On 11 November the Department of Homeland Security and Customs and Border Protection published a final rule that will require all non-U.S. citizens—tourists, visa holders and lawful permanent residents alike—to submit biometric data on departure as well as on arrival. The regulation, amending 8 CFR 215.8 and 235.1, abolishes previous age exemptions for children under 14 and adults over 79 and removes the programme’s pilot-site limitations.
Under the rule, departing travellers will have their facial image captured (and, where available, fingerprints matched) at airports, seaports and land crossings. The data are compared in real time with entry records to spot impostors and over-stays. CBP says full national coverage will roll out over several years, but air and sea ports with existing biometric entry gates will switch to exit collection “within weeks.” Travellers who refuse biometrics may be denied boarding or referred for secondary inspection.
![U.S. finalises nationwide biometric exit rule, mandatory from 26 December 2025]()
For corporate mobility teams the change means tighter tracking of assignee travel histories: overstays will surface automatically, eliminating the grace periods that sometimes masked inadvertent I-94 lapses. Frequent cross-border commuters (e.g., TN or L-1 holders on short-term assignments) should build extra time into departure formalities, especially at congested land ports.
Privacy advocates are raising alarms about data retention and false-match risks, but DHS argues facial-recognition error rates have dropped below 0.1 %. The agency also stresses that U.S. citizens may opt out at exit kiosks, though doing so could trigger manual inspection and longer queues.
Companies should brief foreign employees to expect camera capture at boarding gates and remind them that any overstay, even of a single day, will now be automatically recorded and could jeopardise future visa renewals.
Under the rule, departing travellers will have their facial image captured (and, where available, fingerprints matched) at airports, seaports and land crossings. The data are compared in real time with entry records to spot impostors and over-stays. CBP says full national coverage will roll out over several years, but air and sea ports with existing biometric entry gates will switch to exit collection “within weeks.” Travellers who refuse biometrics may be denied boarding or referred for secondary inspection.
For corporate mobility teams the change means tighter tracking of assignee travel histories: overstays will surface automatically, eliminating the grace periods that sometimes masked inadvertent I-94 lapses. Frequent cross-border commuters (e.g., TN or L-1 holders on short-term assignments) should build extra time into departure formalities, especially at congested land ports.
Privacy advocates are raising alarms about data retention and false-match risks, but DHS argues facial-recognition error rates have dropped below 0.1 %. The agency also stresses that U.S. citizens may opt out at exit kiosks, though doing so could trigger manual inspection and longer queues.
Companies should brief foreign employees to expect camera capture at boarding gates and remind them that any overstay, even of a single day, will now be automatically recorded and could jeopardise future visa renewals.
