United States, United States, air land and sea ports of entry
US Customs and Border Protection
Traveler Verification Service facial matching, supplied by US Customs and Border Protection (cloud-based; commercial vendor not named)
OperationalRegulator findingPAI-23A25959
- Body
- US Customs and Border Protection
- Country
- United States
- Area
- United States, air land and sea ports of entry
- Technology
- Traveler Verification Service facial matching
- Supplier
- US Customs and Border Protection (cloud-based; commercial vendor not named)
- Status
- Operational
In routine use by the named body, on the evidence of a public source. - Stage
- In use now
- Since
- 2017
- Legal basis
- Statutory mandate on the Department of Homeland Security to build an integrated automated entry and exit system matching biographic and biometric records of noncitizens; since 26 December 2025 a DHS final rule (90 FR 48604, 27 October 2025, amending 8 CFR parts 215 and 235) allows photographing all noncitizens on entry and exit at all ports
- Oversight
- Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General
- Evidence
- Regulator finding
Data protection authority, inspectorate or oversight body - Source
- CBP congressional testimony; DHS Office of Inspector General report OIG-22-48
- Last checked
- Record code
PAI-23A25959
Notes
Captures a live photo of the traveller, taken by CBP or an approved airline, airport or cruise partner, and compares it against passport, US visa or other DHS-held photographs. A match verifies identity and the system flags people who may be inadmissible, including visa overstays. On non-match the traveller goes through traditional inspection, and US citizens and eligible foreign nationals may opt out and request a manual document check.
CBP told Congress it had processed over 193 million travellers with facial biometrics, confirmed more than 163,000 visa overstays and prevented over 1,500 imposters from entering.
The effectiveness evidence is mixed and both sides are recorded here. A DHS Office of Inspector General review found that between May 2019 and September 2021, CBP officers referred around 23,000 travellers aged 14 and over to secondary inspection when photos could not be matched. Separate reporting found CBP scanned over 23 million faces at more than 30 entry points during 2020 without identifying a single imposter.
Update, November 2026. A DHS final rule published in the Federal Register on 27 October 2025 (90 FR 48604, docket USCBP-2025-0033, amending 8 CFR parts 215 and 235) took effect on 26 December 2025. It provides that DHS may require all noncitizens to be photographed when entering or leaving the United States, removes references to pilot programmes and to a limited number of ports, and describes facial comparison of a live photo against a gallery built from advance passenger information and photographs CBP already holds. The rule says US citizens are not required to be photographed, may ask for an alternative inspection process, and that their photographs are to be discarded within 12 hours of citizenship being verified; it cites the Traveler Verification Service privacy impact assessment.
Other systems used by US Customs and Border Protection
| Deployment | Country | Supplier | Since | Status | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Customs and Border ProtectionFederal Mobile Biometric Identification (Mobile Fortify) | United StatesNationwide, including 287(g) partner agencies | NEC, per WIRED and ID Tech reporting of DHS's AI Use Case Inventory; built on CBP's Traveler Verification Service; app first reported by 404 Media | 2025 | Operational |