January 16, 2008

New 10-Fingerprint Collection Implemented at U.S. Airports

On November 29, 2007, Dulles International Airport in Virginia became the first U.S. port of entry to collect all ten fingerprints from international visitors, marking a departure from the previous two-print system.  Collected as part of the US-VISIT process, which employs biometrics (fingerprint and digital photograph), the goal is to verify the identity of visitors and assesses whether they pose a threat to national security.  Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Michael Chertoff touted the upgrade as efficient and more effective in providing security at U.S. ports of entry.

The new 10-print system resulted from intergovernmental cooperation between the DHS, the FBI, and the State Department.  Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers use this technology at U.S. ports of entry and State Department consular officers use it at visa-issuing posts.  Moreover, the transition to a 10-fingerprint collection conforms to the existing FBI 10-print standard and allows for more effective information-sharing between agency databases.  For example, fingerprints collected by US-VISIT can be compared against latent prints lifted from vehicles or pieces of paper found at crime scenes or scenes of terrorist attacks.  Secretary Chertoff also added that other countries, including the United Kingdom and the European Union, are moving toward the 10-fingerprint collection for their immigration and border management as well.