US Requires Ten Fingerprints from Foreign Visitors

World | December 11, 2007, Tuesday // 00:00

Foreign visitors are required to give ten fingerprints instead of two at the Washington Dulles International Airport as the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is trying to enhance security and fingerprint matching accuracy, CNN reported.

The program is planned to be extended to all international airports in the country by the end of next year.

The program -- known as United States Visitor and Immigration Status Indicator Technology, or US-VISIT -- had previously used only two fingerprints.

The 10-print system gives the United States the ability to compare fingerprints of travelers with criminal and terrorist databases compiled by the FBI, the Defense Department and others.

The new 10-print system was rolled out in late November at Dulles.

Speaking at an event at the airport Monday, DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff touted the new technology: "We rely on biometrics, unique physical characteristics like fingerprints, to keep dangerous people out of the United States and at the same time to keep the lines moving so that travel is fast and convenient for legitimate citizens and visitors."

Chertoff said the two-fingerprint version of the program, which began in 2004, has already been successful, claiming that the program had stopped "almost 2,000 criminals and immigrant violators based on their fingerprints alone."

Canadians and Mexicans using government-issued identification cards are exempt from the program.

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