“IDs out, please.” You’ve heard it at every U.S. airport after an international flight for as long as you’ve been flying. Soon, you may not. Get ready to be camera-ready when you get off an international flight.
In an interview with the Washington Examiner published this week, Diane Sabatino, CBP’s executive assistant commissioner for field operations, described a future of international travel that does not include reaching for a piece of plastic in your pocket. In some cities, she said, it’s already here.
“In a few years … people with Global Entry are going to be walking through at all of our airports, unless a CBP officer wants to speak to that traveler,” Sabatino told the Examiner.
Facial recognition for arriving international passengers is available at 238 U.S. airports. A faster version for U.S. citizens, called Enhanced Passenger Processing, is in 33. A third program, Seamless Border Entry, clears pre-approved Global Entry members through in under three seconds at seven airports without the traveler stopping at all.
Whether you have a choice depends on your citizenship.
Katrina Poulsen, a visitor from Denmark, stands in front of a face recognition camera after arriving at customs at Orlando International Airport, Thursday, June 21, 2018, in Orlando, Fla. Florida’s busiest airport is becoming the first in the nation to require a face scan of passengers on all arriving and departing international flights, including U.S. citizens, according to officials there. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
(ASSOCIATED PRESS)Can U.S. citizens opt out?
Yes. American citizens can still ask for a manual check by a CBP officer. Anyone using an EPP kiosk who doesn’t want their photo taken can alert an officer and be changed to the regular line, according to CBP.
Sabatino has repeatedly said the process is optional for U.S. citizens.
Can foreign visitors opt out?
Not anymore. A federal rule that took effect Dec. 26 requires biometric identity checks for all non-U.S. citizens entering or leaving the country by air, land or sea, Nextgov reported.
That is a change from the previous rule, which exempted children under 17 and adults over 79. Both groups will now have to submit to face scans or fingerprints on arrival and departure.
What does CBP do with the images?
The photo taken is instantly crosschecked against a government database of existing passport, visa or travel document images, according to CBP. CBP has said the match is more than 98% accurate.
Since June 2017, about 848 million people have gone through the process, per figures Sabatino has cited. More than 529,000 people who overstayed their visas have been identified using the technology.
When does every airport get the fully touchless version?
CBP says it will take three to five years to bring biometric entry and exit to every airport, seaport and land crossing. Some of the newer touchless technology, including the “corridors” that let travelers walk past cameras without stopping, is being tested at Orlando International Airport. Airlines and airports pay for the biometric exit equipment, which is part of why the rollout has been scattered.
A new baggage-screening system that lets CBP officers review checked bags remotely while a flight is still in the air will launch at JFK’s new Terminal One in 2027, according to the Washington Examiner report.
Face scans at the border aren’t new
Congress ordered a biometric entry-exit system in 1996 and accelerated it after Sept. 11, 2001. It has taken more than two decades to build. Last year’s federal budget package added new funding to speed up deployment.
