Test To Collect Biometric Information at Up to Ten U.S. Airports (“Be-Mobile Air Test”), 44983-44986 [2015-18418]

Download as PDF 44983 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 144 / Tuesday, July 28, 2015 / Notices grantees by providing data on how health information technologies facilitate the implementation of different types of SAMHSA grants; thereby fostering the appropriate adoption of health information technologies within SAMSHA-funded programs. Ten (10) respective focus groups and site visit sessions will collect qualitative data to provide a snapshot view of the current state of health information technology adoption. The focus groups will include up to six participations per session and will be representative of the ten Department of Health and Human Services Regions. Site visit participants will be selected from among SAMHSAfunded grant programs and non-profit community behavioral health providers nominated by Project Officers as exemplars in the field of health information technologies, with recognized success in at least one of the four health information technology domain categories. The proposed ten (10) in-person focus group sessions will not exceed 90minutes in duration and will be limited to no less than six (6) and no more than (8) participants. The proposed ten (10) in-person site visit sessions will not Number of respondents Activity Number of responses annually per respondent exceed eight (8) hours in duration and will include, on average two (2) participants at any one time during the visit. The focus group and site visit sessions are expected to occur between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. and will allow sufficient time for food and personal breaks. The total estimated burden to participate in the focus groups is 120 hours. The total estimated burden to participate in the site visits is 160 hours. The following table summarizes the estimated participation burden: Focus Group and Site Visit Estimated Annual Hour Burden: Total responses Average hours per response Total burden hours Focus Group ........................................................................ Site Visits ............................................................................. 80 20 1 1 80 20 1.5 8 120 160 Total .............................................................................. 100 ........................ 100 ........................ 280 Send comments to Summer King, SAMHSA Reports Clearance Officer, Room 2–1057, One Choke Cherry Road, Rockville, MD 20857 OR email her a copy at summer.king@samhsa.hhs.gov. Written comments should be received by September 28, 2015. Summer King, Statistician. [FR Doc. 2015–18428 Filed 7–27–15; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4162–20–P DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY U.S. Customs and Border Protection Test To Collect Biometric Information at Up to Ten U.S. Airports (‘‘Be-Mobile Air Test’’) U.S. Customs and Border Protection; Department of Homeland Security. ACTION: General notice. AGENCY: U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) intends to conduct a test to collect biometric and biographic information from certain aliens who are departing the United States on selected flights from up to ten identified U.S. airports. This notice describes the test, its purpose, how it will be implemented, the individuals covered, the duration of the test, where the test will take place, and the privacy considerations. This test will not apply to U.S. citizens. asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES SUMMARY: VerDate Sep<11>2014 19:17 Jul 27, 2015 Jkt 235001 The test will begin no earlier than July 6, 2015, and will run for approximately one year. The test will be rolled out over this one-year period at up to ten of the following airports: Los Angeles International Airport, Los Angeles, California; San Francisco International Airport, San Francisco, California; Miami International Airport, Miami, Florida; Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Atlanta, Georgia; Chicago O’Hare International Airport, Chicago, Illinois; Newark Liberty International Airport, Newark, New Jersey; John F. Kennedy International Airport, Jamaica, New York; Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, Dallas, Texas; George Bush Intercontinental Airport, Houston, Texas; and Washington Dulles International Airport, Sterling, Virginia. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Edward Fluhr, Assistant Director, Entry/ Exit Transformation Office, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, by phone at (202) 344–2377 or by email at edward.fluhr@cbp.dhs.gov. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: DATES: Background The US-VISIT Program The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) established the United States Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology (US-VISIT) Program in accordance with several federal statutory mandates requiring DHS to create an integrated, automated entry and exit system that records the arrival and departure of aliens, verifies the aliens’ identities, and authenticates PO 00000 Frm 00060 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 aliens’ travel documents through the comparison of biometric identifiers. Under these various federal statutory mandates, certain aliens may be required to provide biometrics (including digital fingerprint scans, photographs, facial and iris images, or other biometric identifiers 1) upon arrival in, or departure from, the United States. On March 16, 2013, US-VISIT’s entry and exit operations, including deployment of a biometric exit system, were transferred to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). See Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2013, Public Law 113–6, 127 Stat. 198 (2013). The Act also transferred the US-VISIT Program’s overstay analysis function to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and its biometric identity management services to the Office of Biometric Management (OBIM), a newly-created office within the National Protection and Programs Directorate. CBP assumed responsibility for operating biometric entry and implementing biometric exit programs on April 1, 2013. Since the transfer of US-VISIT’s entry and exit operations to CBP, CBP has continued to consider ways to collect 1 As used in this notice, a ‘‘biometric identifier’’ is a physical characteristic or other physical attribute unique to an individual that can be collected, stored, and used to verify the identity of a person who presents himself or herself to a CBP officer at the border. To verify a person’s identity, a similar physical characteristic or attribute is collected and compared against the previously collected identifier. E:\FR\FM\28JYN1.SGM 28JYN1 44984 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 144 / Tuesday, July 28, 2015 / Notices asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES biometric information from departing aliens. This notice announces that CBP will be conducting the Biometric Exit Mobile (BE-Mobile) Air Test at up to ten of the identified U.S. airports. In this test, CBP officers will utilize wireless handheld devices to collect biographic and biometric information from certain aliens upon departure, biometrically record their departure, and screen their biometric data against a DHS biometric database 2 in real time. This notice