The Department of Homeland Security has announced
that it has begun expanding the US VISIT program’s
biometric entry procedures to additional land border
entry points along the Canadian and Mexican borders.
As part of the process, Customs and Border Protection
officers collect digital finger scans and photos
of individuals applying for entry with a nonimmigrant
visa, including those using border crossing cards
to travel beyond the border zone or for over 30 days,
or under the Visa Waiver program, according to DHS.
It said since rolling out the program in December
of 2004 to the 50 busiest land border ports of
entry and later at 115 airports and 15 seaports,
over 38 million individuals have been processed and
850 denied entry.
“By moving ahead with the scheduled expansion of US
VISIT to these additional land border ports of entry,
we are taking the next step toward achieving our
long-term and comprehensive vision of a 21st century
immigration and border management system,” said program
director Jim Williams.
As part of the program, DHS is currently testing the
use of radio frequency identification tags to embed
serial numbers to visitor’s cards corresponding to forms
they’ve filled out, something the Government Accountability
Office and watchdog groups have raised privacy and
security concerns about.
