The Department of Homeland Security has made mixed progress
making recommended management improvements to the US-VISIT
program, the Government Accountability Office has said.
It made 18 recommendations to improve the program, which
collects, maintains and shares information — including
biometric data — on foreign nationals entering and exiting
the country and screens that against watch lists to verify
identity.
DHS agreed to implement them all, but has made only mixed
progress while progress in critical areas has been slow,
according to GAO-06-296.
It said DHS implemented two recommendations by defining
program staff positions, roles, and responsibilities, and it
hired an independent verification and validation contractor.
The department also has taken steps to implement other
recommendations, partially completed 11, and has begun to
implement five others, GAO said.
DHS said the pace of the program has been slowed by competing
priorities, but the risk of missing goals and cost growth is
increasing, warned GAO.
