Improve temporary visa travel: Adoption of a biometric exit matching and tracking plan

It is a myth that nearly all unauthorized immigrants have crossed the United States southern border illegally. When non-immigrants have a visa to enter the United States, it is a document that enables foreign travelers to come to the country legally as tourists, students, or temporary employees. When the timeframe designated on the visa expires the foreign travelers must depart the United States or renew their visa to remain legal in the U.S. The problem in the United States is that there is no systematic way of verifying if foreign travelers have departed the U.S. after their visas expire. This lack of tracking allows a foreign traveler to remain in the United States illegally. The term overstay is used in the literature to categorize foreign travelers that have come to the United States legally on a non-immigrant temporary visa and have stayed past their expiration date stated on their issued I-94 card. The truth is that an estimated 40 to 58 percent of the initial estimated 11 million unauthorized residents in the United States are considered overstays. Overstays perpetuate unauthorized residents by using the visa process to break the law to remain in the U.S. and a small percentage represent a very real national security risk to the United States. Foreign travelers may not be truthful about their intent to travel to the United States increasing the likelihood of terrorist travel. Without the ability to biometrically track international travelers exiting the country, the possibility of terrorism rises. Today, the United States cannot effectively track or verify whether temporary visitors leave the country before expiration of their visas. Not being able to track the departure of foreign visitors poses a vulnerability to the exploitation of the U.S. immigration system. A solution to this problem was explored by New Zealand and Australia through the use of biometric entry and exit systems. The success of the biometric matching exit system that has been implemented by New Zealand and Australia become models for the United States. It is recommended that the United States implement a biometric matching exit system to track foreign travelers.