US-VISIT Program May Delay Entry/Exit to/from USA

1/5/04

Please see the two documents below for information on the new US-VISIT program. You may have read about it in the newspaper or heard about it in the news. The Dept. of Homeland Security does not think that it will slow down entry or exit to or from the USA, but we feel that a prudent traveler will allow extra travel time, especially where there are connecting flights before or after entry or exit to/from the USA.

US-VISIT Program

Fact Sheet

 THE GOALS OF US-VISIT ARE TO:

• Enhance the security of U.S. citizens and visitors
• Facilitate legitimate travel and trade
• Ensure the integrity of the immigration system
• Safeguard the personal privacy of visitors

HOW IT WORKS:  ENTRY

• Many of the entry procedures in place today will remain unchanged and are familiar to international travelers.

• The new, inkless digital “fingerscanner” is easy to use.  Visitors with visas will first put the left index finger, then the right index finger on a glass plate that will electronically capture two fingerscans.

• U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officers will review travel documents, such as a visa and passport, and ask questions about the visitor’s stay in the United States.

• Visitors will also look into a camera and their digital picture will be taken. 

• The enhancements to the entry procedures add minimal time to the process – an average of 15 seconds in most cases.

EXIT:

• Beginning January 5, 2004, US-VISIT will begin a pilot test of departure confirmation systems, including an automated, self-service kiosk where visitors with visas will scan their travel documents and repeat the digital “fingerscanning” process on the inkless device.   Attendants will be available to assist departing visitors.  The exit pilot will begin with kiosks in Baltimore-Washington International Airport and at one Miami Seaport cruise line. 

• In 2004, US-VISIT will pilot several alternatives for exit and after an evaluation, select the most effective process.

• Visitors with visas who depart from a port where the departure confirmation system is in place must comply.  The exit confirmation will be added to the visitor’s travel records to demonstrate compliance and record the individual’s status for future visits to the United States. 

ENHANCING SECURITY

• Digital “fingerscans” will be checked against a database of known and suspected terrorists and criminals.

• The addition of biometric identifiers, such as digital “fingerscans,” makes our security system more effective than names databases alone.

• Biometric identifiers also protect our visitors by making it virtually impossible for anyone else to claim their identity should their travel documents be stolen or duplicated.

• By combining these entry and exit processes, and by securely storing the travel records, we can account for visitors who require a visa for travel to the United States.

FACILITATING TRAVEL

• US-VISIT procedures are designed to be easy.  The enhanced entry procedures at airports and seaports add minimal time – in most cases only seconds – to the immigration process, which typically takes about one minute without US-VISIT procedures.

RESPECTING PRIVACY AND THE ENVIRONMENT

• Travel data will be securely stored, and is made available only to authorized officials and selected law enforcement agencies on a need-to-know basis.

• Environmental assessments have been completed for air and seaports and it has been determined that there are no significant impacts as a result of US-VISIT.

US-VISIT:  TIMING AND DELIVERY

• The Department of Homeland Security has met the Congressional end-of-year deadline to have in place a program that strengthens security and facilitates travel for legitimate visitors while respecting their privacy and our environment. 

• The Department of Homeland Security is also on track to meet Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge’s deadline to implement technology at the primary inspection locations that will collect and verify biometric information (digital “fingerscans” and photos) of foreign nationals required to obtain a visa to enter the United States.

• The entry enhancements to the immigration process – capturing digital “fingerscans” and photos – became operational in 115 airports and 14 major seaports on January 5, 2004.

• Exit procedures will be phased in at air and seaports during 2004.

• Entry and exit enhancements at land borders will be phased in throughout 2004 and 2005.  A Request for Proposal (RFP) was issued in November to engage the private sector to help the US-VISIT program office identify the optimum solution for exit and entry systems.

• The US-VISIT program received $380 million for FY 03 and has been appropriated $330 million for FY 04.  A spending plan must be submitted to the GAO and appropriations committees for approval before funds are obligated.

