[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 34 (Tuesday, February 21, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9697-9699]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-4089]
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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Immigration and Naturalization Service
[INS No. 1678-94]
Draft Statement of Standards and Guidelines for Developing an
Immigration and Naturalization Services Passenger Accelerated Service
System (INSPASS)
AGENCY: Immigration and Naturalization Service, Justice.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
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SUMMARY: This notice advises interested parties that the Immigration
and [[Page 9698]] Naturalization Service (Service) has prepared a draft
statement of standards and guidelines for developing, building,
installing, and operating an automated Immigration and Naturalization
Service Passenger Accelerated Service System (INSPASS). These standards
and guidelines are available for review and comment by interested
parties who may wish to develop an automated system for use by the
Service at selected Ports-of-Entry in the United States. The automated
passenger accelerated service system is designed to decrease inspection
processing time by automating the inspection of low risk frequent
travelers to the United States.
DATES: Requests for the draft statement and guidelines should be
received on or before March 23, 1995. Written comments on the draft
statement and guidelines must be received on or before April 24, 1995.
ADDRESSES: Written requests for copies of the draft statement and
guidelines should be submitted to the Immigration and Naturalization
Service, 425 I Street, NW, Room 7228, Washington, DC 20536. ATTN:
Inspections Division (INSPASS).
Please submit written comments on the draft statement and
guidelines, in triplicate, to the Immigration and Naturalization
Service, 425 I Street, NW., Room 7228, Washington, DC 20536. Attention:
Assistant Chief Inspector Ronald J. Hays.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Assistant Chief Inspector Ronald J. Hays, Inspections Division,
Immigration and Naturalization Service, 425 I Street, NW, Room 7228,
Washington, DC 20536, telephone (202) 514-0912 or fax (202) 514-8345.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Service developed INSPASS as a pilot program to be used by low
risk frequent travelers to facilitate their entry into the United
States at designated Ports-of-Entry. Under INSPASS, the applicant fills
out an enrollment form, and his or her personal data is fed through a
computer that checks with the databases of U.S. Customs, the U.S. State
Department, the National Crime Information Center, and the Immigration
and Naturalization Service. If the applicant is approved, biometric
information is collected through the use of hand geometry. The
applicant places his or her hand in an open, box-like structure, onto a
small metal plate, and squeezes a few small pegs. The length, thickness
and translucency of the hand is noted, and coded. Within seconds, a
small credit-card sized INSPASS card is produced.
At the time of arrival at one of the designated Ports-of-Entry, the
INSPASS holder proceeds to an automated inspectional booth for
accelerated inspectional processing. The captured biometrics (encoded
on the INSPASS card) are used to establish his or her identity.
INSPASS, is a subset of the Interagency Border Inspection System
(IBIS), and is being pilot tested at the Newark International Airport,
as of May 24, 1993; at John F. Kennedy International Airport, as of
July 27, 1993; and at Pearson International Airport (Toronto, Canada),
as of December 1, 1993. A land border version of INSPASS is under
development for testing at Hidalgo, Texas.
INSPASS Hardware and Software Configuration
As currently deployed, INSPASS consists of two primary components:
an enrollment center and an inspection kiosk. They include the
following equipment:
Enrollment Center
Two 486 personal computers
Hand geometry scanner
Fingerprint scanner
OCR-B card reader
OCR-B card printer
Laser printer
Inspection Kiosk
ATM-like stand
486 personal computer
10 inch monitor
16-key keypad
Hand geometry scanner
OCR-B card reader
Receipt printer
Fingerprint scanner
Electrically locked gate
Results of the INSPASS Pilot Test
The results of the INSPASS pilot test have been very encouraging
and have demonstrated the potential to reduce processing times for
travelers significantly. However, the Service has identified the
following areas in which improvements in the existing hardware
configuration are required to reduce the inspection processing time
further:
Monitor--to be replaced by a touchscreen.
Card readers--to be replaced by readers which are capable of
reading OCR-B and integrated circuit cards. These readers must be
styled as ATM card readers.
Printers--to be replaced by a faster, more robust printer. This
printer must be capable of detecting the removal of the receipt as this
action triggers the opening of the gate.
Fingerprint scanner--to be replaced by a more dependable scanner
which complies with the Service's fingerprint capture and storage
standards.
Kiosk--must be redesigned to improve ergonomics. Such a redesign
must comply with the Americans With Disabilities Act, Occupational
Safety and Hazards Act and other applicable laws and regulations.
INSPASS card--to be replaced with a smart card-based medium which
contains data elements to be specified by the Service.
Gate--to be replaced by a gate which operates within a time cycle
acceptable to the Service and which complies with applicable laws and
regulations.
Draft Statement of Standards and Guidelines for Developing an
Immigration and Naturalization Service Passenger Accelerated Service
System (INSPASS)
During the INSPASS development cycle, numerous individuals and
organizations, both public and private, have offered suggestions for
improvements. The draft statement of standards and guidelines calls for
a new relationship with the travel and tourism industry, based upon
some of these suggestions, in which the industry and the Service will
cooperate to install INSPASS at specific Ports-of-Entry. The Service
will set the system specifications, determine which travelers will be
allowed to be enrolled, and bear some of the cost of operations. This
new relationship will allow the Government and the travel industry to
avoid some costs they might otherwise have had to bear. This is exactly
the type of cost saving synergy envisioned by the Vice President's
National Performance Review. If the objective of this program is met,
the Service will achieve a state-of-the-art automated inspections
environment with reliable management information to deliver its
services to the public. These standards and guidelines will be provided
upon written request for review and comment. Based on any comments/
concerns received, the Service may finalize these standards and
guidelines, and request formal proposals in accordance with a notice to
be published in the Commerce Business Daily and/or the Federal
Register.
[[Page 9699]] Dated: January 30, 1995.
Doris Meissner,
Commissioner, Immigration and Naturalization Service.
[FR Doc. 95-4089 Filed 2-17-95; 8:45 am]
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