describes the BE-Mobile Air Test, its purpose, how it will be implemented, the individuals covered, the duration of the test, where the test will take place, and the privacy considerations. Legal Authority The federal statutes that mandate DHS to create a biometric entry and exit system to record the arrival and departure of certain aliens include, but are not limited to: • Section 2(a) of the Immigration and Naturalization Service Data Management Improvement Act of 2000 (DMIA), Public Law 106–215, 114 Stat. 337 (2000); • Section 205 of the Visa Waiver Permanent Program Act of 2000, Public Law 106–396, 114 Stat. 1637, 1641 (2000); • Section 414 of the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 (USA PATRIOT Act), Public Law 107– 56, 115 Stat. 272, 353 (2001); • Section 302 of the Enhanced Border Security and Visa Entry Reform Act of 2002 (Border Security Act), Public Law 107–173, 116 Stat. 543, 552 (2002); • Section 7208 of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (IRTPA), Public Law 108–458, 118 Stat. 3638, 3817 (2004); and • Section 711 of the Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007, Public Law 110–52, 121 Stat. 266 (2007). Section 7208 of the IRTPA, as codified at 8 U.S.C. 1365b, specifically requires that DHS’s entry and exit data system collect biometric exit data for all categories of individuals who are required to provide biometric entry data. On January 5, 2004, DHS published an interim final rule (IFR) in the Federal Register (69 FR 468) implementing the first phase of US-VISIT at specified air and sea ports of entry. This IFR amended section 235.1 of title 8 of the 2 See the Privacy Impact Assessment at https:// www.dhs.gov/privacy-documents-us-customs-andborder-protection for more information about the databases where the biometric and biographic information will be maintained. VerDate Sep<11>2014 19:17 Jul 27, 2015 Jkt 235001 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) (8 CFR 235.1) to authorize the Secretary to require certain aliens seeking admission into the United States through nonimmigrant visas to provide fingerprints, photographs, or other biometric identifiers to CBP upon arrival in, or departure from, the United States at air or sea ports of entry.3 The specified air and sea ports of entry where such collection of biometric information was to occur were designated by notice in the Federal Register. 69 FR 482 (January 5, 2004). DHS also published two additional notices expanding the list of designated air and sea ports. See 69 FR 46556 (August 3, 2004) and 69 FR 51695 (August 20, 2004). Since then, aliens who are required under federal law to submit biometric information have been submitting fingerprints and photographs upon entry to the United States at designated air and sea ports of entry. The DHS biometric entry program is now operational at 15 sea ports and 115 airports including the identified airports selected for the BE-Mobile Air Test. The second phase of US–VISIT was implemented on August 31, 2004 when DHS published an IFR in the Federal Register (69 FR 53318) expanding the program to the fifty most highly trafficked land border ports-of-entry in the United States as required by 8 U.S.C. 1365a(d)(2).4 The IFR also amended 8 CFR 215.8 to provide that the Secretary, or his designee, may establish pilot programs to collect biometric information from certain aliens departing the United States at land border ports of entry, and at up to fifteen air or sea ports of entry designated through notice in the Federal Register. Specifically, 8 CFR 215.8(a)(1) provides that the Secretary, or his designee, may establish pilot programs through which the Secretary or his delegate may require an alien who departs the United States from a designated port of entry to provide fingerprints, photographs or other specified biometric identifiers, documentation of his or her immigration status in the United States, 3 The IFR also authorized the Secretary to establish pilot programs at up to fifteen air or sea ports of entry, to be identified by notice in the Federal Register, through which DHS may require certain aliens who depart from a designated air or sea port of entry to provide specified biometric identifiers and other evidence at the time of departure. 4 Section 1365a(d)(2) provides, in pertinent part, that ‘‘[n]ot later than December 31, 2004, the Attorney General [now the Secretary of Homeland Security] shall implement the integrated entry and exit data system . . . at the 50 land border ports of entry determined by the Attorney General to serve the highest numbers of arriving and departing aliens.’’ PO 00000 Frm 00061 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 and such other evidence as may be requested to determine the alien’s identity and whether he or she has properly maintained his or her status while in the United States. The IFR also specified that nonimmigrants seeking to enter the United States without a visa under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) are also required to provide biometric information to DHS.5 Previous Air Exit Pilots Pursuant to the authority in 8 CFR 215.8, on June 3, 2009, DHS published a notice in the Federal Register (74 FR 26721) announcing the commencement of two air exit pilot programs.6 In one of the pilot programs, CBP collected biometric information from certain aliens at or near the departure gate at the Detroit/Metropolitan Wayne County Airport in cooperation with Northwest Airlines. CBP collected biometric information from aliens departing the United States for foreign destinations who were subject to the biometric screening requirements. The biometric collection consisted of one or more electronic fingerprints captured using a mobile or portable device. CBP also collected biographic information, including travel document information, such as name, date of birth, document issuance type, country and number from these aliens. CBP stored and forwarded the departure records collected to a DHS database daily. In the second pilot program, Transportation Security Administration (TSA) collected biometric and biographic information from certain aliens at the security checkpoint at the Atlanta/Hartsfield International Airport. Aliens departing the United States for foreign destinations who were subject to biometric screening requirements were directed to an area within the checkpoint where the biographic and biometric information was collected. The biometric collection consisted of one or more electronic fingerprints captured using a mobile or portable device. TSA also collected biographic information, including travel document information, such as name, date of birth, document issuance type, country and number from these aliens. TSA stored and forwarded the departure records collected to a DHS database daily. These pilot programs concluded on July 2, 2009. Although the technology used in these pilot programs worked, 5 On December 19, 2008, DHS published a final rule in the Federal Register (73 FR 77473) which finalized the IFR without change. 