U.S. Customs begins fingerprinting foreigners

In international airports across the United States, two new custom procedures -- fingerprinting and photographing -- have been installed in an attempt to further safeguard the country, without unduly hindering the traveling process.

This latest alteration of travel policy will allow the Customs and Border Protection officers "to make better admissibility decisions," spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security Kimberly Weissman wrote in an e-mail.

She added that these procedures will "add integrity to the immigration system and give [it] greater accountability."

Despite the apparent magnitude of the new procedures, the average reported delay is only 10 to 15 seconds, Weissman said.

Officials at Penn dealing with international students agree. "We, at our office, have not heard about any inordinate delays," said Joyce Randolph, the executive director of Office of International Programs.

Shalini Bhutani, an OIP adviser, echoed those sentiments. "We had our first spring orientation this morning consisting of 40 new students. All but one had gone through the fingerprinting and photographing process ... apparently it has gone pretty smoothly so far."

Some students were even surprised by the ease and effectiveness of the procedures. "It was very quick, much shorter than I expected," said Ankit Agarwal, an Engineering freshman who was flying from Bombay to London to Philadelphia.

Wharton sophomore Kaido Veske, who flew from Estonia, confirmed that the procedures that include having both index fingers scanned by a digital inkless scanner and having digital photographs taken were not causing any substantial delays. "It was really quick, 10 seconds at the most," he said.

But OIP is not taking the lack of problems for granted. According to Randolph, in case of any arising difficulties at Customs, the office has designated a cell phone number that is available around the clock to Customs officials, should any Penn student have any difficulties with entry. This is the same procedure that the program had instituted at the beginning of the fall semester.

"We did not receive a single call during winter break," she noted.

Despite these changes, "many of the entry procedures in place today will remain unchanged and are familiar to international travelers," Weissman wrote, adding that "the United States remains a welcoming nation to those who want to work, study and travel to this country. The goal of the US-VISIT program is to enhance the national security of the U.S. citizens and visitors while also facilitating legitimate travel and trade."

The program, in fact, could make future entries into the country easier for foreign students, after they have already been verified by the system, Randolph said. Once an individual is qualified as having legitimate reason for entry, they are entered into a database and enrolled into the US-VISIT program for ease of future verification.

"We can better verify that the person who is trying to gain admission to the United States is the same person to whom the [visa] was issued at a consulate or embassy abroad," Weissman said.

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