The United States Department of Homeland Security says U.S.
Customs and Border Protection is working toward implementation of biometric
exit technology to cover more than 97% of departing commercial air travelers
within the next four years.
The goal is outlined in the department's “
Fiscal Year 2018 Entry/Exit
Overstay Report
.”
As of September 2018, 15 U.S. airports are using facial-recognition
technology to confirm travelers as they leave the country.
The photos are matched to existing images from passport
applications, visa applications or interactions with agents at prior border locations
to identify the traveler and enable CBP to determine whether the traveler has
complied with terms of admission or if they have overstayed.
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To date, CBP has used the facial-recognition system on more
than two million passengers on more than 15,000 flights and has confirmed 7,000
of those travelers have overstayed their visas.
Without the facial-recognition system, this sort of check is
done with biographic manifest data, such as name and passport number.
DHS says the biometric system has a match rate of 98%. As a
result of this success, it says CBP has received “many commitment letters from
airport authorities and/or air carriers supporting biometric exit operations.”
CBP is also testing facial-recognition technology to
identify passengers crossing borders in vehicles.