As published in the Federal Register today, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is requesting comments on the introduction of a newly developed biometric-based entry and exit program.

This program will be applied to non-exempt non-U.S. citizens entering and exiting the United States. According to the CBP, the purpose of this national security measure is to ensure non-U.S. citizens’ identity and to ascertain their admissibility in the United States. The system will capture biometrics including digital fingerprint scans, photographs, facial images and iris images, or other biometric identifiers. The notice does not refer to any of the technology details supporting the system. The existing biographic collection process used by CBP doesn’t capture facial and iris images.

The notice is open for written comments from federal agencies directly affected by the program and from the general public, which can be submitted to the CBP on or before October 19, 2015. The proposed biometric identity collection program will subsequently be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget for approval.