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  • Jan 6th, 2004
  • Comments Off on US begins fingerprinting and photographing foreign visitors
The US government on Monday began fingerprinting and photographing foreign visitors arriving at 115 US airports as part of a multi-million dollar effort to track down terrorists.

Photos and fingerprints are required only of visitors who must obtain visas to enter the United States - an expected 23 million arrivals in 2004.

Citizens from 28 countries, mostly in Europe, are exempt, according to the Department of Homeland Security, which runs the United States Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology, or US-VISIT.

Top US officials headed to airports across the country to help launch the programme, including Homeland Security chief Tom Ridge, who was to appear at Atlanta, Georgia's international airport early Monday.

The new procedures comprise phase one of US-VISIT, a 380-million-dollar effort to track down terrorists.

By 2005, every port of entry on land, sea and air will have the photographic and fingerprinting technology. All US visas and passports will eventually include photos and fingerprints - called "biometric identifiers."

The programme takes effect after the United States raised its terror alert in December. Intelligence indicated that Al-Qaeda was planning to hijack airliners for a repeat of its September 2001, 11 attacks, in which 3,000 people were killed.

Seven flights headed for the United States - three from France, two from Britain and two from Mexico - were cancelled between December 24 and January 2 due to security fears.

Government officials say the new procedures will not clog the air transit system.

Inkless fingerprints and digital photos will add 10 to 15 seconds to the immigration entry interview, which now takes 60 to 90 seconds, Kimberly Weissman, a Homeland Security spokeswoman, told AFP.

Travellers from the following countries are exempt from the new procedures: Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Britain, Brunei, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2004


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