Safety & Security of U.S.
Borders (Biometrics)Overview? Legal Requirement What is a
Biometric? Making Us Safer – International Visitors
What This Means - Traveling to the U.S. Applicant Refusal to be Fingerprinted at Visa Interview About the Information Collected
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.
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