6 DHS also conducted air exit pilot programs at various ports of departure, in 2004, including Baltimore-Washington International Airport (BWI), pursuant to the authority in 8 CFR 215.8. E:\FR\FM\28JYN1.SGM 28JYN1 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 144 / Tuesday, July 28, 2015 / Notices DHS concluded that these collection mechanisms would be extremely resource intensive and very costly to implement long-term or at additional airports. Therefore, DHS did not expand or extend the pilots. The Biometric Exit Mobile Air Test (‘‘BE-Mobile Air Test’’) The BE-Mobile Air Test is designed to test both a new biometric exit concept of operations at selected airports with CBP officers using a wireless handheld device at the departure gate to collect biometric and biographic data and CBP’s outbound enforcement policies and workforce distribution procedures. This test will significantly differ from the 2009 pilot conducted by CBP in that the BE-Mobile Air Test will use improved technology, will enable CBP officers to receive real time information, will test a different concept of operations since law enforcement officers can perform checks in real time, and will be less resource intensive because CBP will conduct the test on fewer flights per week than during the 2009 pilot. Through the test, CBP will be able to conduct a statistically valid survey of the air outbound environment that will assist DHS in determining how to effectively implement an air biometric exit system. The BE-Mobile Air Test is one of CBP’s key steps in developing the capability to fulfill DHS’ mandate to collect biometric information from certain arriving and departing aliens. asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES Identified Airports CBP will conduct the BE-Mobile Air Test at up to ten of the following airports: • Los Angeles International Airport, Los Angeles, California; • San Francisco International Airport, San Francisco, California; • Miami International Airport, Miami, Florida; • Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Atlanta, Georgia; • Chicago O’Hare International Airport, Chicago, Illinois; • Newark Liberty International Airport, Newark, New Jersey; • John F. Kennedy International Airport, Jamaica, New York; • Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, Dallas, Texas; • George Bush Intercontinental Airport, Houston, Texas; • Washington Dulles International Airport, Sterling, Virginia. The airports selected for the BEMobile Air Test will be identified on the CBP Web site, https://www.cbp.gov. VerDate Sep<11>2014 19:17 Jul 27, 2015 Jkt 235001 Description, Purpose and Implementation Currently, certain aliens seeking admission into the United States may be required to provide fingerprint and photographic biometric data at ports of entry, including at the ten identified airports. This data is used by CBP to verify the aliens’ identities. (Certain aliens, including individuals traveling on A or G visas and others as specified in 8 CFR 235.1(f)(1)(iv), are exempt from this requirement). The BE-Mobile Air Test will be conducted at the identified airports on pre-selected outbound international flights. Flights will be pre-selected on a random basis or chosen to correspond with existing outbound enforcement operations. For the selected flight, CBP officers will deploy to the departure gate and position themselves near the departing passenger loading bridge to collect certain data from certain departing travelers. Once travelers begin the departure process, CBP officers will review the traveler’s travel document (passport, visa, lawful permanent resident card, or other qualifying travel document) to determine if the traveler is an alien who is required to submit biometric information at the time of departure as described in the next section, entitled ‘‘Aliens Covered.’’ If so, the CBP officers will obtain biographic data from these select aliens by swiping or inputting the information from the alien’s travel document on a wireless handheld device.7 The biographic data collected during this test will be used to create a biographic-based departure record in a CBP biographic database. It will be paired with the biometric data collected to create a complete, biometrically-based departure record for that alien. The CBP officer will also capture two of the alien’s fingerprints and verify the fingerprints against the alien’s biometric identity record. Based on the results of the verification or additional law enforcement information, the officer may then perform additional analysis or conduct a further interview to determine if additional action may be appropriate. When the departure inspection is complete, the results of the transaction will be recorded in a DHS biometric database and a CBP biographic database in real time. The primary mission of any biometric exit program is to provide assurance of traveler identity on departure, giving CBP the opportunity to match the departure with a prior arrival record. This capability enhances the integrity of 7 Air carriers will continue to report traveler information through the Advance Passenger Information System (APIS). PO 00000 Frm 00062 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 44985 the immigration system and the ability to accurately detect travelers that have overstayed their lawful period of admission to the United States. CBP will analyze and evaluate the test’s performance based on a number of criteria, including the occurrence of watchlist matches based on biometric data, the occurrence of biometricidentified fraud, the occurrence of inaccurate APIS manifests, how overstay calculations are impacted, the transaction times for exit processing per traveler, the rate of successful transactions, the occurrence of law enforcement hits, including those requiring referral to secondary inspection, the observations from the CBP officers performing the test, and system performance. CBP will use the results of the BE-Mobile Air Test to determine strategic programmatic requirements for a comprehensive biometric exit solution. Aliens Covered For the duration of the test, aliens must provide the biometric information described above at the time of departure of the selected international flights at one of the selected airports, except for aliens exempt pursuant to 8 CFR 215.8(a)(2) provided that the alien is in exempted status on the date of departure. Exempted aliens include: (1) Canadian citizens who under section 101(a)(15)(B) of the Immigration and Nationality Act are not otherwise required to present a visa or have been issued Form I–94 (see § 1.4) or Form 1– 95 upon arrival at the United States; (2) Aliens admitted on A–1, A–2, C– 3 (except for attendants, servants, or personal employees of accredited officials), G–1, G–2, G–3, G–4, NATO– 1, NATO–2, NATO–3, NATO–4, NATO– 5, or NATO–6 visas, and certain Taiwan officials who hold E–1 visas and members of their immediate families who hold E–1 visas who are maintaining such status at time of departure, unless the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security jointly determine that a class of such aliens should be subject to this notice; (3) Children under the age of 14; (4) Persons over the age of 79; (5) Classes of aliens the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Secretary of State jointly determine shall be exempt; or (6) An individual alien whom the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Secretary of State, or the Director of Central Intelligence determines shall be exempt. E:\FR\FM\28JYN1.SGM 28JYN1 44986 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 144 / Tuesday, July 28, 2015 / Notices Duration of the Test CBP will collect biographic information and fingerprint data from select non-exempt aliens departing on selected international flights from