DHS to expand air travelers prescreening program

DHS plans to expand a program which allows prescreened air travelers from other countries to skip U.S. Customs inspections when they fly to the United States. The program is known as Nexus Air, and it is currently available only to Canadian citizens flying out of Vancouver International Airport in British Columbia. DHS’s Bureau of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) says it is now brokering bilateral agreements with other nations to expand beyond the pilot program in Canada. Travelers enrolled in the Nexus Air pilot must submit to a one-time prescreening process which includes background checks and in-person interviews conducted by CBP. Nexus already contains a biometric element: Once they are approved, program enrollees bypass Customs in favor of self-service kiosks, where a digital camera takes iris scans to confirm their identity.

-read more in this CQ report (sub. req.)