The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency has begun using facial comparison technology at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York to help verify that a traveler entering the U.S. matches the passport presented. The deployment is being used with some first-time Visa Waiver Program (VWP) travelers and returning citizens with ePassports.

The technology compares an image of the traveler taken during the normal inspection process to that stored on the traveler’s ePassport. The comparison verifies that the traveler is the rightful document holder. The images taken are deleted unless CBP determines that further administrative or enforcement actions are required.

imageSince 2007, U.S. passports have had a chip embedded in them that stores the same information that is on the photo page of the passport. The information includes a biometric identifier in the form of a digital image of the passport photograph. This facilitates the use of facial comparison technology at entry points to the U.S. To participate in the Visa Waiver Program, VWP countries also issue ePassports. These contain an electronic chip that holds the same information that is printed on the passport’s data page: the holder’s name, date of birth and other biographic information, in addition to a digital photograph of the holder.

CBP tested facial comparison technology in 20015 at Washington Dulles International Airport near Washington, D.C. According to the agency, the test results showed that the system successfully performed matches against actual passports and live captured images.

“This biometric capability will aid our officers in identifying legitimate travelers while protecting them from fraud and identity theft with little to no delay to the entry process," says CBP Commissioner Gil Kerlikowske.

CBP first established biometric screening procedures based on digital fingerprints for certain non-U.S. citizens in 2004.