New Regulations for  US-VISIT Program

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has instituted the new "US-VISIT" program, pursuant to a DHS interim rule. As a result, certain nonimmigrants will be required to provide fingerprints, photographs or other biometric identifiers if arriving to or departing from the United States through designated air or sea ports of entry on or after January 5, 2004. These requirements apply to foreign nationals applying for admission or who are admitted pursuant to a nonimmigrant visa who arrive at or depart from an air or sea port of entry designated below. The program creates an integrated, automated entry/exit system that records the arrival and departure of foreign nationals using equipment deployed at all ports of entry to allow for the verification of identities and the authentication of their travel documents through the comparison of biometric identifiers. The entry/exit system records the arrival and departure information of foreign nationals from these biometrically authenticated documents.

The Regulations have been amended to make a foreign national nonimmigrant's admission to the United States conditioned upon compliance with any inspection requirement the Regulations. Biometric identifiers may be required to confirm a foreign national's identity and whether he or she had properly maintained his or her status while in the United States.

These do not apply to:
1. Foreign nationals admitted on a A visas, C visas (except for attendants, servants or personal employees of accredited officials), G visas, NATO visas, unless the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security jointly determine that such foreign nationals should be subject to these requirements,
2. Children under the age of 14,
3. People over the age of 79,
4. Classes of foreign nationals the Secretary of Homeland Security and the
Secretary of State jointly determine shall be exempt, or
5. An individual the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Secretary of
State, or the Director of Central Intelligence determines shall be
exempt.

The airport ports of entry designated for US-VISIT inspection at the time of a foreign national's arrival include:

