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.
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…
