With the increasing number of immigrants to the United States, there has been steady rise in the number of illegal immigrants as well. The US government till date could not find an efficient system to curb such activities.

Reports have shown 2.9 million immigrants who had come to the US on a visit visa never left the country. However, the immigration officials have still not been able to find a way to confirm such numbers and the identities of such immigrants. According to the officials, around 40% entered the country with legal visas of the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants. Of these, some have been found involving in criminal dealings.

With many cases appearing often, the Department of the Homeland Security is deciding on a Universal Electronic Exit Monitoring System. Efforts are being made by generating funds from all the possible sources which have led to around $1 billion from the Congress. This enforcement has opened doors to monitor the entry and exit of the human traffic. However, these measures do not seem to be sufficient to curb the issue. This is because there has been no regular follow – up to ensure that these visitors have left the country.

However, it is also a very expensive affair with more than a million passengers entering, existing or transiting through the country. Also, the long borders require a constant maintenance with officials on a continuous role.

But it has to be remembered that plan to be implemented has to be perfect; otherwise it would affect many aspects of trade and business or would even affect the border cities altogether. Thus, the overall immigration would be subject to being hampered.

Some such initiatives include checking all foreign nationals as and when they arrive (by air, water or land). This involves taking fingerprints and digital photographs of the all visitors which are immediately tallied with the law enforcement watch list databases. However, the Canadian and the Mexicans with special border – crossing cards are not imposed with such measures. This was executed in the year 2004.

Inspite of putting together such programs since 2004, a full proof measure is yet to be devised which could ensure results and constancy. A technology which supports such a program is yet to be designed.

The current procedure involves all the passengers leaving a form behind which exiting the country.

According to the statistics, in the previous year, around 39 million foreigners were allowed to enter the United States on a temporary visa. Based on the printed forms left behind by the passengers, around 92.5% of the above were confirmed to depart. The remaining passengers also departed but they were unaware of the check out procedure. On the other hand, when it comes to student visas, the immigration watchdogs have kept a separate record tracking that all the immigrant students. This procedure has been quite effective confirming that the students have resided in the school and have not the crossed the limit of their visas.

The main difficultly posed by the US government is securing its long and vast borders against acts of terrorism which is upto the officials of the law. This leaves them with no records of such criminals that could prevent them from entering the country.

All in all, it has to be ensured that the right procedures are followed to keep away from unwanted troubles and mishaps. Contact an Immigration and Visa Specialist to know more on the same.