Headed to the border soon? Get ready. Starting December 26th, every non-U.S. citizen, including Canadians, will have their photo taken when crossing into or out of the United States. Sounds intense, right? Not quite.

In this episode of Immigration Weekly, Rosanna Berardi explains what’s really changing, why it’s happening now after 20 years in the making, and what travelers can actually expect at the border. No drama, no panic – just the facts from someone who’s been on both sides of the immigration booth.

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Transcript

Everyone’s talking about U.S. immigration law, but nobody really knows how it works. I’m Rosanna Berardi. I’m the daughter of an immigrant, a former immigration inspector at the border, university professor, and founder and managing partner of Berardi Immigration Law.

I’ve done nothing but U.S. immigration law for over 30 years, and it’s time to stop the misinformation on all sides. I’m going to tell you how it all works, the inside story. This is Immigration Weekly with Rosanna Berardi.

Hello, hello, hello, and welcome back to Immigration Weekly with yours truly, Rosanna Berardi. Well, buckle up. There is no shortage of immigration news.

The New Rule: Photos for All Non-U.S. Citizens at the Border

So Friday at 5 p.m., which is a traumatic time for lawyers because the Trump administration always seems to drop some big news on a Friday at 5, we heard another one. This one is a final rule, meaning that it actually went through proper channels before it was announced and released. And today we’re going to focus on that rule, which impacts if you cross the U.S.-Canadian border regularly, whether for business, family, pleasure. You got to listen up on this one. So starting December 26th, the day after Christmas, just about two months away, every single non-U.S. citizen, that means anyone that was not born in the United States, including our beloved neighbors to the north, Canadians, will be photographed at the border. Photographed.

Oh, my God. Now, it’s an alarming headline. It gives you visions of people lined up waiting for pictures to be taken, the government pulling everybody over, blah, blah, blah.

No, that’s not what’s going to happen. If you live in the world that I live in, there are cameras everywhere. Everywhere you go, there’s a camera taking a picture of you, whether it’s at your local grocery store, when you’re driving down a highway, you’re in an elevator, in a parking garage.

Don’t panic. This is a significant change, but you’re probably not going to notice it. You’re not going to pay any fees.

It’s not going to take you any more time. If you’re a border crossing professional, frequent traveler, listen to this episode, and then you can be the smartest person at your dinner table and be like, yeah, that’s happening, but really not a big deal. So today, we’re going to break down what’s changed and why, what it’ll feel like at the border and airports, and most importantly, what you need to do to prepare.

Don’t be foolish. You always got to be prepared. My best advice over the last 30 years to my clients has been treat crossing the border like a job interview.

Be prepared, courteous, professional. Don’t be a slob. Don’t roll up with your window blaring, your music blaring, and your window up.

Be prepared. Anyway, I digress. So why now?

The Background: Two Decades in the Making

Why is this happening? Well, hard to believe this requirement of taking photos of people entering, and in my opinion, most importantly, exiting the United States has been in the making for over 20 years. Since 2004, Customs and Border Protection, they’ve been taking your pictures for the most part when entering the U.S. When you pull up at the border in your car, and you are the driver, and you stop for a minute, you hold up your Nexus card, and then you pull up, guess what? They took a photo of you, and you didn’t even notice it, and then they compare the one on your passport or Nexus card. That’s been happening since 2004. The United States government has always known who’s coming in.

We’ve never known who leaves. When I worked at the border way back in the late 90s, people would say to me all the time, well, I better tell them how long I’m going to be in the U.S. because when I come back and they check, it needs to be consistent. And I’m like, should always be truthful at the border, but there’s no way of them knowing who is exiting.

And that, in my world, is called an exit gap. So we know who’s coming in, but we don’t know who’s going out. So think about it for a minute.

