INSPASS uses a bio-metric scan of a traveler's hand to document both identity and entry into the United States

From CNN Correspondent Jim Hill

LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- The long wait as arriving passengers are checked by U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) agents can be a frustrating part of international air travel.

But at Los Angeles International Airport, the wait in some cases has been cut to a minute or less with what's called INSPASS -- an ID card and with a bio-metric scan of a traveler's hand to document both identity and entry into the United States.

The card is already being used in three other U.S. airports (Miami, Newark and John F. Kennedy) one in Canada (Toronto's Pearson International), and is planned for a dozen more.

Here's how it works: Applicants first have their right hand scanned by computer, and the result is stored in a central data base.

"Everyone has a unique hand pattern and that's what it's keying off," explains an INS agent.

After the scan, a photo is taken, and the ID card issued. That's it. Travelers can then bypass the normal inspection line and document their U.S. entry at an automated kiosk.

"Travelers who use INSPASS can usually have their identity validated and receive their entry document in as little as 15 seconds," says INS regional director Johnny Williams.

The pass is offered free to frequent international travelers from the United States and 26 other nations.

Los Angeles International is the second busiest entry port in the United States. INS inspectors there process more than 7 million people a year. Card-carrying passengers must still go through U.S. customs inspection, but INSPASS will speed up the entry process and free up immigration agents to better check other passengers.