I.N.S. to use state department’s digital photos to verify identity of visitors

The Los Angeles Times reported recently that the US government will soon begin comparing foreign travelers with digitized photographs, and plans to encode their travel documents with personal data that can be read electronically, such as fingerprints, to verify the identity of these visitors.

The State Department will relay digital images of foreign travelers to US ports of entry starting January 2002.

Immigration officials have had difficulty in verifying the identity of visitors to the U.S. for lack of a data base that would enable them to make sure that the person standing in front of them with a passport and visa, is the same person who applied for the visa in the US consulates abroad. With the high-tech digital images to be furnished by the State Department, which is in charge of the US embassies and consulates abroad, immigration officials will be assured that they are comparing the travelers to authentic pictures of those given visas to the United States.

In addition, Congress is planning legislation that would require unique, personal identifiers – such as digitized fingerprints ñ on visas that the State Department grants to foreign nationals who wish to travel in the US, as well as on passports of 29 nations whose citizens are not required to obtain a US visa to visit the US.

This way, even if the visitor was able to substitute his photo on another person’s passport, immigration officials can still verify if the traveler holding the passport is the actual person who rightfully owns that passport.

These moves are part of the US government’s response to international terrorism, particularly to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and on the Pentagon.

This is bad news not only for terrorists, but also for unscrupulous persons who have made a living of selling fake visas, and/or altered passports to people who wish to enter the United States, but could not obtain visas the legal way.

It is common knowledge that many people have entered the United States using stolen or purchased passports of legitimate visa holders, substituting their photos or names to that of the actual passport owner. This is often referred to in immigration as "entering under an assumed name."

Despite recent efforts to check this practice, immi-gration officials have been unable to verify that the person standing before them at ports of entry (i.e. airports or borders) is the same person who obtained the visa and the passport, especially since they have to process thousands of visitors every single day. Scam artists have been able to go around INS stra-tegies through the years.

However, with the heightened terrorist threats, the US government has recently come up with tighter mea-sures to prevent the entry of terrorists and other criminal elements, and other foreigners who have no legal right to enter the United States.

This news should serve as a warning to many people who are thinking of entering the United States through illegitimate means. If you think you will get away with using other people’s passport and visa because some of your friends and relatives were able to get away with it years ago, you may wish to reconsider.

The digital image will be so detailed, and the equipment highly sophisticated, that it can diffe-rentiate any "look-alike" features that often enable holders of these altered passports to get away with it. And even if you are the identical twin of the real owner of the passport, the digi-tized fingerprint requirement will still pin you down, because no two sets of fingerprints are alike.

There is no substitute for ob-taining a visa the legal, legitimate way, to gain entry to the United States.

There are many ways to qualify for a non-immigrant or immigrant visa. I suggest you consult with a reputable attorney, who can analyze your situation and recommend legitimate ways to obtain a visa the legal way.

Michael J. Gurfinkel has been a licensed attorney in California for 22 years. He has always excelled in school: Valedictorian in High School; Cum Laude at UCLA; and Law Degree Honors and academic scholar at Loyola Law School, which is one of the top law schools in California. He is also an active member of the State Bar of California, the American Immigration Lawyers Association, and the Immigration Section of the Los Angeles County Bar Association. All immigration services are provided by an active member of the State Bar of California and/or by a person under the supervision of an active member of the State Bar.

His offices are located at 219 North Brand Boulevard, Glendale, California, 91203 Telephone: (818) 543-5800. His Makati office is located at Heart Tower, Unit 701, 108 Valero Street, Salcedo Village, Makati, Philippines; Telephone: 894-0258 or 894-0239. For more information about the Law Offices of Michael J. Gurfinkel, and to read previously published articles, please visit our website at www.gurfinkel.com

(This is for informational purposes only, and reflects the firm’s opinions and views on general issues. Each case is different and results may depend on the facts of a particular case. No prediction, warranty or guarantee can be made about the results of any case. Should you need or want legal advice, you should consult with and retain counsel of your own choice.)