The White House’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) has approved an interim final rule that authorizes U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to expand its biometric exit program nationwide. The rule, published under docket RIN 1651-AB12, cleared review on September 12, 2025, and is awaiting Federal Register publication. Once published, it will remove long-standing restrictions that limited exit biometric collection to pilots at a small number of ports, giving CBP authority to photograph departing non-U.S. citizens at any exit point. Homeland Security Today first reported the clearance.
The regulatory change builds on CBP’s earlier proposals, including a 2020 notice of proposed rulemaking, that outlined the shift from pilot programs to a full entry-exit framework. According to the OIRA docket, the rule was approved “consistent with change,” though details of the final language and its effective date will be specified in the forthcoming Federal Register text.
Under the new framework, CBP’s Traveler Verification Service will continue to match live facial images captured at departure gates, jet bridges, cruise terminals, and inspection booths against galleries generated from passport, visa, and flight data. This system has already been deployed at a growing number of airports, such as those in Omaha and San Jose and San Diego, where biometric systems have become a standard part of boarding processes.
The new rule provides the legal foundation for CBP to move beyond pilot projects and establish exit biometrics as a standard practice across the United States. CBP has long maintained broad biometric entry procedures while exit checks were restricted to capped trials. Notices this year, including the Voluntary Self-Reported Exit pilot, pointed toward the move to a comprehensive exit regime, and OIRA’s clearance now provides the authority to implement it.
For travelers, the near-term effect will be expanded use of face-enabled boarding and exit checks. While CBP requires non-U.S. citizens to provide photographs, American travelers are generally offered alternatives to biometric capture, as seen in deployments at Denver International Airport and other hubs. Airlines will continue to coordinate with CBP on signage, retention notices, and operational rollouts.
Attention will now shift to the Federal Register’s publication of the interim final rule, which will establish its effective date and potential comment window. Meanwhile, additional airport deployments are expected, with programs expanding at locations such as JFK’s Terminal 8, Minneapolis–St. Paul, Nashville, and Orlando. These rollouts will further integrate biometric exit into CBP’s broader identity verification framework.
Sources: Homeland Security Today
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By Ji-seo Kim
