Live and Lets Fly
Matthew Klint
02 October 2025
The United States has long avoided outbound passport control, but is quietly building a biometric exit system at airports that functions much like one.
Should The U.S. Add Exit Controls? Pros, Cons, And The Quiet Biometric Shift Underway
Let’s take a look at recent changes the U.S. has quietly introduced, examine the pros and cons of more formal exit controls, and then I’ll recount a couple of anecdotes from my travels over the years that give me pause.
What DHS Quietly Changed
This month, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) finalized rules directing U.S. Customs and Border Protection to expand its biometric exit program nationwide. What began as pilot projects at a handful of airports has now become standard policy: cameras at boarding gates capture passenger faces and match them against entry records (this will also impact land and sea borders). Airlines in many U.S. hubs have already integrated CBP’s Traveler Verification Service, meaning most international departures now involve a facial scan at boarding.
CBP insists that U.S. citizens may opt out and request manual inspection, but signage at airports can be inconsistent and the process often awkward. Images of U.S. citizens are supposed to be deleted within a 12-hour period, while non-U.S. citizens’ photos are stored for up to 75 years. TSA is also expanding its own use of face recognition at checkpoints, which raises broader questions about how far these technologies will go.
Exit Controls Quietly Expand At U.S. Airports - Live and Let's Fly - 02 Oct 2025
