Face recognition enables faster entry into the USA | Reisetopia.ch

The US Border Protection Agency plans to use a new biometric facial comparison technology to enter the United States.

Because of the relaxation in entering the United States, more passengers are traveling to the “Land of Opportunity”. With the increasing number of international arrivals, the US Border Protection Agency plans to use a new technology to compare the face with biometrics thepointsguy. This aims to make the check-in process faster and more efficient.

Faster migration through partial automation of biometric comparison

The United States is forecasting passenger numbers this travel season at a rate not seen since 2019. To that end, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) recently added digital controls to entry controls at more than 160 airports. In addition, the biometric comparison between travelers and their travel documents has been partially automated.

A Covid test is currently mandatory for entry into the USA. In addition to a negative test result, you must prove your identity by presenting a valid travel document (eg a passport). This applies regardless of visa, country of origin and nationality. The process currently takes a few minutes.

The number of passengers and therefore the number of international arrivals to the United States is increasing. By partially automating the immigration process, the previous entry process should be reduced to a few seconds. US Customs and Border Protection (CBP for short) introduces an improved entry procedure called Simplified Access. Upon arrival at the border guards and presenting the travel document, a photo of the traveler will be taken. The official compares this with the help of a computer with an accuracy of about 98 percent. If the photo does not match the photo on the travel document for various reasons, a manual check will be performed.

However, when entering the country using the Simplified Access procedure, photos and fingerprints of non-US citizens are stored in the US Department of Homeland Security. On the other hand, photos of US citizens are deleted again within twelve hours. If you still have concerns, you can choose the previous route using the manual entry controls when entering the country.

Conclusion on facial recognition when entering the United States

Due to partial automation when entering the US, this can be done more quickly. However, the travel document must still be submitted to the border officer. However, facial recognition and fingerprint images are stored by the Department of Homeland Security. Travelers who don’t want this can still opt for the previous purely manual entry procedure.

Top travel news from Switzerland straight to your inbox? With our newsletter – guaranteed free and revocable!

Another step is needed

Thank you for registering – now go to your emails to confirm your registration.