Biometric Information of Bahamian citizens to be processed when traveling through Pre-Clearance facilities in The Bahamas
NASSAU, Bahamas – On September 3, 2008 the U.S. Visit program was expanded to include Bahamian citizens entering the United States via the Lynden Pindling International Airport in Nassau or the Grand Bahama International Airport in Freeport.
The U.S. Visit Program, implemented in January 2004, required that foreign travelers entering the United States would be processed in such a manner that certain biometric information would be captured. The current procedure is that the fingerprints of the two index-fingers and a photograph of the applicant be captured. Initially, the program required that only travelers entering the U.S. on a visa were subject to this process. Since Bahamians traveling through Freeport and/or Nassau were not required to have visas, United States Customs and Border Protection (USCBP) did not require them to be processed under U.S. Visit. Any Bahamian citizen entering the United States at any location other than Freeport/Nassau were required to be processed.
In September of 2004, the U.S. Visit program was expanded to all travelers entering the United States including those traveling on the visa waiver program. However, at that time Bahamians entering the United States via Nassau/Freeport were not included.
Bahamian citizens will now be required to be fingerprinted and photographed when traveling through pre-clearance facilities in Nassau and Freeport.
Travelers under the age of 14 or over the age of 79 are exempt from these procedures. Specific exemptions also apply to Bahamian citizens who are traveling with visas with the following classifications: A-1, A-2, C-3, G-1 through G-4, NATO 1 through 6.
