Two Homeland Security Department pilots meant to test the viability of electronically collecting fingerprints from departing foreigners in airports weren't exactly a cornucopia of useful data, according to the Government Accountability Office.

Although the DHS US-VISIT program has collected fingerprint data from foreigners entering the United States since 2006, it has yet to set up a system for capturing the fingerprint data of foreigners leaving the country. Until DHS does so, the department cannot add new countries to the visa waiver program.  

DHS conducted two pilots to test the viability of airport exit fingerprint collection from May until July 2009, one in Detroit Metro Airport, the other in Atlanta International Airport. Customs and Border Protection personnel conducted the Detroit pilot while Transportation Security Administration staff conducted the Atlanta pilot.

DHS was supposed to test the outcome of having an airline collect outgoing foreigner passenger data, but couldn't, since no airline was willing to participate, the report states.

The two pilots failed to collect evaluation data for a number of metrics, according to the GAO. For example, the percentage of time digital systems spent offline, how long it took to address problems with end-user fingerprint collection devices, and how much it cost to develop reports from the two information technology systems used to collect and match fingerprint data. Namely, the Arrival and Departure Information System (ADIS) and the Automated Biometric Identification System (IDENT).

The GAO report says the pilot data did include "implied deficiencies in IDENT and ADIS matching and overstay identification capabilities," however.

DHS also did not collect data on the security of collected fingerprint data, GAO states. DHS officials told GAO auditors that data security requirements were tested prior to the pilots, but didn't supply the GAO with any documentation of that testing.  

The usefulness of the pilots' data might be limited in any case. TSA, for example, didn't perform biometric collection during peak traffic levels and CBP suspended fingerprint collection when persisting with it would have delayed flight departures.

"The collective result is that the pilots cannot alone adequately inform future DHS decisions on an exit solution for air ports of entry," the report concludes. It recommends that to the extent that other data cannot supply answers to unanswered questions, DHS should seek to answer them, a recommendation that DHS agrees with.

For more:
- download the report, GAO-10-860 (.pdf)
- watch a video of what to expect when visiting the United States (applicable only to non-U.S. citizens)

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