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The fingerprints of millions of visitors will be checked each year
All British travellers arriving in the United States will be fingerprinted and digitally photographed from Thursday.
Until now, the procedure applied only to visa holders but Homeland Security decided to expand the programme.
The information will be checked against databases to verify travellers' papers and flag up names on terrorist or law enforcement watch lists.
The Association of British Travel Agents said the policy could result in even longer queues at US airports.
An ABTA spokeswoman said the problem may be heightened at busy airports like Miami, Dulles in Washington and Houston, but that travellers' safety would "probably be enhanced".
Visa
Travellers who arrive in the US under the visa waiver programme will not be exempt from the policy.
It will affect the residents of 22 countries who can travel to the country without a visa for less than three months, as long as they are not seeking work.
The screening will happen at 115 major airports and 14 seaports.
The Department of Homeland Security has estimated that 33,000 people entering the US everyday will be affected.
The spokeswoman for ABTA went on to say: "The US authorities have assured us that they have appropriately resourced airports, so now it is a matter of seeing whether it is implemented smoothly."
All British travellers arriving in the United States will be fingerprinted and digitally photographed from Thursday.
Until now, the procedure applied only to visa holders but Homeland Security decided to expand the programme.
The information will be checked against databases to verify travellers' papers and flag up names on terrorist or law enforcement watch lists.
The Association of British Travel Agents said the policy could result in even longer queues at US airports.
An ABTA spokeswoman said the problem may be heightened at busy airports like Miami, Dulles in Washington and Houston, but that travellers' safety would "probably be enhanced".
Visa
Travellers who arrive in the US under the visa waiver programme will not be exempt from the policy.
It will affect the residents of 22 countries who can travel to the country without a visa for less than three months, as long as they are not seeking work.
The screening will happen at 115 major airports and 14 seaports.
The Department of Homeland Security has estimated that 33,000 people entering the US everyday will be affected.
The spokeswoman for ABTA went on to say: "The US authorities have assured us that they have appropriately resourced airports, so now it is a matter of seeing whether it is implemented smoothly."
