Attempts to falsify, alter, counterfeit or obtain genuine visas and passports by fraud are a constant problem within the United States and around the world. Most of the time these false travel documents are used to further illegal immigration, but a growing and perhaps more lethal threat comes from terrorists, organized criminals, and drug traffickers.

Primary and secondary inspectors
It is the job of U.S. Customs and Border Protection's first line immigration inspector's to foil the efforts of would-be counterfeiters. They review passports and other travel papers and, in less than 10 seconds, decide if they pass inspection. Annually, CBP immigration inspectors review tens of thousands of travel documents. It isn't just the volume that is startling. The variety of documents our inspectors see is overwhelming. Documents include border-crossing cards, alien registration cards, visas, U.S. and foreign passports and citizenship documents, identification cards and diplomatic papers for over 240 countries.

Counterfeit or altered documents produced with cutting edge technology can be difficult to detect. So a primary inspector has to do more than just look at the papers. Drawing on extensive training and experience, quick thinking, and subliminal indicators like body language and demeanor, CBP immigration inspectors refer about two percent of travelers to secondary inspection for closer scrutiny. What makes an inspector suspect someone of lying? Glancing upward before answering questions, inability to make eye contact, or undue nervousness may be telltale signs that a person is not being truthful or is trying to hide something. Any anomaly can trigger a closer review.

A traveler who speaks heavily accented English, but whose travel papers show place of birth as Brooklyn, N.Y. may need a more intensive examination. Ascertaining that the traveler was raised and educated out of the country provides an explanation and avoids detention of a legitimate traveler. Secondary inspectors also use tools like magnifiers and ultra-violet light to look at documents. Inspectors also check details like the dates on a passports. A passport issue date that falls on a Sunday might be an indicator that the document is suspect. Or a passport or visa issued on a holiday such as Christmas or, in the case of foreign documents, on religious holidays may trigger a second look. Careless mistakes like a February 29th birth date on a non-leap year may trip up a counterfeiter.

CBP immigration inspectors have the skill and authority to determine the veracity of a document independently. And believe it or not, they intercept a fraudulent or altered document at the rate of one every five minutes. Keeping up with the ever changing document fraud techniques is not easy, but inspectors rely on a special team of experts to assist them.

Forensic scientists on the front line
Television series such as CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, CSI: Miami, and Cold Case have stirred the public imagination into a "forensic frenzy" and have provided high visibility for criminal forensic scientists and the tools they use to solve cases. CBP immigration inspectors have access to this type of expertise. They work hand-in-hand with a team of highly specialized forensic scientists in the Forensic Document Laboratory (FDL), part of the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Senior staff officers in the Intelligence Section of the FDL have extensive knowledge of U.S. and foreign travel documents, foreign immigration laws, and document fraud techniques. This group trains immigration inspectors, police, motor vehicle and airline personnel in techniques for identifying altered or counterfeited documents.

Microline printing on an authentic passport from the Netherlands.

However, training isn't enough. FDL immigration officers maintain and analyze the Document Laboratory Information System (DLIS), a database that contains a description and a visual representation of all known forgeries and alterations. As new tactics or trends for forging or altering legitimate documents emerge, they issue electronic and hard copy "document alerts" to advise inspectors and keep their information current.

Filtering out fakes
FDL immigration officers in the Intelligence Section are available for extended hours 7-days a week. An unfamiliar or suspicious document is sent to the lab by photo phone, a telephone that transmits a high-resolution image, or is scanned and e-mailed to the lab.

The photo-phone is a powerful tool. The FDL has access to the Department of State's Passport Office database that contains original passport applications. In less than 30 minutes, an officer at the FDL can obtain passport application information, including photographs and signatures, and transmit them via photo-phone to a CBP immigration inspector for comparison to determine if it is forged or altered. The lab can also compare a suspect document against a genuine one maintained in the Forensic Document Library, the largest known repository of genuine travel and identity documents in the world. Here, there are copies of genuine travel papers from familiar countries like France or Indonesia and from more obscure countries like Kiribati (island country located near the equator in the South Pacific).

Document security features
FDL immigration officers analyze and compare a number of embedded security features to validate a document. Inspectors are familiar with the first level of security features, the identification data and information specific to each country which can be seen or felt unaided ?watermarks, holograms, security threads and surface embossing. The FDL may provide an inspector information or give important tips on what separates a genuine document from a counterfeit.

Security features that are more difficult to discern may require the inspectors to use special equipment in order to be seen, like ultra-violet light, infrared viewing devices or magnification. A "ghost" photo of the traveler which appears only under ultraviolet light and documents with information written in optically variable ink that changes color under different lighting are just a few examples of modern security features. One country's new passport has line drawings of its national animal that hop across the identity page when an inspector tilts the document.

Tools of the trade
Document examiners have to have a good eye. Their most important tools remain the hand-held magnifier and the microscope. This basic equipment is supplemented by measuring tools, light sources, photographic and computer equipment. The FDL has specialized state of the art equipment that rivals any seen on a CSI episode.

Everybody has seen a mystery show where the suspect writes a quick note, tears the sheet off a pad of paper, and departs the scene. In comes a detective, rubs a pencil across the seemingly blank top sheet of the note pad, making the suspect's note mysteriously reappear. The electrostatic detection apparatus performs a high tech version of this process, reading and restoring indented writing not visible to the naked eye.

Tomorrow's document today
Preventing passport counterfeiting or fraudulent tampering to ensure the integrity and security of borders is a priority shared by many nations. In countries around the world, anti-forging techniques, including smart chips and machine-readable biometric identifiers, are now being incorporated into passports and travel documents. What's ironic is that the same technologies law enforcement uses to enhance security can be misappropriated by counterfeiters to produce sophisticated fakes. Advances in counterfeit techniques don't deter CBP's immigration inspectors and their partners in the Forensic Document Lab- they continue to stay one step ahead of the forger.