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June 9, 2005
Machine Readable Passport Required for Visa Waiver Countries
Effective June 26, 2005, all travelers from the 27 Visa Waiver Program
(VWP) countries must have a machine-readable passport to enter the United
States without a visa. The original date of October 1, 2003 as set forth
by the Immigration and Nationality Act, was postponed to October 1, 2004
to accommodate 23 of the 27 countries. Officials warn however, that strict
enforcement will begin on June 26, 2005. Machine-readable passports include
two optical-character, typeface lines at the bottom of the biographic page
of the passport that confirms the identity of the passport holder quickly.
The Visa Waiver Program (VWP) under certain circumstances, enables nationals
of the following countries to travel to the United States for tourism or
business for stays of 90 days or less without obtaining a visa: Andorra,
Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany,
Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands,
New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden,
Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.
For further information on the Visa Waiver program and the machine-readable
passport requirement, please refer to the DHS and State Department press
releases.
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