Comments on the Revision of Interim Rule of US-VISIT Program
by the
GOVERNMENT OF JAPAN
(November 1, 2004)
The Government of Japan pays its respect to the Government of the United
States for the efforts it has made in formulating and implementing the
United States Visitors and Immigrants Status Indicator Technology (US-VISIT)
Program, and welcomes the opportunity offered by the U.S. Government to file
comments on the proposed revision of Interim Rule on the Program upon its
publication again, which is accompanied by responses to filed comments on
the initial Interim Final Rule published and implemented on January 5.
The Government of Japan has been exchanging views, in some fora such as the
Japan-U.S. Regulatory Reform and Competition Policy Initiative, with the
U.S. Government on issues as regards effective immigration control and
counterterrorism measures as well as securing smooth distribution of goods
and movement of natural persons. As a result, while the Government of
Japan has deepened its understanding on the details and necessity of the
U.S. homeland security measures, it also believes that the U.S. Government
has understood the points made by Japan on how to attain the coexistence of
counterterrorism measures and economic efficiency.
The Government of Japan has received a variety of comments on the US-VISIT
Program from Japanese nationals who had actually experienced the Program.
Communicating these comments to the U.S. Government will contribute to the
further deepening of mutual understanding on counterterrorism measures
between the two Governments.
Based upon this recognition, the Government of Japan files the following
comments.
1.
Measures to Address Congestion at Airports and Longer
Time Required for Immigration Control
Since the beginning of the US-VISIT Program on January 5, some Japanese
nationals have had complaints that they
have missed connecting flights due
to the longer time it takes for passengers to pass immigration control.
It is reported that since the expansion of scope of the Program on September
30, it has been taking yet longer to pass immigration control at some
airports, and in some cases passengers have to wait for more than two hours.
Passengers from Japan to the U.S. are exhausted from the long flight and jet
lag. If more cases where passengers have to wait for more than two
hours to pass immigration control and then miss the connecting flight
continue to happen, tourists may not choose the U.S. as their destination.
The U.S. Government officially announces that each visitor to whom the
US-VISIT Program is applied needs an average of additional 15 seconds to
pass immigration control, but this is only an ideal figure. In
reality, it needs much longer due to some factors.
Congestion at airports arises from following factors.
(1)The reason for longer time required for immigration
control per person
(a)
Some immigration officers do not fully understand the
operational details of the Program, which has been making the
operation of the Program confusing. For example, some Visa Waiver
Program (VWP) visitors, whom
the Program had not been applied until
September 30, were occasionally required to have their fingerprints scanned
and faces photographed.
(b)
Scanners sometimes cannot read fingerprints well.
While in a number of cases it was difficult to scan fingerprints due to dry
air in the plane, it is reported that many visitors were required to put
their fingers on the scanner again and again because scanners could not read
them on the first try.
(2)The reason for longer time for immigration control in
total
There are not sufficient immigration officers and immigration booths.
As a positive change, for example, Honolulu International Airport has
succeeded to shorten the time incurred by finishing passport control for all
passengers of one flight by positioning immigration officers to all 52
immigration booths after the expansion of the scope of the Program.
This measure is welcomed by Japanese nationals living in or visiting Hawaii.
In contrast, at Washington Dulles International Airport, an average of only
eight or nine immigration booths open per day, as a result of which it takes
about one hour to pass immigration control on average. The measures
taken at Honolulu International Airport should be implemented at all
airports where international flights arrive and depart.
The Government of Japan therefore requests the U.S. Government, for the
alleviation of congestion at airports, to:
-Examine strictly whether every immigration
officer familiarizes himself or herself with the operation of the Program
and thoroughly educate his or her operational ability of the Program again;
-Position immigration officers at currently
vacant immigration booths, and change booths for U.S. nationals into for
foreigners immediately upon the completion of the former’s entry at each
flight arrival;
-Seek improvement of the performance of
scanner and black list search, and equip gel that
facilitates the scanning
of dried fingers due to low humidity in the plane, which is already used at
some airports; and
-Investigate again whether the time of 15
seconds publicized as an additional time incurred by the operation of the
US-VISIT Program per person reflects the actual situation of immigration
control, announce the time which reflects the reality more correctly, and
examine the entire time for passengers to pass immigration control including
waiting time and seek to shorten the time, the information on which is
indispensable for travelers and travel agencies when they schedule
traveling.
2.Control of personal information
Japanese nationals still have reluctance to have their fingerprints scanned
and concerns about whether the U.S. Government controls their fingerprint
data properly. It is prerequisite for smooth and effective operation
of the Program to relieve them from these psychological burdens.
The Government of Japan appreciates that the U.S. Government published
brochure about the purpose and details of the US-VISIT Program in Japanese
in addition to English and Spanish, and that the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo has
provided some briefings to the Japanese tourism industry about the US-VISIT
Program in response to the request by the Government of Japan, both of which
have contributed to the alleviation of anxiety about the Program harbored by
Japanese nationals. It is essential for smooth operation of the
US-VISIT Program to make such efforts further from various aspects.
The Government of Japan therefore requests of the U.S. Government to:
-Elaborate setups necessary for the
protection of personal information and publicize their details to the
largest extent possible to Japanese visitors entering the U.S. in Japanese;
and
-Publicize the fact in Japanese that the US-VISIT Program has been
functioning well, preventing criminals from entering the U.S. by collation
of their biometric identifiers with those contained in black lists.
3.Comments on expansion to the land border ports of entry
The U.S. Government will start to collect biometric information from foreign
citizens at 50 most highly trafficked land border ports of entry on December
31, 2004. Some Japanese enterprises have concerns about longer time to
pass immigration control at land ports of entry on U.S.-Canada and
U.S.-Mexico borders and decline of their competitive power against the U.S.
companies caused thereby. Japanese workers of companies located on the
U.S.-Mexico border (the so-called “Maquiladora” companies), who live in the
U.S., commute to Mexico and re-enter the U.S. when they return home, will
have their fingerprints scanned and their facial information photographed
every time they return home after the introduction of the Program at land
ports of entry. As a result, it will take much longer time to pass
immigration control at land ports of entry, which has already been requiring
them to spend more than one hour waiting in lines for their turns, and thus
their daily lives will be affected significantly in an adverse manner.
It is reported that some immigration officers raised doubt to “Maquiladora”
workers at passport control about the consistency between their entry status
designated on visa (L-1) and their actual working status (that is, residing
in the U.S. and commuting to Mexico), along with the immigration control
getting stricter after 9.11 terrorist attacks. As a result, they have
had increasing concerns that it is ambiguous if their working status could
be maintained, and have requested the Government of Japan to seek
confirmation from the U.S. Government that “Maquiladora” workers continue to
be eligible to work in both the U.S. and Mexico without any problem.
It is essential for smooth operation of the US-VISIT Program on the
U.S.-Mexico border to alleviate this anxiety before its expansion to land
borders.
In light of these problems described above, the Government of Japan requests
the U.S. Government, in order to shorten the time it takes for passengers to
pass immigration control and to operate the Program more efficiently, to:
-Introduce
portable devices to scan fingerprints and take photographs in a
“drive-through” manner;
-Provide
sufficient lanes in which, for example, holders of certain types of visas
are inspected prior to others; and
-Inform
immigration officers on the U.S.-Mexico border of the lawfulness of
“Maquiladora” working status thoroughly.
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