United States Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology (USVISIT)

Real Audio of Briefing

       MR. HUTCHINSON: Thank you. I am pleased to be with you this afternoon.

       Congress has given direction to improve the immigration system and the visa system in our country and to make it work. This has been a direction that has come prior to September 11th, it has been urged more vigorously since the attack on America. The Department of Homeland Security understands its responsibility, and we view this as a unique opportunity to fulfill the mission that has been given to us.

       Earlier this month, Secretary Ridge announced the Department of Homeland Security would meet the deadline given to us by Congress to install an entry-exit system at America's airports and seaports by the end of the year. This will be done through the U.S. Visit Program. And let me explain how U.S. Visit will work in the short-term.

       First of all, if you look at our air and seaports, which is the first deadline that we have to meet, that will have this system in place, the airports and seaports, by the end of this year, right now we have 60 percent of our foreign guests from non-visa waiver countries come in from those countries into our airports and seaports -- that's 23 million people.

       And so by January 1st of next year, if a foreign visitor, holding a visa, flies into Dulles or JFK, or LAX, or to another international airport, or arrives in one of our seaports, the visitor's travel documents will be scanned, then once a photo and finger print are taken, the person will then be checked against lists of those who should be denied entry for a whole variety of reasons, from terrorist connections to criminal violations, or past visa violations. The information requested will include immigration and citizenship status, nationality, the country of residence, and the person's address while in the United States. Incomplete information will no longer be good enough. In 99.9 percent of the cases, the visitor will simply be wished a good day and sent on their way. With that small percentage of hits our country will be made much safer, and our immigration system will be given a foundation of integrity that has been far too lacking.

       When that visitor departs and airport or seaport, we will verify his or her identity and capture their departure information. This tells the Department of Homeland Security if that person entered legally but yet stayed here illegally. Currently, there is no way to know when or if even our visitors leave, but under U.S. Visit, that will change. It will not be a static system, but it will be a dynamic one, able to track changes in immigration status and make updates and adjustments accordingly.

       Congress has appropriated $400 million for this year alone to establish U.S. Visit at our airports and seaports. Our next challenge, which will be in '04, will be to do it at our major land ports of entry. We are communicating with Congress and aggressively building our capability to meet that challenge.

       One of the questions is, well, once you generate this information as to who might overstay a visa in the United States, what do you do with that information? And I'm pleased to announce that the Department of Homeland Security is establishing a new capability within ICE -- Immigration and Customs Enforcement. There will be an office of compliance. This team of compliance officers will review U.S. Visit information on visa violation, analyze it, and refer it out to the field for further investigation. An increase -- as information increases through our U.S. visit system, the office of compliance must grow the capability to track the cases and refer this to investigation, and that should be a useful tool as we implement U.S. visit.

       I would emphasize, as we talk about the U.S. Visit system, that it is important to the United States that we continue to welcome our visitors, whether it be for students who are engaged in academic studies, or whether it be for the business traveler or for the tourist, we welcome those who come to the United States for those purposes. But in this day and time, as we are reminded continually, we do have a responsibility toward security. And we look forward to working with our international partners to balance those two, to continue the flow of trade, but to make sure we have a system that works together that provides security for our country and internationally will aid in our international effort against terrorism.

       With that, I'm happy to turn it over for any questions.

       Q I'm -- (inaudible) -- with CTV, Canadian Television. My question is, this seems to apply to people who only have visas. What happens when a Canadian permanent resident, for example, from another country, but a permanent resident in Canada tries to cross the border.

       MR. HUTCHINSON: Well, the law is that if there are -- if there's -- if travel documents are currently required, then they will fall under the rules of the U.S. Visit system. If you have a country in which there is no requirement for travel documents -- and that would be a Canadian citizen, then they would be exempt from the U.S. Visit system.

       Your question is as to a legal, lawful resident but not a citizen of Canada, and it's my understanding that they would be required to provide the documentation and have a visa to enter the country because they would not be exempt from the current travel requirement -- travel document requirements.

