US-Visit Program
 The Homeland Security Act of 2002 required that an automated entry/exit
system be introduced. The system is known as the US-Visit or United States
Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology. The main purpose of the new
system is to prevent terrorists from entering the United States. One of the ways
this is accomplished is by collecting fingerprint scans of the index fingers of
those entering the country and digital photos. The traveler’s fingerprints and
photos are then compared to the fingerprints and photos of terrorists and other
criminals. The system will notify the immigration officers of whether the
traveler is allowed to enter the U.S. or if they have violated the terms of
their visa. Other notifications that may show up include if the traveler’s
immigration status has been modified or if the traveler may require special
attention to the refugee status. Another advantage of the US-Visit Program is
that the traffic flow of individuals entering and leaving the U.S. has been made
smoother. For the most part, visitors who desire to enter the U.S. despite their
country of origin or if they have a visa must go through the US-Visit system.
Some of the individuals who are exempt include Canadian citizens and most
Mexican visitors who possess a Border Crossing Card.
For the 2003 fiscal year, the US-Visit program was designated $380 million. By
law the Department of Homeland Security is required to come up with a plan to
specifically outline how the US-Visit budget is to be allocated. On December
2005, the U.S. government met the deadline established by Congress to integrate
biometric capabilities into the US-Visit system. Biometric technologies include
facial recognition and scans of the iris. Biometric entry capabilities are
available at 104 land ports throughout the United States and continue to be
installed at other ports. Some of the visitor information that will be collected
by the US-Visit program include: name, sex, ethnicity, status (immigrant,
non-immigrant, citizen), country where passport was issued, passport number,
country where they reside and address where they will be residing while in the
U.S. The departments responsible for maintaining the databases are the U.S.
Department of State and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The database
will be available to a select group which includes: port of entry officials,
adjudication officers and other staff at immigration offices, U.S. consular
offices, Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) special agents, and
other agencies with law enforcement responsibilities. Only authorized officials
will have access to this information as it is deemed necessary.
The US-Visit system has been implemented on a large scale throughout the U.S. It
is considered to be the largest biometric system worldwide. New technology like
radio-frequency identification will continue to be tested at U.S. port of
entries and fully integrated nationwide if found to be beneficial. From January
2004 the US-Visit system has processed over 44 millions individuals entering the
U.S. as visitors. With the new system in place they were able to intercept
nearly 1,000 individuals who could cause potential problems in the U.S. The
individuals who were denied entrance at the U.S. port of entries ranged from
those that were prison escapees, drug dealers, violators of immigration
policies, convicted rapists, murderers and other criminals. Another benefit of
the US-Visit system is that the processing time has fallen. An example given by
U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the drop in time at the Laredo,
Texas port
of entry. Before the system was implemented, it was common for U.S. visitors to
wait over 10 minutes. Now the processing time is less than five minutes, but
Laredo officers have been known to process some visitors in two minutes. The
waiting time for entrance and exit of the country has been reduced which makes
the overall traveling experience more pleasant. In addition, it has prevented
terrorists and other criminals from entering the U.S. via their port of entries.
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