The United States ensures that legitimate international travellers have access to the country by welcoming and facilitating legitimate international travel to the US while maintaining the integrity and security of borders and the nation.
Where do I enter my biometric data?
If you need to provide biometric information for your visa application, you must go to a visa application centre. When you finish your online visa application, the system will generate a summary sheet on scheduling an appointment.
Unless worn for religious or medical reasons, your digital photograph must be taken with your entire face and without sunglasses, tinted spectacles, or head covering. Your face should be visible, with no hair covering your eyes.
A digital finger scan collects your biometric information (all ten digits). An electronic scanner is used in the finger scan procedure. You should make sure your fingertips are free of any forms of decoration (such as henna), abrasions, cuts or other markings, as these may impair your ability to provide acceptable finger scans.
What exactly are Biometrics?
Biometrics is an objective measurement of an individual’s physical characteristics. When stored in a database, they establish the identity or check against other entries.
Because fingerprints will be compared with similarly collected fingerprints at U.S. ports of entry, using these identifiers is essential to U.S. national security.
These two critical programmes (collecting fingerprints for visa issuance and verifying travellers’ fingerprints when they enter the U.S.) will make travel to the U.S. safer for legitimate visitors and improve safety and national security. Biometrics allow the Departments of State and Homeland Security to process visa applicant fingerprints more efficiently.
Legal Prerequisites
The United States Congress mandated using Biometrics in U.S. visas in the Enhanced Border Security and Visa Entry Reform Act of 2002. Homeland Security Council determined that the U.S. standard for biometric screening is ten fingerprint scans collected at all U.S. Embassies and Consulates for visa applicants seeking to enter the U.S.
Refusal of the applicant to be fingerprinted at the visa interview
If a visa applicant refuses to be fingerprinted, their visa application will be denied as incomplete. However, if an applicant later decides to provide fingerprints, their visa application will be re-considered without prejudice.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens to your Biometric information?
The electronic data from the ten fingerprints are stored in a database and made available to Department of Homeland Security immigration inspectors at U.S. ports of entry. The electronic fingerprint data is linked to a valid visa for verification, and the data is kept private and stored in a database.
By the law governing the use of visa records, the U.S. Department of State makes data available to U.S. law enforcement agencies that require the information for law enforcement purposes. Visa records are legally required to be kept private. Law enforcement requests for access to visa records are subject to statutory, regulatory, and other legal constraints.
This requirement applies to all types of viss, and is it applicable every time you apply?
This requirement will apply to all visa types, including short-term, long-term, and transit. It will apply to all visa applicants and will be applied each time you apply for a visa.
What happens if you falsely claim to be exempt from providing your biometric information?
If you incorrectly claim to be biometric exempt when filling out your online application form. In that case, you risk being refused without the ability to appeal and being barred from making further visa applications for five years.
