[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 34 (Tuesday, February 21, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9697-9699]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-4089]



=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Immigration and Naturalization Service
[INS No. 1678-94]


Draft Statement of Standards and Guidelines for Developing an 
Immigration and Naturalization Services Passenger Accelerated Service 
System (INSPASS)

AGENCY: Immigration and Naturalization Service, Justice.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: This notice advises interested parties that the Immigration 
and [[Page 9698]] Naturalization Service (Service) has prepared a draft 
statement of standards and guidelines for developing, building, 
installing, and operating an automated Immigration and Naturalization 
Service Passenger Accelerated Service System (INSPASS). These standards 
and guidelines are available for review and comment by interested 
parties who may wish to develop an automated system for use by the 
Service at selected Ports-of-Entry in the United States. The automated 
passenger accelerated service system is designed to decrease inspection 
processing time by automating the inspection of low risk frequent 
travelers to the United States.

DATES: Requests for the draft statement and guidelines should be 
received on or before March 23, 1995. Written comments on the draft 
statement and guidelines must be received on or before April 24, 1995.

ADDRESSES: Written requests for copies of the draft statement and 
guidelines should be submitted to the Immigration and Naturalization 
Service, 425 I Street, NW, Room 7228, Washington, DC 20536. ATTN: 
Inspections Division (INSPASS).
    Please submit written comments on the draft statement and 
guidelines, in triplicate, to the Immigration and Naturalization 
Service, 425 I Street, NW., Room 7228, Washington, DC 20536. Attention: 
Assistant Chief Inspector Ronald J. Hays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Assistant Chief Inspector Ronald J. Hays, Inspections Division, 
Immigration and Naturalization Service, 425 I Street, NW, Room 7228, 
Washington, DC 20536, telephone (202) 514-0912 or fax (202) 514-8345.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The Service developed INSPASS as a pilot program to be used by low 
risk frequent travelers to facilitate their entry into the United 
States at designated Ports-of-Entry. Under INSPASS, the applicant fills 
out an enrollment form, and his or her personal data is fed through a 
computer that checks with the databases of U.S. Customs, the U.S. State 
Department, the National Crime Information Center, and the Immigration 
and Naturalization Service. If the applicant is approved, biometric 
information is collected through the use of hand geometry. The 
applicant places his or her hand in an open, box-like structure, onto a 
small metal plate, and squeezes a few small pegs. The length, thickness 
and translucency of the hand is noted, and coded. Within seconds, a 
small credit-card sized INSPASS card is produced.
    At the time of arrival at one of the designated Ports-of-Entry, the 
INSPASS holder proceeds to an automated inspectional booth for 
accelerated inspectional processing. The captured biometrics (encoded 
on the INSPASS card) are used to establish his or her identity.
    INSPASS, is a subset of the Interagency Border Inspection System 
(IBIS), and is being pilot tested at the Newark International Airport, 
as of May 24, 1993; at John F. Kennedy International Airport, as of 
July 27, 1993; and at Pearson International Airport (Toronto, Canada), 
as of December 1, 1993. A land border version of INSPASS is under 
development for testing at Hidalgo, Texas.

INSPASS Hardware and Software Configuration

    As currently deployed, INSPASS consists of two primary components: 
an enrollment center and an inspection kiosk. They include the 
following equipment:

Enrollment Center

Two 486 personal computers
Hand geometry scanner
Fingerprint scanner
OCR-B card reader
OCR-B card printer
Laser printer

Inspection Kiosk

ATM-like stand
486 personal computer
10 inch monitor
16-key keypad
Hand geometry scanner
OCR-B card reader
Receipt printer
Fingerprint scanner
Electrically locked gate

Results of the INSPASS Pilot Test

    The results of the INSPASS pilot test have been very encouraging 
and have demonstrated the potential to reduce processing times for 
travelers significantly. However, the Service has identified the 
following areas in which improvements in the existing hardware 
configuration are required to reduce the inspection processing time 
further:
    Monitor--to be replaced by a touchscreen.
    Card readers--to be replaced by readers which are capable of 
reading OCR-B and integrated circuit cards. These readers must be 
styled as ATM card readers.
    Printers--to be replaced by a faster, more robust printer. This 
printer must be capable of detecting the removal of the receipt as this 
action triggers the opening of the gate.
    Fingerprint scanner--to be replaced by a more dependable scanner 
which complies with the Service's fingerprint capture and storage 
standards.
    Kiosk--must be redesigned to improve ergonomics. Such a redesign 
must comply with the Americans With Disabilities Act, Occupational 
Safety and Hazards Act and other applicable laws and regulations.
    INSPASS card--to be replaced with a smart card-based medium which 
contains data elements to be specified by the Service.
    Gate--to be replaced by a gate which operates within a time cycle 
acceptable to the Service and which complies with applicable laws and 
regulations.

Draft Statement of Standards and Guidelines for Developing an 
Immigration and Naturalization Service Passenger Accelerated Service 
System (INSPASS)

    During the INSPASS development cycle, numerous individuals and 
organizations, both public and private, have offered suggestions for 
improvements. The draft statement of standards and guidelines calls for 
a new relationship with the travel and tourism industry, based upon 
some of these suggestions, in which the industry and the Service will 
cooperate to install INSPASS at specific Ports-of-Entry. The Service 
will set the system specifications, determine which travelers will be 
allowed to be enrolled, and bear some of the cost of operations. This 
new relationship will allow the Government and the travel industry to 
avoid some costs they might otherwise have had to bear. This is exactly 
the type of cost saving synergy envisioned by the Vice President's 
National Performance Review. If the objective of this program is met, 
the Service will achieve a state-of-the-art automated inspections 
environment with reliable management information to deliver its 
services to the public. These standards and guidelines will be provided 
upon written request for review and comment. Based on any comments/
concerns received, the Service may finalize these standards and 
guidelines, and request formal proposals in accordance with a notice to 
be published in the Commerce Business Daily and/or the Federal 
Register.

    [[Page 9699]] Dated: January 30, 1995.
Doris Meissner,
Commissioner, Immigration and Naturalization Service.
[FR Doc. 95-4089 Filed 2-17-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-10-M