DHS Begins Exit Pilot Test of Fingerprint Collections at Two Airports
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has begun collecting digital fingerprints from non-U.S. citizens departing the U.S. as part of a pilot program at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport.
Non-U.S. citizens leaving from Detroit and Atlanta airports should expect to have their fingerprints collected before boarding their flights. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers will collect fingerprints at the boarding gate from non-U.S. citizens departing from Detroit; U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers will collect fingerprints at security checkpoints from non-U.S. citizens departing from Atlanta. The pilot tests are expected to continue through early July. US-VISIT plans to begin implementing new biometric exit procedures based on these pilots for non-U.S. citizens departing the U.S. by air within the next year.
Non-U.S. citizens departing the U.S. from all other ports of entry will continue to follow current exit procedures, which require travelers to return their paper Form I-94 (Arrival-Departure Record) or I-94W (for Visa Waiver Program travelers) to an airline or ship representative.
Since 2004, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) have collected biometrics from most non-U.S. citizens between the ages of 14 and 79, with some exceptions, when they apply for visas or arrive at U.S. ports of entry. The US-VISIT program has simultaneously worked to create a congressionally mandated automated biometric exit capability, which these pilots are testing.