Agana, Guam (Agana International Airport)
Aguadilla, Puerto Rico (Rafael Hernandez Airport)
Albuquerque, New Mexico (Albuquerque International Airport)
Anchorage, Alaska (Anchorage International Airport)
Aruba (Pre-Flight Inspection)
Atlanta, Georgia (Hartsfield International Airport)
Austin, Texas (Austin Bergstrom International Airport)
Baltimore, Maryland (Baltimore/Washington International Airport)
Bangor, Maine (Bangor International Airport)
Bellingham, Washington (Bellingham International Airport)
Boston, Massachusetts ( Logan International Airport)
Brownsville, Texas (Brownsville/South Padre Island Airport)
Buffalo, New York (Greater Buffalo International Airport)
Calgary, Canada (Pre-Flight Inspection)
Chantilly, Virginia (Washington Dulles International Airport)
Charleston, South Carolina (Charleston International Airport)
Charlotte, North Carolina (Charlotte/Douglas International Airport)
Chicago, Illinois (Chicago Midway Airport)
Chicago, Illinois (Chicago O'Hare International Airport)
Cincinnati, Ohio (Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport)
Cleveland, Ohio (Cleveland Hopkins International Airport)
Columbus, Ohio (Rickenbacker International Airport)
Columbus, Ohio (Port Columbus International Airport)
Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas (Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport)
Del Rio, Texas (Del Rio International Airport)
Denver, Colorado (Denver International Airport)
Detroit, Michigan (Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport)
Dover/Cheswold, Delaware (Delaware Airpark)
Dublin, Ireland (Pre-Flight Inspection)
Edmonton, Canada (Pre-Flight Inspection)
El Paso, Texas (El Paso International Airport)
Erie, Pennsylvania (Erie International Airport)
Fairbanks, Alaska (Fairbanks International Airport)
Fajardo, Puerto Rico (Diego Jimenez Torres Airport)
Fort Lauderdale, Florida (Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport)
Fort Lauderdale, Florida (Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport)
Fort Myers, Florida (Fort Myers International Airport)
Freeport, Bahamas (Pre-Flight Inspection)
Greenville, South Carolina (Donaldson Center Airport)
Hamilton, Bermuda (Pre-Flight Inspection)
Hartford/Springfield, Connecticut (Bradley International Airport)
Honolulu, Hawaii (Honolulu International Airport)
Houston, Texas (Houston International Airport)
Indianapolis, Indiana (Indianapolis International Airport)
International Falls, Minnesota (Falls International Airport)
Isla Grande, Puerto Rico (Isla Grande Airport)
Jacksonville, Florida (Jacksonville International Airport)
Juneau, Alaska (Juneau International Airport)
Kansas City, Kansas (Kansas City International Airport)
Kenmore, Washington (Kenmore Air Harbor)
Key West, Florida (Key West International Airport)
King County, Washington (King County International Airport)
Kona, Hawaii (Kona International Airport)
Laredo, Texas (Laredo International Airport and Laredo Private Airport)
Las Vegas, Nevada (McCarren International Airport)
Los Angeles, California (Los Angeles International Airport)
Manchester, New Hampshire (Manchester Airport)
Mayaguez, Puerto Rico (Eugenio Maria de Hostos Airport)
McAllen, Texas (McAllen Miller International Airport)
Memphis, Tennessee (Memphis International Airport)
Miami, Florida (Kendall/Tamiami Executive Airport)
Miami, Florida (Miami International Airport)
Milwaukee, Wisconsin (General Mitchell International Airport)
Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota (Montreal, Canada (Pre-Flight Inspection)
Nashville, Tennessee (Nashville International Airport)
Nassau, Bahamas (Pre-Flight Inspection)
New Orleans, Louisiana (New Orleans International Airport)
New York, New York (John F. Kennedy International Airport)
Newark, New Jersey (Newark International Airport)
Norfolk, Virginia (Norfolk International Airport and Norfolk Naval Air Station)
Oakland, California (Metropolitan Oakland International Airport)
Ontario, California (Ontario International Airport)
Opa Locka/Miami, Florida (Opa Locka Airport)
Orlando, Florida (Orlando International Airport)
Orlando/Sanford, Florida (Orlando/Sanford Airport)
Ottawa, Canada (Pre-Flight Inspection)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Philadelphia International Airport)
Phoenix, Arizona (Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport)
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh International Airport)
Ponce, Puerto Rico (Mercedita Airport)
Portland, Maine (Portland International Jetport Airport)
Portland, Oregon (Portland International Airport)
Portsmouth, New Hampshire (Pease International Tradeport Airport)
Providence, Rhode Island (Theodore Francis Green State Airport)
Raleigh/Durham, North Carolina (Raleigh/Durham International Airport)
Reno, Arizona (Reno/Tahoe International Airport)
Richmond, Virginia (Richmond International Airport)
Sacramento, California (Sacramento International Airport)
Salt Lake City, Utah (Salt Lake City International Airport)
San Antonio, Texas (San Antonio International Airport)
San Diego, California (San Diego International Airport)
San Francisco, California (San Francisco International Airport)
San Jose, California (San Jose International Airport)
San Juan, Puerto Rico (Luis Muntildeoz Marin International Airport)
Sandusky, Ohio (Griffing Sandusky Airport)
Sarasota/Bradenton, Florida (Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport)
Seattle, Washington (Seattle/Tacoma International Airport)
Shannon, Ireland (Pre-Flight Inspection)
Spokane, Washington (Spokane International Airport)
St. Croix, Virgin Island (Alexander Hamilton International Airport)
St. Louis, Missouri (St. Louis International Airport)
St. Lucie, Florida (St. Lucie County International Airport)
St. Petersburg, Florida (Albert Whitted Airport)
St. Thomas, Virgin Island (Cyril E. King International Airport)
Tampa, Florida (Tampa International Airport)
Teterboro, New Jersey (Teleboro Airport)
Toronto, Canada (Pre-Flight Inspection)
Tucson, Arizona (Tucson International Airport)
Vancouver, Canada (Pre-Flight Inspection)
Victoria, Canada (Pre-Flight Inspection)
West Palm Beach, Florida (Palm Beach International Airport)
Wilmington, North Carolina (Wilmington International Airport)
Winnipeg, Canada (Pre-Flight Inspection)
Yuma, Arizona (Yuma International Airport)

The only airport port of entry designated for US-VISIT inspection at the time of a foreign national's departure, at this time is Baltimore, Maryland.

The sea ports of entry designated for US-VISIT inspection at the time of a foreign national's arrival include:

Galveston, Texas
Jacksonville, Florida
Long Beach, California
Miami, Florida
Port Canaveral, Florida
San Juan, Puerto Rico
San Pedro, California
Seattle, Washington (Cruise Terminal)
Seattle, Washington
Tampa, Florida (Terminal 3)
Tampa, Florida (Terminal 7)
Vancouver, Canada (Ballantyne Pier)
Vancouver, Canada (Canada Place)
Victoria, Canada (Pre Inspection)
West Palm Beach, Florida

The only sea port of entry designated for US-VISIT inspection at the time of a foreign national's departure, at this time is Miami, Florida.