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Source: CNN

LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- Closing a perceived national security gap, the United States has begun fingerprinting and photographing citizens of 27 countries -- including nations that are staunch allies -- when they arrive for short visits.

Business travelers and vacationers from the United Kingdom, Japan, Germany and other nations joined much of the rest of the world Thursday in being required to deliver "biometric" information to customs officers.

The program went into effect at the country's 115 international airports and 14 seaports, and will be expanded to border crossings later.

At Los Angeles International Airport, there was some surprise but no complaint as visitors, passports in hand, stuck their right and left index fingers on a device that electronically fingerprinted them and then had their digital photos snapped.

"No problem. If it's good for security, then it's good for me," said Frank Herbert, 38, of Austria, who arrived for a Southern California vacation.

The photos and fingerprints were matched with databases to determine if visitors might be wanted for immigration problems and crimes or were on lists barring them from entering the country because of suspected terrorist ties.

The information will be stored indefinitely in a national database but Homeland Security officials promised its use would be restricted to ensure privacy.

"It's an inconvenience, but only a little one. They say it is for our safety and the safety of the American people," said Mario Steinbusch of Aachen, Germany, who arrived at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago en route to visit a friend in Kentucky.

The extra security requirements were passed by Congress in response to the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and have been in place for nearly all nations since January. An exemption was made for people from 27 countries who were making short visits. They still don't need visas to enter the U.S. for 90-day visits, freeing them from having to undergo background checks.

There are no changes in unique rules covering visits by Canadians and Mexicans.

The Department of Homeland Security estimated the new requirements would affect 33,000 visitors a day but would add only 15 seconds to the processing time.

Pauline Shepherd of Portsmouth, England said she was "a bit taken aback" by the security check at Boston's Logan International Airport.

"It seems a bit over the top to me ... I said 'We're only over here for a fortnight,"' she said.

But ending the exemption will "significantly enhance" security, said Ana Hinojosa, area port director for U.S. Customs and Border Protection for the LA airport.

"Terrorists don't necessarily have a particular nationality, or a particular name (or) age," she said. "It's a moving target and we need to be able to adapt."

The 27 countries affected by the change are: Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.