LillyB

Hi

After just browsing through some threads there is something I would like to ask about just a s a matter of interest

When you arrive at passport control (only ever landed at Sanford) so not sure on any other US airport, they check your passport etc, usual questions why are you in US - Holiday, Business etc, you then have to place your index finger on the reader, does this show the officer on the gate if you have any Criminal Convicitons/Police Cautions etc or just your fingerprint against your passport details.

Or anything else, does anyone know/ can help me please?

No I don't have any - have entered US many times over the last 10 years with no trouble, just curiosity

thanks L

BritishGuy36

I think it's more that they have your fingerprints in case of a crime being committed.

jayne9586

I was there recently and I wasn't fingerprinted. Is this really new?

LillyB

Hi I don't think they fingerprint you as such, but they ask for your first finger to put on a reader, which then obvioulsy relays information onto the screen they are looking at in my nervousness, albiet I have done nothing wrong, i was asked to do it 3 times which in itself makes you feel guilty, I often wondered if it was connectedto some sort of police database - prob mind working overtime.

DeanUK2US

They fingerprinted my two thumbs then all four fingers of each hand together, then took a picture of my handsome mug.

Very quick and painless. As BritishGuy says, they'll just have a record of you in case of crimes committed, and maybe easier to verify your details on your next visit. This is just an opinion on reasons why, btw.

rew1000

If you have a visa, it's to check that you are the same person they gave the visa to (your visa includes photo and fingerprints).

If you're using the VWP, they can check that you're the same person who presented that passport the last time you used the VWP.

I'm sceptical that your face/fingerprints can be routinely run against a large database - I don't believe that the quality of the biometric matching is good enough at present to make that work. Even a small chance of a false positive/false negative occurring for each comparison would cause chaos if you run millions of comparisons. I could be wrong though...

DeanUK2US

Makes sense. At the very least you've given some good reasons as to why they would go through such a routine.

meauxna

Got a visitor coming?

They *absolutely* scan for warrants, convictions, watch list etc.

The department’s US-VISIT program currently checks a visitor’s fingerprints against DHS records of immigration violators and Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) records of criminals and known or suspected terrorists. Checking biometrics against the watch list helps officers make visa determinations and admissibility decisions. Collecting 10 fingerprints also improves fingerprint matching accuracy and the department’s ability to compare a visitor’s fingerprints against latent fingerprints collected by Department of Defense (DOD) and the FBI from known and unknown terrorists all over the world. Additionally, visitors’ fingerprints are checked against the FBI’s Criminal Master File.


FYI, Nelson Mandela was removed from the watch list on July 1, 2008. I just read that 20000 names are added to the list per month.

Please also see: US will know UK criminal records

rew1000

I think much of the searching of watch lists etc. will rely on biographical information i.e. name, DOB, passport number...

At the visa application stage, it appears that 1-to-many matching is done, primarily to pick up duplicate applications under different names (by people trying to avoid flags on their biographical information).

At the port of entry, I'd be amazed if it's anything other than 1-to-1 matching against biometrics you've previously given for that visa/passport.

All this is necessarily speculation, but there is a fair amount of evidence in the public domain. NIST has a publically available report "Matching Performance for the US-VISIT IDENT System Using Flat Fingerprints" ftp://sequoyah.nist.gov/pub/nist_int...ts/ir_7110.pdf if anyone's feeling sufficiently nerdy...

BritishGuy36

I think you are.

What would be the point of taking fingerprints if false positives were even a marginal issue.

Even identical twins have distinct fingerprints.

rew1000

It's all about how you do a comparison. A professional fingerprint examiner can tell two fingerprints apart far more accurately than a computer can. Also, the quality of the fingerprint will make a big difference.

If you make the computer too "fussy", it will say that two copies of the same fingerprint are different. If you make the computer more "relaxed", it will say that my fingerprint is the same as someone else's fingerprint. Hopefully there's a sweet spot where you get an acceptable compromise.

As the size of the database goes up, a compromise becomes harder to reach.
(Each "someone else" you add is another opportunity for a false match).

When police use fingerprints for solving crimes, once the database comes up with a hit a professional can look at the comparison, additional information can be used to exclude matches (that one's 20 years too young, that guy has an alibi etc.). At the port of entry, they want red light/green light within 15 seconds. Even if you add the possibility of an amber light, you can't use it too often or you'd flood the secondary inspection stations.

I've found some references to searching fingerprint watch lists at the port of entry - it could be happening, but I'd bet that either the watch list is short or the sensitivity is turned right down.

OiOi

Blimey, now i have got the USC status i might just go ahead and get my fingerprints surgically removed to prevent any mistaken identity problems.

DeanUK2US

Maybe because of these potential problems is the reason why in my experience they also took my picture! What are the chances of finding a matched fingerprint for a pair of people who look different?

meauxna

Thought you signed up for that after the oath ceremony.... didn't yours have a medical booth there?

DeanUK: Look up the "US Visit" program; you may have used an airport with that, altho they are abandoning that program in search of something new/better/that actually works.

meauxna

I thought this was sort of topical today.


New flight security program ready
Screening - The intent is to cut down on travelers mistaken for terrorists on watch lists

WASHINGTON -- The latest version of the nation's air passenger screening program -- delayed several times over privacy concerns -- is to be announced today, with the hope that it will minimize the number of people mistaken for terrorists.

Once the rule is implemented early next year, the government will screen passengers against terrorist watch lists before they board planes. The new program, called Secure Flight, is supposed to validate travelers' information so there's less chance someone could be mistaken for someone else on a terrorist watch list.

Mistaken identifications have been one of the biggest inconveniences in post-9/11 air travel, and widely known for putting Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., a few infants and thousands of innocent U.S. residents through extensive searching and questioning before they were allowed to fly.
(more)