       Q (Inaudible) -- TASS News Agency of Russia. So, I've got two questions -- a technical one and a general one. The first one, how long will it take from your estimates to process the information for one person in the airport -- I mean, screening, finger printing and so on, and so on? Thirty minutes, one hour?

       And my second question -- most recently there was a press conference in the IMF, International Monetary Fund, and the IMF chief economist, Mr. Rogov (sp), said that United States until now benefitted hugely by the great influx of foreign students. And he said that the new robust or strict rules will eventually be able to damage, to strangle this influx and potentially damage the American economy. Do you acknowledge this as a problem, and if you do, how do you plan to address it?

       Thank you.

       MR. HUTCHINSON: First, in reference to the time, presently, if we have a foreign visitor that comes into the United States at an airport, they meet an inspector, their travel documents are inspected, they are asked certain questions, and presuming there's not a problem they are admitted into the United States. That will substantially stay the same under the U.S. visit system, with one feature added, and that is that their fingerprints would be taken. And so you would continue -- you would meet an inspector, you would provide the travel documents. They would be scanned. Your fingerprints would be taken, which would simply take seconds. The databases would be checked almost instantaneously. Again, 99.9 percent of the cases they're admitted without any difficulty.

       And so we are watching it very carefully. We do not want to create extraordinary long time lags as people come to our country. We believe that it's a matter of seconds that this might add, but we're working to make sure that's not burdensome.

       In reference to the second part of your question, we want to emphasize that our foreign guests to study in our universities and educational institutions is very important for America. We believe it is important to maintain our influence in the world, and so we want to have that welcome mat there. It is -- obviously, we want those students to come in for a legitimate purpose and not to be side- tracked or to come in for a harmful purpose. We believe the U.S. Visit system will help us to accomplish those goals, both of security, but also easy access for those who have legitimate travel.

       And the reason is this: rather than having broad categories where we might have to say "you might pose a risk, you can't come in," we will have more careful procedures outlined so that people who are here for legitimate purposes can pass through with the information being provided, with the databases being checked, and they'll be processed, hopefully -- eventually -- much quicker and have easy access, even though there will be more stringent security requirements.

       Q Yes, Ricardo (ph) Italian News Wire ANSA. Do you plan any change to get, for instance, F1 or I visas for people who come from non-visa countries like EU countries, for instance?

       MR. HUTCHINSON: And the question -- help me out again -- the question is -- is whether those that are coming from non-visa countries --

       Q Yes.

       MR. HUTCHINSON: -- the visa waiver countries --

       Q Exactly.

       MR. HUTCHINSON: Will what?

       Q No, for instance, a young person who wants to study in the U.S. who comes from Belgium or from Italy: Do you think that the procedures to get the F1 -- (inaudible) -- will change, it will be more difficult to get this kind of visa?

       MR. HUTCHINSON: No. Let me answer it this way, that we certainly want to continue to welcome the guests from those countries that are coming to the United States for educational purposes or otherwise. We do hope eventually that we will be able to, with the -- of course, these are visa waiver countries so no visa is required, that we want to make sure that their travel documents, their passports ultimately contain a biometric component to it -- fingerprint, facial identification, iris scan -- so that we can be assured that the person who is coming in with that travel document, that passport, is actually the person that they represent themselves to be. So, even though a visa is not required, we do hope that the visa waiver countries will be able to enhance their own security measures. We do not want those countries, the visa waiver countries, to create a gap that can be exploited by terrorists.

       And so the answer to your question is, I think that student will certainly continue to be welcomed. I don't see a difficulty in that process, as long as the countries in question take the steps that they should take to enhance their own security measures.

       Q (Inaudible) -- Universal, Mexico City. I have two technical questions, actually. One, how long will it take for you to have this system in the borders, in land borders? And number two, what is the effect that you expect or you hope that this program will have on the undocumented population that is already here?

