Congress·In Committee·H.R. 8371

Reform Immigration Through Biometrics Act

Immigration: Biometric Entry and Exit System Review

Apr 20·View on Congress.gov·Read full text

This bill is one vehicle in a longer effort. See the full story across every version.View effort →

Next up: A house committee

This bill is in the early stages of the legislative process and is currently assigned to the House Judiciary and Homeland Security committees. Since April 19, 2026, no further action has occurred, and the bill remains stalled in committee. Most bills do not receive a committee vote, so it is unclear if this proposal will move forward.

Legislative Progress

House

Senate

President

Law

Unlikely to pass

While tracking visa overstays is a popular idea, this bill only asks for reports and has not yet gained support from the other party. Most bills introduced in the House do not become law without broad backing.

How we got here

This bill’s path across every version that has carried it.

Reintroduced
Reintroduced from H.R. 6138 (118th), which died when its Congress ended.
H.R. 6138 (118th) →

Key Points

This bill requires the Department of Homeland Security to study how well its system for tracking people entering and leaving the country is working. The system uses biometrics, which are physical traits like facial scans or fingerprints, to keep records of travelers.
The government would have to report on how these security scans affect wait times at borders and how well they help catch people who stay in the country longer than their visas allow. It also looks at how the system helps stop terrorism and keeps trade moving smoothly.
The bill requires the government to make sure these security checks do not slow down the movement of people or goods at airports, seaports, or land borders. It also asks for a report on how data is shared with Canada to track border crossings.
To protect privacy, the reports cannot include personal information about U.S. citizens. Instead, the government must explain what it is doing to keep the facial recognition data of Americans private and secure.

Impact Analysis

Govbase has not yet run an impact analysis on this legislation.

Milestones

2 milestones2 actions

Apr 20, 2026House

Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Homeland Security, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

Sent to a congressional committee for expert review. The committee decides whether this bill moves forward.

Apr 20, 2026

Introduced in House

The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.

No votes, news coverage, or related bills recorded for this bill yet.

Source Information

Document Type

Congressional Bill

Official Title

Reform Immigration Through Biometrics Act

Bill NumberHR 8371

Congress119th Congress

ChamberHouse of Representatives

Latest ActionReferred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Homeland Security, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

Data Sources

Congress.gov

Official legislative information

Read Full Bill Text

Sponsor

Analysis generated by AI. Always verify with official sources.