E-Paper
US to fingerprint all visitors from Sep 30
From Thursday, visitors from all over the world will be fingerprinted and photographed at 115 airports and 14 seaports of the United States.
From Thursday, visitors from all over the world will be fingerprinted and photographed at 115 airports and 14 seaports of the United States.
According to the Daily Times, this profiling procedure is being activated under the United States Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology (US VISIT), which has been extended to 27 Visa Waiver Programme (VWP) countries.
However, according to the US Department of Homeland Security, Canadians and Mexicans will not come under the US VISIT's purview. Only Canadian citizens of Pakistani origin will be scrutinized.
The paper quoted Jim Williams, the director of the program, as saying that the US VISIT procedures would not only ensure security for US citizens and visitors, but also facilitate legitimate travel and trade across US borders.
Williams said that fingerprinting and photographing individuals is generally applicable to all visitors, including women from September 30.
