The passport industry has been increasing its use of technology and all indications are that passports will include greater levels of technology as we venture into the future. The future of passports centers around governments all over the world collecting biometric data.
While the collection of biometric data for passports raises significant civil liberties and privacy concerns, it doesn’t look like the partnership between state of the art technology and passport security is going to slow down.
Opposition to biometric passports includes the argument that unreliable biometric technologies can misidentify passport holders. While some think passport security and the use of face, fingerprint, and iris recognition is really cool, others are more concerned with falsified biometric identification and passport fraud.
Since 2007, various European passport border checks utilize facial recognition in which Automatic Face Recognition in Border Control travelers’ faces are scanned and compared to measurements of their facial features stored on a chip in their biometric passports.
The United States requires visitors to submit biometrics in the form of a digital fingerprint when applying for a visa or when entering the country. In the UK, the government abandoned the fingerprint initiative.
Another passport security measure that is in the works is iris scan recognition. While it may seem cutting edge, there are concerns over hard contact lenses, watery eyes and long eyelashes that could possibly interfere with the scanning process.
It looks like we just have to wait and see which new passport initiatives are added to the US passport.
If you are interested in getting a passport or visa, give us a call at (212) 643-9305. Rush Passport™ Official US Passport Expeditors, serving Brooklyn, The Bronx, Queens, Staten Island, Manhattan, Westchester County, Nassau County & Suffolk County, Long Island, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Connecticut.








