Safety & Security of U.S. Borders (Biometrics)

Overview

The United States is committed to what Secretary Powell has called the policy of “secure borders, open doors,” by facilitating legitimate travel to the United States by international visitors while maintaining the integrity and security of our borders and our nation. The U.S. continues to work to ensure that access to our country is not impeded for legitimate international travelers.

Legal Requirement

In the Enhanced Border Security and Visa Entry Reform Act of 2002, the U.S. Congress mandated the use of biometrics with U.S. visas. This law requires that Embassies and Consulates abroad must issue to international visitors “only machine-readable, tamper-resistant visas and other travel and entry documents that use biometric identifiers,” not later than October 26, 2004.

What is a Biometric?

A biometric or biometric identifier is an objective measurement of a physical characteristic of an individual which, when captured in a database, can be used to verify the identity or check against other entries in the database. The best known biometric is the fingerprint, but others include facial recognition and iris scans.

Making Us Safer – International Visitors

The use of these identifiers is an important link in U.S. national security, because fingerprints taken will be compared with similarly collected fingerprints at US ports of entry under the US-VISIT program. This will verify identity to reduce use of stolen and counterfeit visas, and protect against possible use by terrorists or others who might represent a security risk to the U.S. These two important programs (collecting fingerprints for visa issuance and verifying travelers’ fingerprints when they enter the United States) will make travel to the U.S. safer for legitimate travelers, and also improve safety and national security for all Americans.

What This Means - Traveling to the U.S.

• For U.S. Visas the biometric identifier method chosen is a digital photo and electronic fingerprints. The two index fingers of a visa applicant are electronically scanned in a quick, inkless process during the consular officer's interview with the applicant. Implementation is underway at Embassies and Consulates, and visa applicants can generally expect a fingerprint scan when they are interviewed for their visa. By October 26, 2004 this will be in place in all U.S. visa processing Embassies and Consulates abroad.
• Travel without a Visa - Visa Waiver Program - This requirement relates to passports issued to travelers entering the U.S. without a visa under the Visa Waiver Program. Starting October 26, 2004, visa waiver travelers from ALL 27 Visa Waiver Program countries must present either a machine-readable passport or a U.S. visa. President Bush signed into law a legislative bill, which extends by one year, to October 26, 2005, the requirement for Visa Waiver Program (VWP) countries to include biometrics in passports. The Department of Homeland Security will begin enrolling Visa Waiver Program travelers through the U.S. Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology (US-VISIT) program at all airports and seaports on or about September 30, 2004 . See Visa Waiver Program to learn more about the biometric identifier and machine-readable passport requirements.
• Admission into the U.S. - Select US-VISIT to learn more about the Department of Homeland Security US-VISIT program at U.S. ports of entry, which verifies the identity of the traveler using the electronic fingerprint data and digital photographs.

Applicant Refusal to be Fingerprinted at Visa Interview

A visa applicant who refuses to be fingerprinted would have his or her visa application denied on the basis that it is incomplete. However, an applicant who then later decided to provide fingerprints would have his or her visa application re-considered without prejudice.

About the Information Collected

The electronic data from the two fingerprints is stored in a database and is made available at U.S. ports of entry to Department of Homeland Security immigration inspectors. The electronic fingerprint data is associated with an issued visa for verification and the privacy of the data is protected by storage in the database.

The U.S. Department of State makes data available in accordance with the law governing the use of visa records, to U.S. law enforcement agencies that require the information for law enforcement purposes. Visa records are, by law, confidential. Requests for access to visa records by law enforcement are subject to statutory, regulatory and other legal restrictions.