US customs to get much slower??

The Department for Homeland Security has announced that they going to change the way in which fingerprintes are collated from visitiors.
Instaed of juat taking the two index fingers, they will be taking all fingers prints from the Autium, starting with ten airports.
this is so the prints can be collated with the FBI AFIS programme.
http://www.dhs.gov/xnews/releases/pr_1158339486959.shtm

Now it already can take some time if they cannot get a good print from index fingers, so will the requirement for all ten fingers really slow the process down?

How long will we be looking at to enter the US?

(Mods please move if in wrong section TA:))

[Decker]

I found this statement ominous - "The exit confirmation will be added to your travel records to demonstrate compliance with the terms of your admission.".

http://www.dhs.gov/xtrvlsec/programs/ed ... _0525.shtm

I'd always assumed the US-VISIT exit procedure was sort of optional - I guess until they have it at all airports it IS optional as they have no way of knowing which airport you left from.

Hmm, I like this:

"To date, more than 64 million visitors to the United States have been processed through US-VISIT without adversely impacting wait times, and more than 1,300 criminals or immigration violators have been intercepted as a result of the use of biometrics."

Wonder who they surveyed about waiting times ... and that means that 0.000195% of people who pass through have been intercepted! I wonder if the money would be better spent on other forms of detection.

As for all finger prints - it has to slow it down but I dare say it doesn't substantially change the process or data management. All they're saying is they want it to be more accurate and tie-up different databases. Which is perfectly sensible. I'm not sure which countries share their criminal databases with the FBI however, or whether they can only reference their own in which case only people on watch lists or US criminals could be identified?

[Bazz]

Originally posted by slinky09
..."To date, more than 64 million visitors to the United States have been processed through US-VISIT without adversely impacting wait times, and more than 1,300 criminals or immigration violators have been intercepted as a result of the use of biometrics."...

So that is decimal 002 percent - not exactly an outstanding result given that a number of those may well have been caught anyway. [:w] I wonder how much per head that cost? [:?]

[preiffer]

If they can do ALL fingerprints at the same time, it'll actually speed things up from at present! [:w]


But maybe that machine/process would be too logical... [ii]

[mcmbenjamin]

Originally posted by preiffer



But maybe that machine/process would be too logical... [ii]

The US needs an automated machine. I pay for my food with my finger print, enter other countries with my eye; should be able to enter the US with some easy method.