Articles
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) News
DHS Begins Collecting 10 Fingerprints From International Visitors at Chicago O'Hare International Airport
WASHINGTON,
"Biometrics have revolutionized our ability to prevent dangerous people from entering the
For more than four years, U.S. Department of State (DOS) consular officers and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers have been collecting biometrics — digital fingerprints and a photograph — from all non-U.S. citizens between the ages of 14 and 79, with some exceptions, when they apply for visas or arrive at U.S. ports of entry.
"Quite simply, this change gives our officers a more accurate idea of who is in front of them. For legitimate visitors, the process becomes more efficient and their identities are better protected from theft. For those who may pose a risk, we will have greater insight into who they are," added
The department's US-VISIT program currently checks a visitor's fingerprints against DHS records of immigration violators and Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) records of criminals and known or suspected terrorists. Checking biometrics against the watch list helps officers make visa determinations and admissibility decisions. Collecting 10 fingerprints also improves fingerprint matching accuracy and the department's ability to compare a visitor's fingerprints against latent fingerprints collected by Department of Defense (DOD) and the FBI from known and unknown terrorists all over the world. Additionally, visitors' fingerprints are checked against the FBI's Criminal Master File.
On an average day at O'Hare, 5,100 international visitors complete US-VISIT biometric procedures. Visitors from the
O'Hare is the next port of entry to begin collecting 10 fingerprints from international visitors. Washington Dulles International Airport began 10- fingerprint collection on
Since US-VISIT began in 2004, DHS has used biometric identifiers to prevent the use of fraudulent documents, protect visitors from identity theft, and stop thousands of criminals and immigration violators from entering the country. US-VISIT, in cooperation with CBP, is leading the transition to a 10-fingerprint collection standard. This upgrade is the result of an interagency partnership among DHS, FBI, DOD and DOS.
SOURCE The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
