                      
• Denmark                                  
• Finland                        
• France                                      
• Germany                                  
• Iceland                                    
• Ireland
• Italy
• Japan
• Liechtenstein
• Luxembourg
• Monaco
• Netherlands
• New Zealand
• Norway
• Portugal
• San Marino
• Singapore
• Slovenia
• Spain
• Sweden
• Switzerland
• United Kingdom (For citizens with the unrestricted right of permanent abode in England Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.)

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Updated: September 27, 2004