the identified airports for a period of approximately one year from the start of the test. The information collected will constitute a departure record for that alien and will be maintained in the CBP and DHS databases for recording entries and departures. Privacy Paperwork Reduction Act asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES U.S. Customs and Border Protection Renewal of the Generalized System of Preferences and Retroactive Application for Certain Liquidations and Reliquidations Under the GSP U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Department of Homeland Security. ACTION: General notice. AGENCY: The Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) is a renewable preferential trade program that allows the eligible products of designated beneficiary developing countries to directly enter the United States free of duty. The GSP program expired on July 31, 2013, but has been renewed through December 31, 2017, effective July 29, 2015, with retroactive effect between August 1, 2013 to July 28, 2015, by a provision in the Trade Preferences Extension Act of 2015. This document provides notice to importers that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will again accept claims for GSP dutyfree treatment for merchandise entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption and that CBP will process refunds on duties paid, without interest, on GSP-eligible merchandise that was entered during the period that the GSP program was lapsed. Formal and informal entries that were filed electronically via the Automated Broker Interface (ABI) using Special Program Indicator (SPI) Code ‘‘A’’ as a prefix to the tariff number will be automatically processed by CBP and no further action by the filer is required to initiate the refund process. Non-ABI filers, and ABI filers that did not include SPI Code ‘‘A’’ on the entry, must timely submit a duty refund request to CBP. CBP will continue conducting verifications to ensure that GSP benefits are available to eligible entries only. DATES: Effective July 29, 2015, the filing of GSP-eligible entry summaries may be resumed without the payment of estimated duties, and CBP will initiate the automatic liquidation or reliquidation of formal and informal entries of GSP-eligible merchandise that was entered on or after August 1, 2013 through July 28, 2015 and filed via ABI with SPI Code ‘‘A’’ notated on the entry. Requests for refunds of GSP duties paid on eligible non-ABI entries, or eligible ABI entries filed without SPI Code ‘‘A,’’ must be filed with CBP no later than December 28, 2015. ADDRESSES: Instructions for submitting a request to CBP to liquidate or SUMMARY: CBP will ensure that all Privacy Act requirements and applicable policies are adhered to during the implementation of this test. Additionally, CBP will be issuing a Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA), which will outline how CBP will ensure compliance with Privacy Act protections. The PIA will examine the privacy impact of the BE-Mobile Air Test as it relates to DHS’s Fair Information Practice Principles (FIPPs). The FIPPs account for the nature and purpose of the information being collected in relation to DHS’s mission to preserve, protect and secure the United States. The PIA will address issues such as the security, integrity, and sharing of data, use limitation and transparency. Once issued, the PIA will be made publicly available at: https:// www.dhs.gov/privacy-documents-uscustoms-and-border-protection. CBP has also issued an update to the DHS/CBP– 007 Border Crossing Information (BCI) System of Records, which fully encompasses all the data that is being collected at the selected airports. The system of records notice (SORN) was published in the Federal Register on May 11, 2015 (80 FR 26937). CBP requires aliens subject to this notice to provide biometric and biographic data at the airports selected for the test in the circumstances described above. This requirement is considered an information collection requirement under the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501, et seq.). The Office of Management and Budget (OMB), in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act, has previously approved this information collection for use. The OMB control number for this collection is 1651–0138. Date: July 22, 2015. R. Gil Kerlikowske, Commissioner. [FR Doc. 2015–18418 Filed 7–27–15; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 9111–14–P VerDate Sep<11>2014 DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY 19:17 Jul 27, 2015 Jkt 235001 PO 00000 Frm 00063 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 reliquidate entries of GSP-eligible merchandise that was entered on or after August 1, 2013 through July 28, 2015 are located at https://www.cbp.gov/ trade/priority-issues/trade-agreements/ special-trade-legislation/generalizedsystem-preferences. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: General questions concerning this notice should be directed to Maggie Gray, Office of International Trade, Trade Agreements Branch, 202–863– 6621. For operational questions regarding: Formal/Informal Entries and Baggage Declarations: Celestine Harrell, 202–863–6937; Mail Entries: Katherine Changes, 202–344–1767 or Robert Woods, 202–344–1236; Non-ABI Informal Entries: contact the port of entry where goods were entered. Questions from filers regarding ABI transmissions should be directed to their assigned ABI client representative. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Background Section 501 of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended (19 U.S.C. 2461), authorizes the President to establish a Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) to provide duty-free treatment for eligible articles imported directly from designated beneficiary countries for specific time periods. Pursuant to 19 U.S.C. 2465, as amended by section 1011(a) of Public Law 105–277, 112 Stat. 2681, duty-free treatment under the GSP program expired on July 31, 2013. On June 29, 2015, the President signed the Trade Preferences Extension Act of 2015 (Publ. L. 114–27). Section 201 of Public Law 114–27 pertains to the extension of duty-free treatment and the retroactive application for certain liquidations and reliquidations under the GSP. Section 201(b)(1) provides that GSP duty-free treatment will be applied to eligible articles from designated beneficiary countries that are entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after July 29, 2015 through December 31, 2017. Section 201(b)(2) provides that for entries made on or after August 1, 2013 through July 28, 2015, to which duty-free treatment would have applied if GSP had been in effect during that time period (‘‘covered entries’’), any duty paid with respect to such entry will be refunded provided that a request for liquidation or reliquidation of that entry, containing sufficient information to enable U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to locate the entry or to reconstruct the entry if it cannot be located, is filed with CBP by December 28, 2015 (180 days after enactment of Pub. L. 114–27). Section 201(b)(2)(C) provides that any amounts owed by the E:\FR\FM\28JYN1.SGM 28JYN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 144 (Tuesday, July 28, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44983-44986]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-18418]


