US to make biometric photo checks mandatory for all foreign travellers, including green card holders, from Dec
PTC Web Desk: The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced new border control regulations that will require all non-US citizens, including green card holders, to be photographed upon entering and exiting the United States. The policy, set to take effect on December 26, 2025, is part of a broader initiative to enhance national security, prevent identity fraud and cut visa overstays, according to the DHS.
Under the new rule, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials will collect photographs and biometric data, such as facial recognition scans, from nearly all foreign travellers at airports, seaports and land crossings. The regulation also eliminates earlier exemptions that excluded travellers under 14 and over 79 years old, meaning biometric data will now be collected from all age groups.
While CBP already employs facial recognition to verify passengers on most international flights, the new regulation will make this process mandatory across all ports of entry and departure. DHS said the expansion would strengthen efforts to detect false identities and track individuals who overstay their visas.
A 2023 Congressional Research Service report estimated that visa overstays account for nearly 42% of the approximately 11 million undocumented immigrants in the US. DHS officials said the updated system would help close this long-standing enforcement gap.
The move also fulfills a 1996 Congressional mandate that called for an automated entry-exit system to track foreign nationals, though the law has never been fully implemented.
According to the new regulation, CBP expects to complete the full rollout of biometric entry-exit systems at all commercial airports and seaports within three to five years. The database will compile images from passports, travel documents and border checkpoint cameras to verify each traveller’s identity through real-time facial matching.
Officials say this database will enhance security screening and streamline immigration processes, aligning with long-term enforcement priorities introduced under the Trump administration that focused on border surveillance and immigration control.
- With inputs from agencies
