U.S. CUSTOMS WANTS MORE COUNTRIES TO PERFORM WITH ELVIS

U.S. CUSTOMS WANTS MORE COUNTRIES TO PERFORM WITH ELVIS

   U.S. Customs has asked more countries to participate in its Electronic Visa Information System (ELVIS).

   The textile visa is an endorsement in the form of a stamp issued by a foreign government and is used by U.S. Customs to verify the origin country and to tally imports against official quotas.

   Twelve countries participate in ELVIS. They are Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand.

   U.S. Customs said the ELVIS reduces the number of data discrepancies between the U.S. import information and the participating country’s export information. The system’s transmissions are matched with the information sent to U.S. Customs by the customs brokers.

   “Information in the entry/entry summary package is compared to the critical elements is compared to the critical elements of the electronic transmission,” the agency said. “If key data elements agree, the merchandise is released and the appropriate quota levels charged.”

   U.S. Customs also said the use of the ELVIS deters fraudulent visas by tracking amounts released per visa and alerting Customs officers to possible inconsistencies.