[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 105 (Wednesday, June 3, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26721-26722]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-12939]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY


Notice to Aliens Included in the United States Visitor and 
Immigrant Status Indicator Technology (US-VISIT) Program; Collection of 
Alien Biometric Data upon Exit From the United States at Air Ports of 
Departure

AGENCY: National Protection and Programs Directorate, Department of 
Homeland Security.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This notice informs the public of the implementation of United 
States Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology (US-VISIT) 
Program exit pilot programs at two air ports of entry as required by 
the Consolidated Security, Disaster Assistance, and Continuing 
Appropriations Act, 2009. The 2009 appropriations act limited the 
Department of Homeland Security's funding until US-VISIT conducts 
certain exit pilots programs and submits a report to Congress. This 
notice also announces the location of the exit pilot programs and 
describes the process by which the exit pilot programs will be 
evaluated by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The airport 
locations are Atlanta, Georgia, and Detroit, Michigan.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Helen deThomas, US-VISIT, Department 
of Homeland Security, 245 Murray Drive, SW., Washington, DC, 20020; 
(202) 298-5200 (not a toll-free number).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) established US-VISIT in 
accordance with several congressional mandates requiring DHS to create 
an integrated, automated entry-exit system that records the arrival and 
departure of aliens, verifies aliens' identities, and authenticates 
aliens' travel documents through the comparison of biometric 
identifiers.
    On April 24, 2008, DHS published a notice of proposed rulemaking 
(NPRM) to establish an exit program at all air and sea ports of 
departure in the United States. See 73 FR 22056. The NPRM proposed that 
aliens subject to US-VISIT entry requirements would provide biometric 
information to commercial air and vessel carriers before departing the 
United States at air and sea ports of entry. The commercial air and 
vessel carriers would be required to collect and transmit the biometric 
information to DHS. The rule would have exempted, at that time, certain 
private and small carriers.
    The Consolidated Security, Disaster Assistance, and Continuing 
Appropriations Act, 2009, Public Law 110-329, 122 Stat. 3574, 3669-70 
(Sept. 30, 2008) (2009 Appropriations Act) subsequently provided:

    That no funding under this heading shall be obligated for 
implementation of a final air exit solution pursuant to the notice 
of proposed rulemaking (DHS-2008-0039) published on April 24, 2008, 
until the Committees on Appropriations of the Senate and the House 
of Representatives receive a report on pilot tests of the air exit 
solution, which shall be reviewed by the Government Accountability 
Office, and which shall test at least two scenarios: (a) Where the 
airlines collect and transmit biometric exit data as proposed in the 
notice of proposed rulemaking and (b) where U.S. Customs and Border 
Protection collects such information at the departure gates.

    DHS is conducting an additional pilot in which the Transportation 
Security Administration (TSA) collects and transmits biometric exit 
data at an airport security checkpoint. The air exit pilots are being 
conducted by CBP at the Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW) 
and by TSA at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport 
(ATL) for a 30-45 day period and began on May 28, 2009.

Pilot 1: CBP at the Departure Gate

    CBP officers are conducting a pilot at the departure gate. The 
purpose of this pilot is to evaluate the impact of collecting biometric 
information at or near the departure gate from aliens who are subject 
to US-VISIT biometric requirements departing the United States for 
foreign destinations. The biometric information consists of one or more 
electronic fingerprints captured using a mobile or portable device. The 
biographic information includes travel document information, such as 
name, date of birth, document issuance type, country, and number--all 
of which are contained in the document's machine-readable zone (MRZ) of 
a machine-readable travel document (MRTD). CBP is following defined 
processes that minimize interference with the air carrier boarding 
process. This pilot will capture the cycle time necessary for the 
additional verification and collection of this biometric data from 
international travelers.

Pilot 2: TSA at the Security Checkpoint

    TSA is conducting a pilot at the security checkpoint. The purpose 
of this pilot is to evaluate the impact of collecting biometric 
information at the TSA security checkpoints from those aliens who are 
subject to US-VISIT biometric requirements departing the United States 
for foreign destinations. Those travelers with international 
destinations are directed to an area within the checkpoint where the 
biographic and biometric information is collected. The biometric 
information consists of one or more electronic fingerprints captured 
using a mobile device. The biographic information includes travel 
document information, such as name, date of birth, document issuance 
type, country, and number--all of which are contained in the document's 
MRZ of the MRTD. This pilot will capture the cycle time necessary for 
the additional verification and collection of this biometric data from 
international travelers.

Air Exit Pilots Evaluation

    The goal of the pilots is to provide data in support of an 
evaluation of each alternative to inform the final rule, supporting an 
optimal air exit solution. The pilots have the following additional 
objectives:
     Evaluate identity verification and exit-recording 
solutions with existing port operations and infrastructure.
     Record the exit from the United States of each alien 
encountered during the exit pilots who is subject to US-VISIT biometric 
requirements at the designated airports.
     Update the individual records of each alien encountered 
during the exit pilots who is subject to US-VISIT biometric 
requirements in the Automated Biometric Identification System (IDENT) 
and the Arrival and Departure Information System (ADIS) with departure 
encounter information.
    DHS began collecting biographic and biometric data at the two exit 
pilot program locations identified herein on May 28, 2009. A third exit 
pilot program location to test the air carrier NPRM preferred solution 
will be determined at a later date.\1\ DHS will evaluate the exit

