Land Ports of Entry at the Detroit Ambassador Bridge and the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel, Michigan Begin US-VISIT Entry Procedures
Land Ports of Entry at the Detroit Ambassador Bridge and the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel

US-VISIT is on schedule to deploy to all of the 50 busiest land ports of entry by December 31, 2004.

Visitors requiring an arrival/departure Form I-94 to enter the United States, including those traveling under the Visa Waiver Program, will be processed through US-VISIT at the secondary inspection area. US-VISIT processing involves the collection of two index fingerscans and a digital photograph. Additionally, with the deployment of US-VISIT technology, a visitor will no longer be required to fill out the Form I-94 by hand. Now the visitor�s biographic information will be entered electronically when the officer scans the visitor�s travel document. In ports where this technology has been deployed, the advancement has proven to expedite a visitor�s inspection time.

The Detroit Ambassador Bridge and the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel ports that begin processing visitors today are part of a staggered implementation of US-VISIT over a period of several weeks. The US-VISIT procedures became operational in the ports of Otay Mesa, San Ysidro and Tecate, California, and Blaine (Pacific Highway and Peace Arch), Lynden, Point Roberts and Sumas, Washington, on December 9, 2004; in the ports of Douglas, Lukeville, Nogales and San Luis, Arizona, and Calexico and Andrade, California, on December 6, 2004; and in the ports of Douglas, Arizona, Port Huron, Michigan, and Laredo, Texas, on November 15, 2004.

The goals of US-VISIT are to enhance the security of our citizens and visitors; facilitate legitimate travel and trade; ensure the integrity of our immigration system; and protect the privacy of our visitors.

US-VISIT is a continuum of security measures that begins overseas, when a person applies for a visa to travel to the United States, and continues on through entry and exit at U.S. airports and seaports and, eventually, at land border crossings. These measures will be expanded by the end of this year to the secondary inspection areas of the 50 busiest land ports of entry and to the remaining 115 land ports of entry by December 31, 2005. At land ports of entry, the secondary inspection area is where visitors traveling with visas or passports are processed. US-VISIT procedures will not impact visitors processed in the primary inspection area, but will apply to foreign visitors who are already processed in the secondary inspection areas with some exceptions. Exceptions include most Canadian citizens, who do not require a visa or passport to enter the United States, and, initially, most Mexican visitors, who apply for admission using a Border Crossing Card (BCC) and travel within the �Border Zone.�

Since January 5, 2004, US-VISIT entry procedures have become operational at 115 airports and 15 seaports. More than 14 million foreign visitors have been processed without adversely impacting wait times. At the same time, because of US-VISIT, the United States has been able to arrest or deny admission to more than 350 criminals or immigration violators. These included federal penitentiary escapees, convicted rapists, drug traffickers, individuals convicted of manslaughter and credit card fraud, a convicted armed robber and numerous immigration violators and individuals attempting visa fraud.

Experience has shown that the US-VISIT enrollment process is fast, easy to understand, and simple for visitors. Expanding US-VISIT entry procedures to our land ports of entry builds on the Department�s progress to enhance security for our citizens and visitors while facilitating legitimate travel and trade through our borders.

For more information, visit www.dhs.gov/us-visit.