=======================================================================
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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

U.S. Customs and Border Protection


Test To Collect Biometric Information at Up to Ten U.S. Airports 
(``Be-Mobile Air Test'')

AGENCY: U.S. Customs and Border Protection; Department of Homeland 
Security.

ACTION: General notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) intends to conduct a 
test to collect biometric and biographic information from certain 
aliens who are departing the United States on selected flights from up 
to ten identified U.S. airports. This notice describes the test, its 
purpose, how it will be implemented, the individuals covered, the 
duration of the test, where the test will take place, and the privacy 
considerations. This test will not apply to U.S. citizens.

DATES: The test will begin no earlier than July 6, 2015, and will run 
for approximately one year. The test will be rolled out over this one-
year period at up to ten of the following airports: Los Angeles 
International Airport, Los Angeles, California; San Francisco 
International Airport, San Francisco, California; Miami International 
Airport, Miami, Florida; Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International 
Airport, Atlanta, Georgia; Chicago O'Hare International Airport, 
Chicago, Illinois; Newark Liberty International Airport, Newark, New 
Jersey; John F. Kennedy International Airport, Jamaica, New York; 
Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, Dallas, Texas; George Bush 
Intercontinental Airport, Houston, Texas; and Washington Dulles 
International Airport, Sterling, Virginia.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Edward Fluhr, Assistant Director, 
Entry/Exit Transformation Office, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, 
by phone at (202) 344-2377 or by email at edward.fluhr@cbp.dhs.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

The US-VISIT Program

    The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) established the United 
States Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology (US-VISIT) 
Program in accordance with several federal statutory mandates requiring 
DHS to create an integrated, automated entry and exit system that 
records the arrival and departure of aliens, verifies the aliens' 
identities, and authenticates aliens' travel documents through the 
comparison of biometric identifiers. Under these various federal 
statutory mandates, certain aliens may be required to provide 
biometrics (including digital fingerprint scans, photographs, facial 
and iris images, or other biometric identifiers \1\) upon arrival in, 
or departure from, the United States.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ As used in this notice, a ``biometric identifier'' is a 
physical characteristic or other physical attribute unique to an 
individual that can be collected, stored, and used to verify the 
identity of a person who presents himself or herself to a CBP 
officer at the border. To verify a person's identity, a similar 
physical characteristic or attribute is collected and compared 
against the previously collected identifier.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    On March 16, 2013, US-VISIT's entry and exit operations, including 
deployment of a biometric exit system, were transferred to U.S. Customs 
and Border Protection (CBP). See Consolidated and Further Continuing 
Appropriations Act, 2013, Public Law 113-6, 127 Stat. 198 (2013). The 
Act also transferred the US-VISIT Program's overstay analysis function 
to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and its biometric 
identity management services to the Office of Biometric Management 
(OBIM), a newly-created office within the National Protection and 
Programs Directorate. CBP assumed responsibility for operating 
biometric entry and implementing biometric exit programs on April 1, 
2013.
    Since the transfer of US-VISIT's entry and exit operations to CBP, 
CBP has continued to consider ways to collect

