There are a large number of advanced credentialing and biometric technologies that range from enhanced drivers’ licenses to “smart cards,” and from iris scans to facial recognition. Some of these, such as the FBI’s fingerprint database, use proven technologies, while others, such as facial scans, are unproven and controversial. Because of the need to maximize homeland security and because the Federal Government is playing a major role in their funding and development, these technologies are here to stay. The United States Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology (US-VISIT) program employs biometric fingerprint scanners and digital photographs; a contract to develop the necessary integrated technologies and expand the program is expected to be awarded in May 2004. Two distinct technologies will be employed in implementing US-VISIT: biometrics, “the use of physiological or behavioral characteristics in an automated fashion to identify someone or verify their identity,” and non-biometric, which include paper and card products, such as drivers’ licenses, identification cards, passports, and personal identification numbers (PIN’s). Biometrics is composed of two categories: physiological characteristics, which do not change over time, and behavioral characteristics, which can change over varying periods of time. Thus, technologies that measure physiological characteristics are more reliable than the newer technologies for measuring behavioral characteristics. Inconsistency in some technologies, such as facial scans, are making their use controversial and, critics allege, an invasion of privacy. Another technology being developed is the use of watermarks in non-biometric ID’s, which some researchers believe can be developed and used at the State level without reverting to the development of a national ID card. This will require State and Federal cooperation, as well as public-private industry partnerships to help fully exploit technology, capability, and best practices that are available today to help improve the security of ID credentials and use those efforts in homeland security efforts.