The Department of Homeland Security (Department or DHS) has established the United States Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology Program (US-VISIT) in accordance with several Congressional mandates requiring that the Department create an integrated, automated entry exit system that records the arrival and departure of aliens; that equipment be deployed at all ports of entry to allow for the verification of aliens' identities and the authentication of their travel documents through the comparison of biometric identifiers; and that the entry exit system record alien arrival and departure information from these biometrically authenticated documents. This rule provides that the Secretary of Homeland Security or his delegate may require aliens to provide fingerprints, photographs or other biometric identifiers upon arrival in or departure from the United States. The arrival and departure provisions are authorized by sections 214, 215 and 235 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). The Department will apply this rule's requirements only to aliens seeking to be admitted pursuant to a nonimmigrant visa who travel through designated air and sea ports. The rule exempts: aliens admitted on A-1, A-2, C-3 (except for attendants, servants or personal employees of accredited officials), G-1, G-2, G-3, G-4, NATO-1, NATO-2, NATO-3, NATO-4, NATO-5 or NATO-6 visas, unless the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security jointly determine that a class of such aliens should be subject to the rule; children under the age of 14; persons over the age of 79; classes of aliens the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Secretary of State jointly determine shall be exempt; and an individual alien the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Secretary of State, or the Director of Central Intelligence determines shall be exempt. A Federal Register notice identifying the air and sea ports where biometrics may be collected at time of entry and departure has been published simultaneously with this rule. This rule authorizes the Secretary to establish pilot programs for the collection of biometric information at time of departure and at a limited number of ports of entry, to be identified through notice in the Federal Register. The biometrics provided by the aliens will be entered into the automated identification system (IDENT) system, which will be integrated with the entry exit system component of US-VISIT. The alien's biometric and other information will be checked against law enforcement and intelligence data to determine whether the alien is a threat to national security or public safety, or is otherwise inadmissible. An alien's failure to comply with this rule's requirements may result in a finding that he or she is inadmissible to the United States, has violated the terms of his or her admission and maintenance of status, or is ineligible for future visas, admission or discretionary immigration benefits. Due to heightened security concerns related to a continued threat of terrorist acts in the United States, the Department has determined that immediate implementation of this rule is necessary with request for public comments.
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