       MR. HUTCHINSON: On the population that's already here?

       Q On the undocumented population that is already here.

       MR. HUTCHINSON: Well first, in reference to the land borders, the mandate of Congress is to have the U.S. Visit system in place at the 50 busiest land ports by the end of '04. And when you're looking at government and technology and the application of new processes, that's a very short time period. There would be much work to do to accomplish that. We will be working with Congress to determine what the obstacles are, how we meet those obstacles, and whether there should be any changes in policy as we address those. Those are issues we will work with Congress. We are proceeding on with those.

       Presently, we have six million border crossing cards already in existence with our frequent border crossers from Mexico. These are travel documents that have biometric features, fingerprints, photographs imbedded into the travel document. We hope that that continues to expand even as we move toward a more comprehensive U.S. Visit system.

       Yes ma'am.

       Q (Inaudible) -- Just a clarification, does it apply to all countries that need visa, all citizens from the countries that need visa? And secondly, do you think that it could prolong maybe the procedures of getting visa in certain countries?

       MR. HUTCHINSON: Well, that's the question I tried to answer a minute ago, but I'll keep it straight this time.

       Yes, it does apply to all countries that visas are required. And so the U.S. Visit system will apply to all visa countries, and for the seaports, that's -- and airports, that's 60 percent of the travelers that come to the United States every year, about 23 million people. You asked whether this is going to be more difficult for them to get visas, and we don't want that to be the case. There will be -- hopefully, eventually -- more of the work done in our consular offices so that the questions and the finger prints do not have to be taken when the visa holder gets to our airport, because that will slow them down to enter the country. So, rather than giving the finger print at our airport, they can give it when they apply for the visa at the consular office overseas, that will be a better system. And so that will be a change that hopefully we'll be able to implement down the road. But I do not see any difficulty for the visa applicants any more than the delays that they experience now.

       Q (Inaudible) -- Venezuela. This new procedure, will it increase the cost of the visa for the visa countries -- for the countries who need visas? Thank you.

       MR. HUTCHINSON: I think that remains to be seen. There's certainly not any plans that I'm aware of now that would increase the cost, but, you know, as you go through the implementation of this, we'll be addressing issues that we're not confronting now. Part of it will be balancing how quickly, you know, we want to make sure the visas are reviewed and the resources that we have to apply to that, so it's a matter of balancing keeping the costs at a reasonable level and making sure we have the resources to move the visa application process through in a timely fashion. We will be working with the Department of State. We will be eventually overseeing the integrity of the visa issuance process, but we'll be doing it through the State Department, so we will continue to work through their consular offices, and so we'll be really working in partnership with them as we address those questions that you raised.

       Q James Hao (sp), freelance writer. Recently, two major newspapers in Washington, D.C. discussed the (tuition ?) bill of Maryland. The bill will give illegal aliens the rights to attend public schools at a normal in-state rate. Currently, in-state students pay $4,800 a year to attend the University of Maryland at College Park, and out-of-state students pay $14,002. The difference between in-state and out-of-state tuition is $9,002. My question is, is the state bill consistent with the federal immigration laws? Do you think that INS should advise the governor of Maryland to sign or to veto the bill?

       MR. HUTCHINSON: And I will have to tell you I am not that familiar with that legislation. I think I've read the broad parameters of it, but I believe that I will decline to comment on that specifically, because I think that's something that the state of Maryland is addressing, and I don't know that there's been any national position on that.

       Q (Off mike) -- is only 15 -- on 15th it published in the Washington Times editorial. And a few days later it was published in a report by the Washington Post.

       MR. HUTCHINSON: Sir, I'll have --

       Q Many letters to editors during the past two weeks.

       MR. HUTCHINSON: I'll have to study up on that one.

       MODERATOR: Do you have any additional questions?