[[Page 26722]]

pilot programs, including the methods and processes for collecting the 
required information, after the pilots are completed.
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    \1\ To date, no commercial air carrier has offered to test the 
preferred solution in the proposed rule. This third air exit pilot 
program would biometrically and biographically verify the identity 
of each alien subject to US-VISIT biometric requirements departing 
the United States using a designated commercial air carrier at 
designated airport(s).
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Notice of Requirements for Biometric Collection From Aliens

    In accordance with Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) section 
215, as implemented in 8 CFR 215.8 and INA section 235, as implemented 
in 8 CFR 235.1, DHS hereby provides a notice of the requirements for 
biometric collection from aliens, as follows:
    (a) Aliens subject to notice: Aliens subject to the conditions of 
entry specified at 8 CFR 235.1(f)(1)(ii) are subject to this notice and 
may be required to provide biometric information at the time of 
departure from the United States.
    (b) Aliens exempt: This notice does not apply to (i) aliens 
admitted on A-1, A-2, C-3 (except for attendants, servants, or personal 
employees of accredited officials), G-1, G-2, G-3, G-4, NATO-1, NATO-2, 
NATO-3, NATO-4, NATO-5, or NATO-6 visas, unless the Secretary of State 
and the Secretary of Homeland Security jointly determine that a class 
of such aliens should be subject to this notice; (ii) children under 
the age of 14; (iii) persons over the age of 79; (iv) classes of aliens 
the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Secretary of State jointly 
determine shall be exempt; or (v) an individual alien whom the 
Secretary of Homeland Security, the Secretary of State, or the Director 
of Central Intelligence determines shall be exempt. Aliens admitted on 
A-1, A-2, C-3 (except for attendants, servants, or personal employees 
of accredited officials), G-1, G-2, G-3, G-4, NATO-1, NATO-2, NATO-3, 
NATO-4, NATO-5, or NATO-6 visas who are no longer in such status on the 
date of departure, however, are subject to the departure requirements 
of this notice. Aliens exempted from paragraph (a) who are no longer in 
an exempted status on the date of departure are subject to the 
departure requirements of this notice.
    (c) Biometric information: All aliens subject to this notice shall, 
at the time of departure from designated air ports, submit electronic 
fingerprints and provide their travel documents as requested at the 
departure inspection locations.
    (d) Airport(s) designated for US-VISIT inspection at time of alien 
departure:
     Atlanta, Georgia (Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International 
Airport).
     Detroit, Michigan (Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County 
Airport).

Paperwork Reduction Act

    US-VISIT, through TSA and CBP, is requiring aliens to provide 
biometric data in certain limited circumstances described above. This 
requirement is considered an information collection requirement under 
the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501, et seq.). The Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB), in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction 
Act, has previously approved this information collection for use. The 
OMB control number for this collection is 1600-0006. The fingerprint 
collection covered by 1600-0006 is unchanged from previously published 
documentation.

Privacy

    The US-VISIT air exit pilots use, collect, and share personally 
identifiable information (PII) in accordance with the US-VISIT/IDENT 
System of Records Notice (SORN), applicable privacy impact assessments 
(PIAs), privacy laws, regulations, guidance, agreements, and best 
practices to ensure that individual privacy is appropriately protected. 
The US-VISIT Privacy Office published a comprehensive PIA on May 27, 
2009, that includes the assessment for the elements being tested in the 
air exit pilots that addresses the use, collection, and retention of 
PII associated with the pilots, identifies possible risks and proposes 
mitigating strategies. The PIA was reviewed and approved by the 
Director of US-VISIT and the DHS Chief Privacy Officer. The PIA was 
published on the DHS public Web site at http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/privacy/privacy_pia_usvisit_air_exit.pdf.
    The DHS Chief Privacy Officer, in conjunction with the US-VISIT 
Privacy Officer, exercises oversight of the US-VISIT program to ensure 
that the information maintained by US-VISIT is appropriately protected 
under privacy laws and guidance. DHS has established procedures to 
ensure the security, accuracy, relevance, timeliness, and completeness 
of all information maintained by US-VISIT. Information is safeguarded 
in terms of applicable rules and policies, including DHS policies for 
automated systems security and access. Only those persons with an 
official need to know information for the performance of their duties 
have access. Records of all individuals, including non-U.S. citizens, 
are protected in accordance with applicable privacy laws and 
regulations.
    Individuals, including non-U.S. citizens, who wish to contest or 
seek an amendment of their records may submit an inquiry via the DHS 
Traveler Redress Inquiry Program (DHS TRIP), a Web-based portal 
available at http://www.dhs.gov/trip, or by writing to the US-VISIT 
program office and sending a fax to (202) 298-5201 or an e-mail to 
[email protected]. A mailed inquiry may be sent to the following 
address: Privacy Officer, US-VISIT, National Protection and Programs 
Directorate, Department of Homeland Security, Washington, DC 20528. 
However, because security concerns occasionally cause mail delays, the 
other communication methods are preferred and may result in quicker 
responses. The request should include the requester's full name, 
current address, date of birth, and a detailed explanation of the 
amendment sought. More information on redress procedures can be found 
at http://www.dhs.gov/xtrvlsec/programs/editorial 0436.shtm. If the 
matter cannot be resolved by the US-VISIT Privacy Officer, further 
appeal for resolution may be made to the DHS Chief Privacy Officer at 
the following address: Chief Privacy Officer, U.S. Department of 
Homeland Security, Washington, DC 20528; telephone (202) 282-8000; or 
fax (202) 772-5036.

Robert A. Mocny,
Director, US-VISIT.
[FR Doc. E9-12939 Filed 6-2-09; 8:45 am]
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