New Entry/Exit system to the US
Hi All, Haven't visited for a while but this information might be useful for the visitors to the US. The Government will start enforcing the new US-VISIT program soon. Entry Procedures under the US-VISIT Program On or after December 31, 2003, a person seeking to enter the U.S. at an airport or seaport under a nonimmigrant (temporary) visa will be required to provide an inkless fingerprint of the right and left index fingers and have a photo taken. This will be in addition to the standard review of travel documents and routine questions regarding the person's eligibility to enter the U.S. The fingerprints and photo will be compared to security databases. The person will then either be admitted or sent to secondary screening. Biometric identifiers must be in effect by October 26, 2004, in countries that participate in the Visa Waiver Program (VWP). Land border procedures will not be actualized until 2006. Exit Procedures under the US-VISIT Program As nonimmigrant foreign nationals exit the U.S. at airports and seaports, they will need to use self-service kiosks to scan their travel documents and submit additional inkless fingerprints. There will be individuals available at the airports and seaports to assist anyone who does not understand the process. This exit information will be added to the foreign national's immigration record. The exit process is not expected to be at all airports and seaports until sometime in 2004. The land border exit procedures will not be available until 2006. Documents Issued by DHS and DOS Both DHS and DOS must issue only machine-readable documents that use biometrics by October 26, 2004. Passports are included in this requirement. The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has determined that a photograph with certain electronically calibrated measurements will be used as their biometric. This standard must be met on the new DHS- and DOS-issued documents. As of this writing, there have been no announcements regarding increased fees for the new visas and passports. The DOS must determine whether a fee increase is appropriate and follow regulatory procedures to increase the fees, if it is deemed necessary. Arrival / Departure Information System The information from entry and exit procedures will be stored in the Arrival / Departure Information System (ADIS). This information is updated continually and will be available to the US-VISIT program to determine whether a person has overstayed the permitted period of entry. As a result, it is much more likely that all overstays will be detected under this system. As a reminder, overstays of 180 days or more result in a three-year bar on reentry to the U.S. Overstays of a year or more result in a ten-year bar on reentry to the U.S. Overstays of fewer than 180 days, however, will be taken into account when the DOS issues visas at the consulates, when the CIS is adjudicating cases, and even at the Ports of Entry. Additionally, an overstay of as little as one day voids the existing visa, even if it is a 10-year, multiple entry visitor's visa. It is suggested that visitors that are subject to a date certain on their I-94 cards, must be acutely aware of their status expiration dates. It is necessary to either depart or make appropriate filings before the expiration date to avoid potential immigration problems. It is imperative to make copies of all travel-related documents. Hope this is useful, Jacob S. American Immigration Services [email protected]