[[Page 44984]]

biometric information from departing aliens. This notice announces that 
CBP will be conducting the Biometric Exit Mobile (BE-Mobile) Air Test 
at up to ten of the identified U.S. airports. In this test, CBP 
officers will utilize wireless handheld devices to collect biographic 
and biometric information from certain aliens upon departure, 
biometrically record their departure, and screen their biometric data 
against a DHS biometric database \2\ in real time. This notice 
describes the BE-Mobile Air Test, its purpose, how it will be 
implemented, the individuals covered, the duration of the test, where 
the test will take place, and the privacy considerations.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \2\ See the Privacy Impact Assessment at https://www.dhs.gov/privacy-documents-us-customs-and-border-protection for more 
information about the databases where the biometric and biographic 
information will be maintained.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Legal Authority

    The federal statutes that mandate DHS to create a biometric entry 
and exit system to record the arrival and departure of certain aliens 
include, but are not limited to:
     Section 2(a) of the Immigration and Naturalization Service 
Data Management Improvement Act of 2000 (DMIA), Public Law 106-215, 114 
Stat. 337 (2000);
     Section 205 of the Visa Waiver Permanent Program Act of 
2000, Public Law 106-396, 114 Stat. 1637, 1641 (2000);
     Section 414 of the Uniting and Strengthening America by 
Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct 
Terrorism Act of 2001 (USA PATRIOT Act), Public Law 107-56, 115 Stat. 
272, 353 (2001);
     Section 302 of the Enhanced Border Security and Visa Entry 
Reform Act of 2002 (Border Security Act), Public Law 107-173, 116 Stat. 
543, 552 (2002);
     Section 7208 of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism 
Prevention Act of 2004 (IRTPA), Public Law 108-458, 118 Stat. 3638, 
3817 (2004); and
     Section 711 of the Implementing Recommendations of the 9/
11 Commission Act of 2007, Public Law 110-52, 121 Stat. 266 (2007).
    Section 7208 of the IRTPA, as codified at 8 U.S.C. 1365b, 
specifically requires that DHS's entry and exit data system collect 
biometric exit data for all categories of individuals who are required 
to provide biometric entry data.
    On January 5, 2004, DHS published an interim final rule (IFR) in 
the Federal Register (69 FR 468) implementing the first phase of US-
VISIT at specified air and sea ports of entry. This IFR amended section 
235.1 of title 8 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) (8 CFR 235.1) 
to authorize the Secretary to require certain aliens seeking admission 
into the United States through nonimmigrant visas to provide 
fingerprints, photographs, or other biometric identifiers to CBP upon 
arrival in, or departure from, the United States at air or sea ports of 
entry.\3\ The specified air and sea ports of entry where such 
collection of biometric information was to occur were designated by 
notice in the Federal Register. 69 FR 482 (January 5, 2004). DHS also 
published two additional notices expanding the list of designated air 
and sea ports. See 69 FR 46556 (August 3, 2004) and 69 FR 51695 (August 
20, 2004). Since then, aliens who are required under federal law to 
submit biometric information have been submitting fingerprints and 
photographs upon entry to the United States at designated air and sea 
ports of entry. The DHS biometric entry program is now operational at 
15 sea ports and 115 airports including the identified airports 
selected for the BE-Mobile Air Test.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \3\ The IFR also authorized the Secretary to establish pilot 
programs at up to fifteen air or sea ports of entry, to be 
identified by notice in the Federal Register, through which DHS may 
require certain aliens who depart from a designated air or sea port 
of entry to provide specified biometric identifiers and other 
evidence at the time of departure.
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    The second phase of US-VISIT was implemented on August 31, 2004 
when DHS published an IFR in the Federal Register (69 FR 53318) 
expanding the program to the fifty most highly trafficked land border 
ports-of-entry in the United States as required by 8 U.S.C. 
1365a(d)(2).\4\ The IFR also amended 8 CFR 215.8 to provide that the 
Secretary, or his designee, may establish pilot programs to collect 
biometric information from certain aliens departing the United States 
at land border ports of entry, and at up to fifteen air or sea ports of 
entry designated through notice in the Federal Register. Specifically, 
8 CFR 215.8(a)(1) provides that the Secretary, or his designee, may 
establish pilot programs through which the Secretary or his delegate 
may require an alien who departs the United States from a designated 
port of entry to provide fingerprints, photographs or other specified 
biometric identifiers, documentation of his or her immigration status 
in the United States, and such other evidence as may be requested to 
determine the alien's identity and whether he or she has properly 
maintained his or her status while in the United States. The IFR also 
specified that nonimmigrants seeking to enter the United States without 
a visa under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) are also required to provide 
biometric information to DHS.\5\
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    \4\ Section 1365a(d)(2) provides, in pertinent part, that 
``[n]ot later than December 31, 2004, the Attorney General [now the 
Secretary of Homeland Security] shall implement the integrated entry 
and exit data system . . . at the 50 land border ports of entry 
determined by the Attorney General to serve the highest numbers of 
arriving and departing aliens.''
    \5\ On December 19, 2008, DHS published a final rule in the 
Federal Register (73 FR 77473) which finalized the IFR without 
change.
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Previous Air Exit Pilots