Imagine you run a business like I do. You’ve got a really sophisticated system where your employees clock in every day so you know exactly when they enter, but no idea when they leave because there’s no system that tracks when they leave. You have no idea who’s coming or, more importantly, going, and that’s what we’ve had at the U.S.-Canadian border for a very long time. So remember September 11th back in 2001, Holy Moses, 24 years ago, Congress recognized this massive vulnerability. They passed multiple laws over the years, over the last 20 years, mandating that the Department of Homeland Security creates a comprehensive biometric entry and exit system. The goal is simple.

They wanted to verify the way in, the way out, and match those records so we know exactly who’s in the country. But think about it, you guys. 24 years ago, the technology was not ready.

They knew they needed to do something. They’ve tried different approaches, fingerprints, iris scans, various pilot programs, but nothing really worked at scale. It was either too slow, too expensive, too cumbersome, and couldn’t just handle the volumes and volumes of travelers that crossed the border.

So think about that. In fiscal year 2023, CDP said over 500,000 people who entered by air or sea overstayed their visas. That’s a half a million people, more than a half a million people, and those are the ones that we think overstayed, but without a reliable exit system, we don’t really know for sure.

So this is where it gets interesting. In 2018, CBP was started doing the facial recognition comparison technology. That technology has caught 2,000 imposters.

It identified over 444,000 overstays. The technology is accurate, and it’s better than humans in making the determinations. So why here, why now?

The Rollout: What to Expect After December 26th

What’s going on with this entry and exit system? Well, first, the technology is finally here. The facial comparisons matured.

That, along with AI, it’s more accurate, and it’s a lot less intrusive than fingerprinting. Second is money, money, money. What happened this year in Congress?

The one and only thing they’ve done, the one big beautiful bill passed on July 4th, 2025, finally implemented this and gave CBP hundreds of millions of dollars to roll this out. And then thirdly, the pilot programs that they’ve used in the past, they’ve worked. They’ve caught imposters.

They’ve caught people. They’re like, hey, this technology is really working. So after more than 20 years, we’re finally closing that loop.

We know who’s coming in. We know who’s going out. Okay, so what is going to actually happen on December 26th of 2025?

Well, this is what’s going to happen. Everybody entering and everybody exiting the United States will have their picture taken. There’s no exemptions.

There used to be exemptions for kids under 14 or adults over 79. Those Canadians, don’t freak out. This is not a big deal.

If you’re saying, I don’t like this. I’m not coming to America. I don’t want my photo taken.

Whatever. You’ve had your photo taken a million times. That’s your choice.

This will not be any more intrusive than anything else you do in your life, including buying an over-the-counter drug, but I digress. So starting December 26th, all U.S. citizens, I mean all, will be required to have their photo taken both when entering and exiting the United States. This includes Canadians.

The exemptions are gone. Are we going to see this right away? Well, it does apply at all ports of entry, meaning land borders, seaports, pre-flight clearance, but not everyone is ready to go.

So right now, CBP is saying they’re fully operational at commercial airports for entry and exit. 39 seaports are ready and 185 pedestrian land crossings are ready, but they’re working on the land border vehicle crossings. As you can imagine, that’s complex.

The Experience: What Travelers Will Actually See

So here in Buffalo, they might be starting to work on it, but I doubt it’ll be done on December 26th. So that’s what’s going to happen. You’re going to have to line up.

Are you going to have to get out of your car? Are you going to have to go inside and be fingerprinted and have your photo taken? No, no, no, no, no.

Canadians, stop. Your hair is not on fire. Donald Trump doesn’t hate you.

We’re just trying to secure the border. Might get some hate mail over that one, but if you’re a Canadian, what else is changing? Really not a heck of a lot.

You’re still exempt from fingerprinting unless you have a criminal record. You don’t need to fill out any forms on this. There’s no new fees.

If you’re applying for a work permit like a TN or an L1, that’s all the same. The only difference here is getting your photo taken. This is the government’s way of confirming that you are who you say that you are.

Now, if you’re a U.S. citizen like me, there is an opt-out. You can say, hey, I don’t want my picture taken, and instead, CBP will do a manual inspection. That is, they’ll take your passport.

