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Early adopters in Mexico lend their eyes to global biometric project
(www.reuters.com)
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this post was submitted on 09 Aug 2023
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Technology
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Is it required for citizens? Last I had heard they required it for non-citizens but you could opt out as a citizen (though they probably do as much as they can to make it seem like there's no choice).
It's messed up either way, and obviously DHS is going to keep pushing until they have everyone.
No clue, I’m a Dutch citizen. Do your require to do an iris scan to get a passport in the USA? Might be covered there.
I renewed mine a month or two ago and didn't need it, but it might vary by facility you apply at. Mercifully the tech does not yet appear to be distributed enough to do away with normal passports. You can get a "biometric" passport though, that indicates you've biometrics on record.
But yes, after a bit of research; to any US citizens, you are not required to let them confirm your identity with a fingerprint, iris, or face scan. Instead you opt out while in line to your gate and ask for alternative id validation (i.e. having a human look at your ticket and passport picture).
Sorry to the rest of the world, they slipped this stupid shit in really lowkey not too long ago. I think it was off most peoples radar if they don't travel much. Plus, you know, our burning democracy etc.
Is this a NY only thing? I've never once had to do an iris scan for anything, and have a passport, DL, and everything (US citizen). I also haven't heard of anyone traveling here needing to it, though maybe it just never came up in conversation.
Also, as for replacing passports, international travel still requires one but for domestic travel, you can get a regular ID/DL in many states that acts as an ID at airports without the need of a passport.
So the Department of Homeland Security wrote the rule that all non-citizens entering and exiting the country have to provide biometrics, so that is a national rule. That was 2019-ish I think.
As far as I understand it, the mechanics of the policy are up to the airports, so they may take photos for facial recognition against your passport photo while you're in line to go through the gate, or they have little fingerprint scanners, or iris scans.
From what I'm reading, airports that are doing this aren't dividing citizens and non-citizens but simply collecting on everyone in line as the default unless you opt out in person at that time (which you can only do as a US citizen). With something like a photo, people may not realize it's even happening which is why you've probably not heard people remark much.
As for the biometric passport, they are currently optional. They have a NFC chip like your credit card that contains all the basic info from your passport, but also includes any biometric data that has been collected. Like I say, when I applied a few months ago no biometrics were collected and I recieved your standard looking passport in the mail. So as of right now, no one is obligated to get one, but we all know how that goes.
Thanks for the insight!
Biometrics are only required for certain non-citizens. Canadians aren't required to provide while visiting the US unless opting for an express pre-clearance NEXUS pass.