7/10/2010

The State Department has decided to amend the current biometric visa program to require "ten" fingerprints and a photo image as biometric identifiers. Up to now, it has been collecting only two finger prints. The Biometric Visa Program is a partner program to the DHS US-VISIT Program that is in effect at U.S. ports of entry and that uses the same biometric identifiers. By coordinating these two programs, the two departments have ensured the integrity of the U.S. visa. 

This is accomplished by sending the finger scans and photos of visa applicants to DHS databases. When a person to whom a visa has been issued arrives at a port of entry, his or her photo is retrieved from a database and projected on the computer screen of the Customs and Border Protection officer. 

The person's finger scans are compared to the finger scans in the database to ensure that the person presenting the visa is the same as the person to whom the visa was issued. 


This public notice announces an amendment to the Biometric Visa Program. Section 303 of the Enhanced Border Security and Visa Entry Reform Act of 2002 has required, since October 26, 2004, that all visas issued by the Department must be machine-readable and tamper-resistant and use biometric identifiers. 

In consultation with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Department determined that fingerprints and a photo image should be required as biometric identifiers. When the biometric visa program began, available technology allowed for the efficient capture and comparisons of only two finger scans. 

As a result of technological improvements, the Department instituted a ten finger scan standard to raise the accuracy rate in matching finger scans and enhanced our ability to detect and thwart persons who are eligible for visas.