Foreign nationals entering or leaving the United States will face universal facial-recognition screening starting 26 December 2025, when U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) activates its long-planned biometric entry-exit program at every airport, seaport, and land crossing.
Under the new rule, CBP officers (or automated e-gates) will capture travelers’ live images and match them against passport and visa records in real time. The regulation removes previous exemptions for children under 14 and adults over 79, meaning virtually every non-citizen will now be photographed on both arrival and departure. DHS says the system will tighten security, detect visa overstays, and speed legitimate travel, but privacy advocates worry about data retention—records may be stored for up to 75 years—and algorithmic bias.
Business travelers could see initial bottlenecks as airlines integrate the technology into boarding processes during the peak holiday period. Global mobility teams should advise assignees to arrive earlier at ports of entry, verify that their travel documents are machine-readable, and be prepared for secondary inspection if facial matching fails.
![Nationwide Biometric Entry-Exit Program Launches for All Foreign Travelers on 26 December]()
For travelers who want extra peace of mind navigating these new requirements, VisaHQ can help. The service continuously tracks CBP policy changes, assists with obtaining or renewing machine-readable visas and passports, and offers departure-date reminders to minimize overstay risks—details are available at https://www.visahq.com/united-states/.
Longer term, companies may benefit from more accurate I-94 departure data, reducing inadvertent overstay records that complicate future visa renewals. However, organizations sponsoring large numbers of short-term visitors (e.g., training rotations) must track departures carefully; failure to exit through an authorized port where biometrics are collected could flag the traveler as an overstay.
CBP is simultaneously piloting biometric e-gates at some departure gates for U.S. citizens on an opt-in basis, foreshadowing a possible expansion of mandatory collection—a move civil-liberty groups vow to challenge.
Under the new rule, CBP officers (or automated e-gates) will capture travelers’ live images and match them against passport and visa records in real time. The regulation removes previous exemptions for children under 14 and adults over 79, meaning virtually every non-citizen will now be photographed on both arrival and departure. DHS says the system will tighten security, detect visa overstays, and speed legitimate travel, but privacy advocates worry about data retention—records may be stored for up to 75 years—and algorithmic bias.
Business travelers could see initial bottlenecks as airlines integrate the technology into boarding processes during the peak holiday period. Global mobility teams should advise assignees to arrive earlier at ports of entry, verify that their travel documents are machine-readable, and be prepared for secondary inspection if facial matching fails.
For travelers who want extra peace of mind navigating these new requirements, VisaHQ can help. The service continuously tracks CBP policy changes, assists with obtaining or renewing machine-readable visas and passports, and offers departure-date reminders to minimize overstay risks—details are available at https://www.visahq.com/united-states/.
Longer term, companies may benefit from more accurate I-94 departure data, reducing inadvertent overstay records that complicate future visa renewals. However, organizations sponsoring large numbers of short-term visitors (e.g., training rotations) must track departures carefully; failure to exit through an authorized port where biometrics are collected could flag the traveler as an overstay.
CBP is simultaneously piloting biometric e-gates at some departure gates for U.S. citizens on an opt-in basis, foreshadowing a possible expansion of mandatory collection—a move civil-liberty groups vow to challenge.
