Between 2020 and 2024, nearly 7.1 million non-immigrant visas were granted to foreign nationals, allowing them to enter the US for tourism or business purposes.
However, these people are believed to have entered the country without conducting required in-person consular interviews and biometric screening, VisaGuide.World reports.
According to the Inspector General of the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the number of visa applicants who have escaped without going through biometric screening has yet to be known.
Authorities Reveal That US Department of Homeland Security Has Not Been Most Efficient in Screening & Verifying Foreigners Entering the US
The Biometric Update website reveals that the fingerprint waiver program for foreigners coming to the US with a nonimmigrant visa ended in December. However, the authorities have found that many port directors at several ports of entry say they were not aware of the change for four years now.
The new developments come after the Inspector General of DHS also discovered that DHS has not been always effective in screening and verification of persons applying for admission to the US, including here asylum seekers with long-waiting pending applications.
According to the Inspector General, the State Department did not give information on visa holders who did not receive biometric collection or did not receive consular interviews until March.
Millions of Travellers Enter the US Via 328 Points of Entry
The CBP officers, who are responsible for conducting verification procedures for those entering the country, manage a total of 328 points of entry. Thousands to millions of foreigners enter the US visa these points on a frequent basis.
The US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) had warned the directors at points of entry that inspection systems now included fingerprinting as part of an individual’s record.
Because consular interviews can be an important mechanism for collecting information from visa applicants to verify identity and determine admissibility before they arrive in the United States, having knowledge of who was waived and who was not could allow CBP officers to make more informed decisions.
Without fingerprinting as a procedure of verification, officers at Points of Entry, cannot know for sure if a person has been examined and verified properly before entering the US.
In December, DHS and the State Department agreed that the number of categories of visas and applicants that should be allowed to enter the EU without consular interviews, should expand and that it should begin on January 1.