UPDATE: As of May 04, 2007 US-VISIT moved out of its biometric exit pilot phase, which means foreign nationals leaving the U.S. are no longer required to exit register per US-VISIT. Note that this does not impact those foreign nationals subjected to NSEERS and those individuals are still required to exit register when leaving the U.S.

On October 14, 2004, the Department of Homeland Security announced plans to begin testing US-VISIT entry procedures at selected land ports of entry in the secondary inspection area starting in mid-November. Initial testing will begin at land ports of entry in Douglas, Arizona, Port Huron, Michigan, and Laredo, Texas. Following this testing period, by December 31, 2004, US-VISIT entry procedures will be deployed in the secondary inspection area of the 50 busiest land ports of entry.

When entering the United States, visitors are initially reviewed at "primary" inspection, where an officer of the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reviews entry documents, asks questions about the purpose of visiting the U.S., and notes the date of entry and period of admission authorized. If the CBP officer determines that additional information is required, the visitor is referred to "secondary" inspection, where he or she will be interviewed, have documents reviewed, and CBP will check its databases for relevant information about the visitor. The vast majority of visitors referred to secondary inspection are admitted to the U.S.

At land ports of entry, the US-VISIT procedures that will be in place in secondary inspection will involve the collection of two index fingerscans and a digital photograph for those visitors who are being referred to secondary inspection because they are traveling to the U.S. using a visa or passport. Deployment of US-VISIT will also expedite the I-94 process, as visitors referred to secondary inspection will no longer be required to manually complete the I-94 form. This form will be electronically populated when a visitor's travel documents are scanned by the CBP officer in the secondary inspection area.

US-VISIT procedures will apply to foreign travelers who are processed in the secondary inspection area, with some exceptions. These exceptions include most Canadian citizens, who do not require a visa or passport to enter the United States, and, initially, most Mexican visitors, who travel and apply for admission using a Border Crossing Card (BCC) within the "Border Zone." This "Border Zone" was expanded earlier this year by DHS to include travel to the U.S. for up to 30 days. The primary inspection area at these land border crossings will remain unaffected at this time because those visitors have been pre-screened as part of the process to receive a BCC.

As the next phase of US-VISIT is implemented at the 50 busiest land ports of entry by the end of 2004, if a Mexican visitor chooses to use the BCC as a B1/B2 visa (traveling outside the "Border Zone" and/or staying longer than 30 days in the U.S.), he or she will undergo US-VISIT processing at the land border secondary inspection areas.

According to DHS, since US-VISIT entry procedures became operational at 115 airports and 14 seaports on January 5, 2004, more than 10 million foreign visitors have been processed without adversely impacting wait times, and nearly 300 criminals or immigration violators have been arrested or denied entry to the U.S.

A0408

© 1999-2012, Jackson & Hertogs - All rights reserved