       Q I'm sorry, the DHS INS personnel, the people under your command, were working with a private company purchasing biometric data from Latin American countries -- Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, among others. And recently there was a debate on Mexico because apparently this company bought data from the Mexican government that was sort of obtained by fraudulent ways. Are you still using this data? Are you still using the services of this company?

       MR. HUTCHINSON: I would have to look into it and know the name of the company and have to check that out. I will tell you though that privacy protections are important to the Department of Homeland Security, and we -- Congress has wisely given us a chief privacy officer, Nuala Kelly, and we intend to utilize her services, makes sure that she reviews aspects of the U.S. VISITS policy, and you know our access to information, what protections there are. And I know that every country will be looking at those things. It's important that we make sure we have accurate information, that we have a regard for the privacy laws of various countries. But our countries need to work together to make sure that we share the critical information that is necessary to protect the security of all of our countries. That's our objective, and I think we can accomplish those goals. And I would just have to look into the specific facts that you've asked about.

       Q How about the data you are sharing with the Mexican government or the Canadian government in terms of security, of people that should not, let's say, arrive to North America?

       MR. HUTCHINSON: Well, I'm not going to comment on it in detail, but I will say that under President Fox there's been a higher level of confidence and working relationship with the law enforcement agencies there in Mexico. We have met at Homeland Security with Secretary Creel, and so we have ongoing dialogues, and we have information sharing that is appropriate. In other words, if it's for a legitimate law enforcement purpose, if there is a need to exchange information to fight terrorism, there is high level of cooperation. But there is a sensitivity that we don't necessarily have to share data beyond the appropriate level. And as we move into the U.S. VISITS system there is a cooperation with airlines, so that we do have passenger information. And that is what enables us to know people that come and leave both of our countries, foreign guests, so that we can know who might be in here inappropriately. So those are the levels of information sharing that's working well. I applaud the government of Mexico, but I think there's sufficient privacy protections that are in place.

       MODERATOR: Two more questions.

       Q Sir, I've got another technical question.

       MR. HUTCHINSON: This is a technical subject. They're all technical.

       Q So my visa is valid for three years. I presume that I will plan to travel several times -- I will leave the United States and return. Will it be necessary for me to leave my fingerprints every time I return to the United States, or it would be only a one-time process?

       MR. HUTCHINSON: Well, first of all, if you have an old visa, that you can continue to use those travel documents even after October of '04, until new visas are issued, and there should be biometric feature when new visas are issued down the road.

       Secondly, your question is as to whether your fingerprints have to be taken every time that you come into the country. And the answer is yes. And the reason is we want to be able to verify the identity, and that is how that is accomplished, so that we know that your travel document has not been forged or that it is being carried by someone else. We are able to verify your identity. So that security measure will be in place.

       Okay, one more.

       Q Khlaid Hassan (ph), Daily Times, Lahore, Pakistan. I believe apparently it is the U.S. diplomatic missions abroad whose consular sections deal with visas, and it appears to me that the Homeland Security is practically taking over those functions. And I understand there is a great deal of tension between the two department, and the State Department does not necessarily see eye to eye with your department on all issues. Will you please tell us what are those areas where there is disagreement, and what is causing these tensions?

       MR. HUTCHINSON: Well, I don't -- I wouldn't concede the point that there are tensions. We are -- have received a congressional mandate to take over certain responsibilities to make sure that visas are not issued to people who want to harm us overseas. Now, we do that through the State Department, and we are currently negotiating a memorandum of understanding with them to very carefully define each of our responsibilities, Department of State and the Department of Homeland Security. I do not see any difficulty in accomplishing and defining our respective roles.

       I think it's important to remember from a foreign government standpoint that the Department of State is the one that will continue to issue visas through their consular offices. They are the ones that will continue to have that responsibility. Our role at Homeland Security will be to oversee -- make sure that the process works, that sufficient interviews are taking place, that the right questions are asked, that the process is working from a security standpoint. And we will work with the Department of State. But I think it will be a relationship that will work well once it's clearly defined.

END.