LOS ANGELES--Filipinos and other foreign nationals entering the United States will now undergo additional screening after Washington announced new and stricter policies that will secure America and its borders from terrorist attacks.

The US Department of Homeland Security on January 5 began its automated immigration process, at 115 airports and 14 seaports. The process includes biometric identifiers such as the taking of fingerprints of the two index fingers and a photograph at the port of entry.

The registration program involves only persons entering with a visa, said the American Immigration Lawyers Association, adding that the DHS has indicated that exceptions to the photograph requirement, such as for women with religious garb, will be allowed.

However, AILA also said the exit process, which again requires biometric screening in order to track visitor presence, has not yet been fully developed since people are likely to depart from ports that do not have US Visit departure capabilities.

The process, estimated to take 18 seconds, currently takes around 5-6 minutes per visitor, Nancy Castles, Public Information and Media Relations Officer of the Los International Airport told BALITA in an interview with her early last month.

All information obtained from the biometrics will be confidential, the DHS said, adding that information will be securely stored and accessible only to its officials.

The DHS has not indicated the need for additional travel documents for those traveling to America for employment or tourism purposes.

Homeland Security expects the program to be fully implemented by the end of this year.

The implementation of biometric screening comes on the heels when the American government is ending the Foreigner Registration Program, a rule imposed after the Sept. 11 attacks that required men and boys from countries, particularly those of the Middle East, with suspected links to terrorism to register multiple times with US officials. People from those nations were fingerprinted, photographed and interviewed by US immigration officials. They had to reregister with the government after being in the country for 30 days and again after a year. A total of 83,519 people already in the United State complied with the order, AILA said.