    Pursuant to the authority in 8 CFR 215.8, on June 3, 2009, DHS 
published a notice in the Federal Register (74 FR 26721) announcing the 
commencement of two air exit pilot programs.\6\ In one of the pilot 
programs, CBP collected biometric information from certain aliens at or 
near the departure gate at the Detroit/Metropolitan Wayne County 
Airport in cooperation with Northwest Airlines. CBP collected biometric 
information from aliens departing the United States for foreign 
destinations who were subject to the biometric screening requirements. 
The biometric collection consisted of one or more electronic 
fingerprints captured using a mobile or portable device. CBP also 
collected biographic information, including travel document 
information, such as name, date of birth, document issuance type, 
country and number from these aliens. CBP stored and forwarded the 
departure records collected to a DHS database daily.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \6\ DHS also conducted air exit pilot programs at various ports 
of departure, in 2004, including Baltimore-Washington International 
Airport (BWI), pursuant to the authority in 8 CFR 215.8.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In the second pilot program, Transportation Security Administration 
(TSA) collected biometric and biographic information from certain 
aliens at the security checkpoint at the Atlanta/Hartsfield 
International Airport. Aliens departing the United States for foreign 
destinations who were subject to biometric screening requirements were 
directed to an area within the checkpoint where the biographic and 
biometric information was collected. The biometric collection consisted 
of one or more electronic fingerprints captured using a mobile or 
portable device. TSA also collected biographic information, including 
travel document information, such as name, date of birth, document 
issuance type, country and number from these aliens. TSA stored and 
forwarded the departure records collected to a DHS database daily.
    These pilot programs concluded on July 2, 2009. Although the 
technology used in these pilot programs worked,

[[Page 44985]]

DHS concluded that these collection mechanisms would be extremely 
resource intensive and very costly to implement long-term or at 
additional airports. Therefore, DHS did not expand or extend the 
pilots.

The Biometric Exit Mobile Air Test (``BE-Mobile Air Test'')

    The BE-Mobile Air Test is designed to test both a new biometric 
exit concept of operations at selected airports with CBP officers using 
a wireless handheld device at the departure gate to collect biometric 
and biographic data and CBP's outbound enforcement policies and 
workforce distribution procedures. This test will significantly differ 
from the 2009 pilot conducted by CBP in that the BE-Mobile Air Test 
will use improved technology, will enable CBP officers to receive real 
time information, will test a different concept of operations since law 
enforcement officers can perform checks in real time, and will be less 
resource intensive because CBP will conduct the test on fewer flights 
per week than during the 2009 pilot. Through the test, CBP will be able 
to conduct a statistically valid survey of the air outbound environment 
that will assist DHS in determining how to effectively implement an air 
biometric exit system. The BE-Mobile Air Test is one of CBP's key steps 
in developing the capability to fulfill DHS' mandate to collect 
biometric information from certain arriving and departing aliens.

Identified Airports

    CBP will conduct the BE-Mobile Air Test at up to ten of the 
following airports:
     Los Angeles International Airport, Los Angeles, 
California;
     San Francisco International Airport, San Francisco, 
California;
     Miami International Airport, Miami, Florida;
     Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Atlanta, 
Georgia;
     Chicago O'Hare International Airport, Chicago, Illinois;
     Newark Liberty International Airport, Newark, New Jersey;
     John F. Kennedy International Airport, Jamaica, New York;
     Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, Dallas, Texas;
     George Bush Intercontinental Airport, Houston, Texas;
     Washington Dulles International Airport, Sterling, 
Virginia.
    The airports selected for the BE-Mobile Air Test will be identified 
on the CBP Web site, https://www.cbp.gov.

