With the "Enhanced Border Security and Visa
Entry Reform Act of 2002", Congress called for the installation "not
later than Oct. 26, 2004" of "equipment and software to allow
biometric comparison and authentication of all United States visas and other
travel and entry documents issued to aliens". On January 28, 2004, the Departments of State and Homeland
Security asked Congress for a two-year extension of this deadline, saying
such a process of document and system redesign "normally takes
years." Congress granted only a one-year extension in the deployment
mandate.
Since 1992, there have been at least a dozen attempts
internationally to add biometrics to the border crossing process. None of
these attempts has been successful over a large population. In this
talk, we will review several case studies: the Schipol
"TravelPass" (1992), the US INSPASS (1994), the Australian
"SmartGate" (2003) and the US-VISIT program
(2004). We will discuss the technology advances made in each and the
remaining engineering challenges in applying these programs to a
general population of travellers. We will
discuss why DHS and DOS testified that the US-VISIT program will need more
time for development than Congress was ultimately willing to grant . Finally, we will discuss the more
basic progress being made in standards and technology for large-scale
biometric applications.
Biography
Dr. Wayman is an advisor to
the US and UK governments on biometric technology. He serves
as a "Principal UK Expert" on the ISO standards committee and is a
member of the National Academies of Science "Whither Biometrics?"
committee. From 1997 to 2000, he was Director of the U.S. National
Biometric Test Center.
