DHS: More travelers to submit fingerprints to US VISIT
19 December, 2008
category: Biometrics, Government
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced that it is expanding the categories of non-U.S. citizens required to provide digital fingerprints and a photograph upon entry to the United States through the US‑VISIT program.
US‑VISIT records biographic and biometric information to conduct security checks and verify the identities of international visitors to the U.S. Collection and verification of biometric identifiers upon entry is designed to protect travelers by making it virtually impossible for anyone else to attempt to use their biometrically linked travel documents (such as a permanent resident card), if the documents were stolen or duplicated.
Additional non‑U.S. citizens required to provide biometrics are:
- Lawful permanent residents of the United States;
- Persons entering the United States who seek admission on immigrant visas;
- Persons entering the United States who seek admission as refugees;
- Canadian citizens who are required to obtain a Form I-94, Arrival/Departure Document upon entry or require a waiver of inadmissibility to enter the United States (This excludes most Canadian citizens entering the United States for purposes of shopping, visiting friends and family, vacation or short business trips);
- Persons paroled into the United States; and
- Persons applying for admission under the Guam Visa Waiver Program.