Description, Purpose and Implementation

    Currently, certain aliens seeking admission into the United States 
may be required to provide fingerprint and photographic biometric data 
at ports of entry, including at the ten identified airports. This data 
is used by CBP to verify the aliens' identities. (Certain aliens, 
including individuals traveling on A or G visas and others as specified 
in 8 CFR 235.1(f)(1)(iv), are exempt from this requirement).
    The BE-Mobile Air Test will be conducted at the identified airports 
on pre-selected outbound international flights. Flights will be pre-
selected on a random basis or chosen to correspond with existing 
outbound enforcement operations. For the selected flight, CBP officers 
will deploy to the departure gate and position themselves near the 
departing passenger loading bridge to collect certain data from certain 
departing travelers. Once travelers begin the departure process, CBP 
officers will review the traveler's travel document (passport, visa, 
lawful permanent resident card, or other qualifying travel document) to 
determine if the traveler is an alien who is required to submit 
biometric information at the time of departure as described in the next 
section, entitled ``Aliens Covered.'' If so, the CBP officers will 
obtain biographic data from these select aliens by swiping or inputting 
the information from the alien's travel document on a wireless handheld 
device.\7\ The biographic data collected during this test will be used 
to create a biographic-based departure record in a CBP biographic 
database. It will be paired with the biometric data collected to create 
a complete, biometrically-based departure record for that alien. The 
CBP officer will also capture two of the alien's fingerprints and 
verify the fingerprints against the alien's biometric identity record. 
Based on the results of the verification or additional law enforcement 
information, the officer may then perform additional analysis or 
conduct a further interview to determine if additional action may be 
appropriate. When the departure inspection is complete, the results of 
the transaction will be recorded in a DHS biometric database and a CBP 
biographic database in real time.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \7\ Air carriers will continue to report traveler information 
through the Advance Passenger Information System (APIS).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The primary mission of any biometric exit program is to provide 
assurance of traveler identity on departure, giving CBP the opportunity 
to match the departure with a prior arrival record. This capability 
enhances the integrity of the immigration system and the ability to 
accurately detect travelers that have overstayed their lawful period of 
admission to the United States.
    CBP will analyze and evaluate the test's performance based on a 
number of criteria, including the occurrence of watchlist matches based 
on biometric data, the occurrence of biometric-identified fraud, the 
occurrence of inaccurate APIS manifests, how overstay calculations are 
impacted, the transaction times for exit processing per traveler, the 
rate of successful transactions, the occurrence of law enforcement 
hits, including those requiring referral to secondary inspection, the 
observations from the CBP officers performing the test, and system 
performance. CBP will use the results of the BE-Mobile Air Test to 
determine strategic programmatic requirements for a comprehensive 
biometric exit solution.

Aliens Covered

    For the duration of the test, aliens must provide the biometric 
information described above at the time of departure of the selected 
international flights at one of the selected airports, except for 
aliens exempt pursuant to 8 CFR 215.8(a)(2) provided that the alien is 
in exempted status on the date of departure.
Exempted aliens include:
    (1) Canadian citizens who under section 101(a)(15)(B) of the 
Immigration and Nationality Act are not otherwise required to present a 
visa or have been issued Form I-94 (see Sec.  1.4) or Form 1-95 upon 
arrival at the United States;
    (2) Aliens admitted on A-1, A-2, C-3 (except for attendants, 
servants, or personal employees of accredited officials), G-1, G-2, G-
3, G-4, NATO-1, NATO-2, NATO-3, NATO-4, NATO-5, or NATO-6 visas, and 
certain Taiwan officials who hold E-1 visas and members of their 
immediate families who hold E-1 visas who are maintaining such status 
at time of departure, unless the Secretary of State and the Secretary 
of Homeland Security jointly determine that a class of such aliens 
should be subject to this notice;
    (3) Children under the age of 14;
    (4) Persons over the age of 79;
    (5) Classes of aliens the Secretary of Homeland Security and the 
Secretary of State jointly determine shall be exempt; or
    (6) An individual alien whom the Secretary of Homeland Security, 
the Secretary of State, or the Director of Central Intelligence 
determines shall be exempt.

[[Page 44986]]

Duration of the Test

    CBP will collect biographic information and fingerprint data from 
select non-exempt aliens departing on selected international flights 
from the identified airports for a period of approximately one year 
from the start of the test. The information collected will constitute a 
departure record for that alien and will be maintained in the CBP and 
DHS databases for recording entries and departures.

Privacy

    CBP will ensure that all Privacy Act requirements and applicable 
policies are adhered to during the implementation of this test. 
Additionally, CBP will be issuing a Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA), 
which will outline how CBP will ensure compliance with Privacy Act 
protections. The PIA will examine the privacy impact of the BE-Mobile 
Air Test as it relates to DHS's Fair Information Practice Principles 
(FIPPs). The FIPPs account for the nature and purpose of the 
information being collected in relation to DHS's mission to preserve, 
protect and secure the United States. The PIA will address issues such 
as the security, integrity, and sharing of data, use limitation and 
transparency. Once issued, the PIA will be made publicly available at: 
https://www.dhs.gov/privacy-documents-us-customs-and-border-protection. 
CBP has also issued an update to the DHS/CBP-007 Border Crossing 
Information (BCI) System of Records, which fully encompasses all the 
data that is being collected at the selected airports. The system of 
records notice (SORN) was published in the Federal Register on May 11, 
2015 (80 FR 26937).

Paperwork Reduction Act

    CBP requires aliens subject to this notice to provide biometric and 
biographic data at the airports selected for the test in the 
circumstances described above. This requirement is considered an 
information collection requirement under the Paperwork Reduction Act 
(44 U.S.C. 3501, et seq.). The Office of Management and Budget (OMB), 
in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act, has previously approved 
this information collection for use. The OMB control number for this 
collection is 1651-0138.

    Date: July 22, 2015.
R. Gil Kerlikowske,
Commissioner.
[FR Doc. 2015-18418 Filed 7-27-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9111-14-P
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