Securing our nation’s borders is a formidable task. The United States shares over 7,500 miles of land border with Canada and Mexico, and it has approximately 95,000 miles of shoreline and navigable waterways to protect. All people and goods that legally enter the United States must come through one of about 300 land, air, or sea ports of entry and must undergo what is referred to as “primary inspection.” In fiscal year 2002, INS reported that over 440 million persons passed through primary inspections; approximately 81 percent of these inspections were at land ports of entry (see table 1). Following primary inspection, some persons seeking admission into the United States go through a more detailed, secondary inspection before they can be admitted. In fiscal year 2002, INS reported that about 8 million of the approximately 279 million foreign nationals entering the United States were admitted through secondary inspections (see table 2). INS reported that 738,396 were denied admission. As we previously reported, our nation’s current border security process for controlling the entry and exit of individuals generally consists of four primary functions: (1) issuing visas, (2) controlling entry, (3) managing stays, and (4) controlling exit. Figure 1 depicts these functions, each of which is described below. The visa issuance process begins with the Department of State, which issues immigrant and nonimmigrant visas to foreign nationals at more than 200 diplomatic consular posts in approximately 180 countries. Officials at these consular posts review visa applications, sometimes interviewing applicants, before issuing a visa. As part of their review of visa applications, the officials run the applicant’s name through one of the State Department’s watch lists, the Consular Lookout and Support System (CLASS), and its Consular Consolidated Database (CCD). If an application is approved, a visa is issued; if an application is rejected, the rejection is recorded in CLASS, and the person’s name is electronically forwarded to the Interagency Border Inspection System (IBIS). The State Department reports that the majority of visa applications are for nonimmigrant travel. Canadian citizens and citizens of countries participating in the Visa Waiver Program who travel to the United States on business or pleasure for a period of 90 days or less are examples of two classes of noncitizens that are exempt from these processing requirements. Figure 2 depicts the visa issuance process. Foreign nationals seeking entry into the United States are screened for admission by INS or U.S. Customs Service inspectors at official air, land, or sea ports of entry. Generally, this screening consists of questioning each traveler regarding his or her identity and purpose of visit. The inspector is to review the person’s travel documents and query IBIS to determine whether there is a “lookout” for the person or vehicle. Once the inspector has the necessary information, an admission decision is made. If additional review is necessary, the person is referred to secondary inspection, where a more detailed review of the travel documents, further questioning, and queries of multiple systems are to occur. Travelers who are deemed inadmissible are detained, and they are subject to enforcement actions as required. Arriving foreign nationals must also complete a paper Form I-94, which is an arrival/departure record. For each arrival, the inspector is to review the form for accuracy, and if the foreign national is deemed admissible, the inspector annotates the admission classification and stamps the “Admit Until” date on the form. The foreign national is then given the departure portion of the form for proof of status while in the United States. INS keeps the arrival portion for entry into the Non-Immigrant Information System (NIIS) database. The previously described inspection process may vary, depending on travelers’ nationalities. As of October 2002, the National Security Entry Exit Registration System (NSEERS) program required nonimmigrant foreign nationals over the age of 16 from certain countries to register with INS. At the port of entry, these persons are to be fingerprinted, photographed, and interviewed under oath at the time they apply for entry into the United States. The inspector also annotates the Form I-94 with a Fingerprint Identification Number to show that the person has registered. (App. III provides more information on NSEERS, as well as the Visa Waiver Support System, which according to INS officials, are recently implemented systems that will be integrated into the entry exit system.) The entry control process also varies by type of port of entry. At air and sea ports of entry, commercial carriers are required to submit passenger and crew manifests before arrival. Manifest data are submitted to the Advance Passenger Information System (APIS) and include (among other things) the person’s full name, date of birth, nationality, and passport number. Using the manifest data, INS inspectors conduct a name check through IBIS before the persons arrive, identifying those who will be subject to secondary inspection. Land ports of entry differ from air and sea ports of entry in that no requirements for passenger or crew manifests are imposed on commercial carriers. Further, the procedures differ for pedestrians and occupants of vehicles. As a general rule, pedestrians have all travel documents checked, and if IBIS is available, a name search is conducted. (Exceptions to this rule are Canadians, who are not required to have a passport when entering a land port, and Mexicans with a border-crossing card, who are not required to present a Mexican passport or a U.S. visa.) For vehicles, license plates are checked through IBIS, and documents and names of the vehicle’s occupants are checked randomly or when an inspector has reason to be suspicious. Figure 3 depicts the entry control process. Until recently, foreign nationals admitted into the United States were not actively monitored. However, with the implementation of NSEERS, certain foreign national males over the age of 16 are now required, within 30 days of arrival, to report to an INS office and register, a process that includes providing information consistent with their visas, such as proof of residence and proof of employment. If the foreign national stays in the United States for more than 1 year, he must also report to a designated INS location within 10 days of each registration anniversary. If the foreign national changes his address, school, or employer, he is required to notify INS by mail within 10 days. Those who violate these rules will have their photographs, fingerprints, and other information added to the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) “wants and warrants” list for enforcement purposes. NSEERS violators who are caught by police are transferred to INS custody for removal or criminal prosecution. Figure 4 depicts the stay management process. At air and sea ports of entry, carriers are responsible for collecting from exiting foreign nationals the departure portions of the Form I-94 and for forwarding them to INS, which in turn sends them to a data entry contractor for manual input into the Non-Immigrant Information System. Carriers are also required to electronically submit to APIS manifest information of passengers leaving the United States from an air or sea port of entry. The departure manifest information is transmitted from APIS to the Arrival Departure Information System (ADIS), which uses name- matching algorithms to match the arrival and departure records and identify persons who have overstayed their authorized visits. At land ports of entry, there is no collection point for the departure portion of the Form I-94. The foreign national is responsible for returning the departure portion, although there is no penalty for not doing so, unless the person is subject to NSEERS requirements. Persons subject to NSEERS must depart the United States from an INS-designated port of entry and report to an INS agent for examination and endorsement of departure. If these persons do not report their exit, they become ineligible to return to the United States. The exit control process is depicted in figure 5. Legislation defines the capabilities that the entry exit system is to have. The “pre-9/11” laws defining these capabilities are the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRIRA), the Immigration and Naturalization Service Data Management Improvement Act of 2000, and the Visa Waiver Permanent Program Act. The “post- 9/11” laws are the USA PATRIOT Act, the Aviation and Transportation Security Act, and the Enhanced Border Security and Visa Entry Reform Act of 2002. Among other things, Section 110 of IIRIRA directed the Attorney General to develop an automated entry exit control system to collect records of departure from every alien leaving the United States and match it with the alien’s record of arrival. It also required that the system provide on-line searching procedures to identify each lawfully admitted nonimmigrant who remains in the United States beyond his or her authorized period. The Immigration and Naturalization Service Data Management Improvement Act amended Section 110 of IIRIRA by replacing it in its entirety. This act, among other things, requires that the entry exit system integrate arrival and departure information on aliens required under IIRIRA and contained in Department of Justice (including INS) and State Department databases. Further, the act specifies that the system be implemented at all airports and seaports by December 31, 2003; the 50 busiest land ports by December 31, 2004; and all remaining ports no later than December 31, 2005. The Visa Waiver Permanent Program Act, among other things, requires the Attorney General, no later than October 1, 2001, to develop and implement at airports and seaports a fully automated system to control entry and exit of aliens who enter the United States under the Visa Waiver Program. The act also requires that, by October 1, 2002, inspectors at the ports of entry have access to any State Department or INS photograph and information on whether the alien has been determined to be ineligible to be admitted to the United States or receive a visa.