Ms. Berardi, they’ll look at me. Yes. Ms. Berardi, yes. Have a nice day. Only U.S. citizens can opt out, so don’t go there saying, I don’t want my picture taken, blah, blah, blah. Only U.S. citizens can do that. What are they going to do with your picture? They’re going to keep it in a database for 14 days for system verification purposes, and then it’ll be transferred to a DHS database where they keep it according to records and retention policies. Now, listen, people that have Nexus, people that apply for passports, government has you on their file, okay?

No conspiracy theories here. They’re not taking that info and using it, yadda, yadda, yadda. Law enforcement identity, you do this when you get your license, you do this when you get your passport, your Nexus.

Your picture is being taken a million times a day, whether you consent to it or realize it. So, what’s it going to feel like when you cross the border? Yeah, probably not too much.

You’re going to pull up to the inspection booth. CBP officer is going to ask you for your passport, hand it over very politely. While they’re pulling up information on the screen, you’ll look at a camera that’s positioned near the officer.

You like this little thing? The photo will be captured, and then the officer will do a comparison of you and the little captured photo and you on the document that you handed over. I know it is hard to believe, but imposters enter the United States all the time.

What’s an imposter? Somebody claims they’re a U.S. citizen, and they’re not. Happens a lot, more than you would think.

Is this going to take a long time? Probably not. It might add a few seconds to your border crossing.

I don’t really even think you’re going to realize it. What’s going to happen when you leave the United States? Well, let’s say you’re leaving from an airport.

You’ll probably see cameras at the departure gate. So, rather than just giving the airline official your ticket to get on the plane, the gate agent may take your photo. It may be done automatically.

We’re not sure yet, but again, it should add another two seconds for this to happen. Now, December 26, this takes effect. It’s around the holidays.

It’s going to be busy. It’s going to be phased through many ports of entry. Buffalo, Detroit-Windsor, Niagara Falls, they are expected to be early on this rollout.

Final Thoughts: Be Smart, Be Polite, Be Prepared

For good measure, leave yourself an extra 10 or 15 minutes when crossing the border after December 26. Not two hours, but don’t be that person that pulls up at 12 noon for a flight at the Buffalo airport for 12 30. That’s just not smart.

Be smart about it. So, what are we recommending for our clients? Be polite.

Be prepared. Be courteous. Know where you’re going.

Make sure you have your entry documentation ready. If the officer says, you’re going to look at the camera, it’s going to take a millisecond to confirm that you are the person that you say you are, and CBP is going to say, have a nice day. Please, people, relax.

This is called law enforcement. We’re finally closing an important gap in the United States. The rule goes into effect the day after Christmas.

This has been in the making for 20 plus years. What is going to happen is you’re going to get your photo taken very quickly. They’re going to use AI.

They’re going to use quick cameras, little tiny cameras, probably at your doctor’s office. They do the same thing. We need a photo for you on the file.

Click. And away you go. When you exit the U.S., same thing. Land borders, you might not see this right away. Airports are ready to go. Don’t be too concerned.

Again, look at your passport. Make sure the expiration date is valid. Make sure you know who’s in your car.

Make sure you know what stuff you’re traveling with. And be polite and courteous. CBP has tons and tons and tons of new directives on their plate.

This is another one. You should barely notice it, but be prepared. And if you have any questions, we’ll be following this one very closely.

Thank you for joining today. This is a very important episode. And if you like this episode, tell your friends about it.

Be like, Hey, this girl’s amazing. Subscribe to our podcast and we will see you next time on Immigration Weekly with Rosanna Berardi. This was Immigration Weekly with Rosanna Berardi.

Thanks for joining. Be sure to connect with me, Rosanna Berardi on LinkedIn or go to our law firm at berardiimmigrationlaw.com. And if you don’t want to miss the latest and greatest, be sure to subscribe to the podcast and share this with your friends.

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