U.S. Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology (US-VISIT) Program

Publication Date: January 2006

Publisher: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

Author(s):

Research Area: Population and demographics

Type:

Abstract:

Congress first mandated that the former Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) implement an automated entry and exit data system that would track the arrival and departure of every alien in §110 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRIRA). The objective was, in part, to develop a mechanism that would be able to track nonimmigrants who overstayed their visas as part of a broader emphasis on immigration control. Following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks there was a shift in priority for implementing the system. While the tracking of nonimmigrants who overstayed their visas remained an important goal, border security has become the paramount concern.

Legislation enacted from 1997 to 2000 changed the scope and delayed implementation of §110 of IIRIRA. For example, the INS Data Management Improvement Act rewrote §110 to require the development of a system using data currently collected with no new documentary requirements. The Visa Waiver Permanent Program Act of 2000 required the development and implementation of a "fully automated entry and exit control system" covering all aliens who enter the United States under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) at airports and seaports.

Following the terrorist attacks, several provisions in the USA PATRIOT Act and the Border Security Act, however, required the immediate implementation of an automated entry and exit data system and called for enhancements in its development. More recently, the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 implements the 9/11 Commission recommendations, including those recommendations that pertain to the integrated entry and exit data system and biometric identifiers in travel documents.

Tracking the entry and exit of foreign nationals at U.S. ports of entry is not a small undertaking. In FY2005, there were over 428 million inspections conducted at U.S. ports of entry, with the majority of the inspections conducted on foreign nationals. Implementing the requirements of an automated entry and exit data system, however, is not without controversy. Some observers fear that the full implementation of US-VISIT will cause massive delays at U.S. ports of entry, primarily at land ports of entry. Some believe that the cost of implementing such a system would outweigh the benefits. Others express concern about the inadequacy of current infrastructure, and the lack of consensus with respect to the type of biometric technology that should be used in travel documents. Many continue to question the purpose of such a system. Some argue that resources should be directed at immigration interior enforcement, rather than on an expensive system whose capability is not fully known.

The automated entry and exit data system was administratively renamed the United States Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology (US-VISIT). It is being implemented in phases over the next several years. This report will be updated to reflect new developments.