INS Cards May Cut LAX Delays for Some Fliers

After a long flight from somewhere in Asia or Europe, you’re about to land in Los Angeles, sleep-deprived, body aching, desperate for a warm shower, a tad cranky--and in no mood for any bureaucratic hassle.

Bearing that in mind, the Immigration and Naturalization Service officially inaugurated a program Tuesday that will enable frequent fliers to clear immigration in Los Angeles in 15 to 20 seconds.

It relies on the booming field of biometrics, the computerized identification of people through their body parts--in this case a traveler’s hand.

People who fly into the United States at least three times a year can apply for a free plastic card into which are coded the biometrics of their hand. It is a description that includes more than 90 measurements, including length, width, thickness and surface areas.

The procedure is already being used at airports in Newark, New York, Miami and Toronto with considerable success, immigration officials said at a ribbon-cutting ceremony Tuesday at the Los Angeles airport’s Tom Bradley International Terminal.

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Instead of queuing for 30 minutes or longer to show one’s passport and answer an immigration officer’s questions, a cardholder simply walks to a kiosk containing a scanning machine. The cardholder inserts the card, places a hand on a screen and, if there is a match, the traveler is cleared for entry.

INS Pass, an acronym for the INS Passenger Accelerated Service System, has been operating on a trial basis since 1993. More than 70,000 travelers have already enrolled.

“We are pleased that LAX is the first airport in the Western United States to have this program,” said Jerald K. Lee, deputy director for operations and administration for Los Angeles’ airports department.

INS officials said plans are underway to extend the trial program to Vancouver, Canada, by July, followed by San Francisco, Seattle, Washington-Dulles and Honolulu by the end of the year.

For the present, they said, the program is being restricted to frequent fliers so it can be closely monitored. If all goes well, it could be extended to most international air passengers.

Participation is open to citizens of the United States and 28 other countries: Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bermuda, Britain, Brunei, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, San Marino, Spain, Slovenia, Sweden and Switzerland. The list of participating countries is expected to grow.

The cards are not available to anyone with a criminal record or those who are ineligible to enter the United States.

Applications can be obtained at the INS Pass office at the Bradley International Terminal or through the INS’ World Wide Web site (www.usdoj.gov/ins/forms)