WASHINGTON — Officials at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced last month that the department will pilot and evaluate US-VISIT automated biometric exit procedures for foreign visitors as a part of the border-management system introduced at airports and seaports earlier this year.
A biometric is a measurable, physical characteristic or personal behavioral trait used to recognize the identity, or verify the claimed identity, of an enrollee. Among the features that can be measured are face, fingerprints, hand geometry, handwriting, iris, retinal, vein, and voice.
Digital finger scans and digital photographs are the biometric technology currently in use under the US-VISIT program.
The exit pilot program was expanded from its current locations — Baltimore-Washington International Airport and Miami's International Cruise Line Terminal — to Chicago O'Hare International Airport beginning last month. It will be piloted at the following airports and seaports this month:
Atlanta (William B. Hartsfield International Airport); Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas (Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport); Denver (Denver International Airport); Detroit (Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport); Newark, N.J. (Newark International Airport); Philadelphia (Philadelphia International Airport); Phoenix (Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport); San Francisco (San Francisco International Airport); San Juan, Puerto Rico (Luis Muñoz Marin International Airport); Seattle (Seattle/Tacoma International Airport); and Los Angeles (San Pedro and Long Beach Seaports).
Any foreign visitor with a visa who leaves the United States through one of the pilot locations is required to comply with the exit procedure. After Sept. 30, visitors traveling under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) will be required to comply.
"We will begin testing processes that will make exiting quick for visitors and effective for security," says Asa Hutchinson, under secretary for border and transportation security at DHS. "We must implement a straightforward exit process to ensure that individuals adhere to the terms of their admission."
As this is a pilot program, US-VISIT will analyze the benefits and challenges of each exit process in order to better develop a system that enhances security while facilitating legitimate travel and ensuring privacy, DHS officials say.
The exit procedures being piloted requires foreign visitors to check out at an automated exit kiosk or with a US-VISIT exit attendant at the departure gate at the port. Foreign visitors will go though one of the following two processes, depending on location.
Under one alternative, visitors departing the United States will check out of the country at exit kiosks located within the airport or seaport terminal. As with the process the visitors encounter upon entry, their travel documents are read, their two index fingers will be digitally scanned at the exit kiosk, a digital picture will be taken, and they will receive a printed receipt that verifies that they have checked out. An exit workstation attendant will be available to assist with visitors' checkout. Visitors also may be required to present the receipt at their departure gate to confirm that they checked out at the exit kiosk, DHS officials say.
Another alternative under the pilot program is a biometric checkout process with a US-VISIT exit attendant stationed at visitors' departure gates.
US-VISIT is a continuum of security measures that begins overseas and continues on through entry and exit at U.S. airports and seaports and eventually, at land border crossings, DHS officials say. The first phase of US-VISIT launched on Jan. 5 when DHS deployed the new biometric entry capabilities at 115 airports and 14 seaports and began testing a biometric departure confirmation system at two locations.
