Feds to require foreign travelers' fingerprints as they leave the U.S.

— The Bush administration intends to require airlines and cruise lines to collect fingerprints from international travelers as they depart the U.S. The biometric information must be sent to the Department of Homeland Security within 24 hours after the travelers leave the country, according to a new federal rule proposed today, and travel business will have to shoulder the almost $3-billion cost.

The proposal will close a security gap identified after the Sept. 11 attacks, said federal officials, and identify which visitors have overstayed their visas.

Airlines and cruise-ship operators must already provide the federal government with biographical information on international passengers before they leave the country. But this rule would require biometric information — such as fingerprints — to be collected and then transmitted within 24 hours of a visitor leaving the U.S. The majority of non-U.S. citizens are already required to submit digital fingerprints and a digital photograph for admission into the country.

Over 10 years, officials estimate it will cost air and sea carriers about $2.7 billion to carry out the requirement, part of what's called the US-VISIT program. The department plans to enforce the rule by June 30, 2009. Some air carriers have complained the federal government should cover the cost of implementing this rule.

According to the proposal, airlines could decide where to take the prints — such as at checkout lines or at boarding gates. More than 80 airlines at 73 airports would have to put systems in place.

Airlines say they can't afford to buy the equipment and train their employees to do the government's work, especially at a time when they're suffering from record oil prices. Taking fingerprints "is a law enforcement or immigration function," Steve Lott, a spokesman for the International Air Transport Association, told the Gannett News Service.

Lawmakers, including Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., have pressed the department to roll out its biometric exit system for more than a year. "Any uncertainty about who is entering and leaving our country is an unacceptable risk that must be addressed," Thompson, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, said in a statement Monday.

There will be a 60-day comment period for the proposed rule. It soon will be published in the Federal Register, and the public can submit written comments electronically or by mail.

• For online comments, go to www.regulations.gov. All submissions received must include the agency name and docket number for this rule-making.

• Written comments may be submitted by mail to: US-VISIT, Attn: Air Exit NPRM, Department of Homeland Security, 1616 N. Fort Myer Drive, 18th Floor, Arlington, VA 22209.

Submissions must include the agency name and docket number DHS-2008-0039. The text of the proposed rule is available at www.dhs.gov. Following the 60-day public comment period and review, a final rule will be published outlining the new requirements and their effective date.