The U.S. Department of Homeland Security today launched a program in which travelers who feel they may be incorrectly included on a government watch list can petition the agency online to rectify the situation.
DHS today debuted the Traveler Redress Inquiry Program at www.dhs.gov/trip. At the Web site, travelers may fill out and submit a form that lists the specific problem that triggered the traveler's false-positive concerns. Once the complaint is submitted, DHS will alter the traveler as to the specific supporting documentation required, which would be sent by the traveler via mail or fax, but not e-mail. That supporting documentation must be sent within 30 days of the original complaint.
A TSA spokesperson told
BTN that the Transportation Security Administration typically sends a letter to the inquiring traveler within 10 days of the receipt of all supporting material, but other agencies may take longer to do so, and the government would use the new system to measure response time.
Association of Corporate Travel Executives president Greeley Koch, in ACTE's latest statement supporting the concept of a traveler redress system, again raised concerns about response time. "The Traveler Redress Inquiry Program must work considerably faster than the 30 days (minimum time) previously cited to get off the No-Fly list. Ideally, the process should take less than a day," Koch said in a letter to DHS.
ACTE also said a successful rectification of a false positive should apply to all government travel-security-related databases, including those used by Registered Traveler programs. DHS in a statement said, "The information received will be shared with applicable DHS component agencies, such as the Transportation Security Administration and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, as well as with the Department of State and when appropriate with airport and airline operators."
The National Business Travel Association last month announced its support of the DHS plan
(BTN, Feb. 5).