Washington -- Deadlines for implementation
of new requirements for travelers from Visa Waiver Program
(VWP) countries are fast approaching, but officials say
they expect the vast majority VWP travelers to “be
in compliance” and able to continue to enter the United
States visa-free.
The VWP enables citizens of 27 countries
to visit the United States for tourism or business for up
to 90 days without obtaining a visa. Fast-approaching are
three dates – June 26, October 26 and October 26,
2006 – when new requirements for the VWP travelers
are scheduled to take effect.
According to recent U.S. Department of Homeland
Security press briefings and documents, the requirements
for travelers wanting to enter the United States without
a visa under the VWP are as follows:
June 26: Travelers from VWP countries must
present passports that are machine-readable for visa-free
entry into the United States.
October 26: Travelers from VWP countries with passports
issued on or after this date must present passports with
a digital photograph; VWP countries are required to produce
passports with digital photographs and present an “acceptable
plan” to issue passports with integrated circuit chips,
or e-passports within one year.
October 26, 2006: Travelers from VWP countries with a passport
issued on or after this date must present a passport with
an integrated circuit chip, also known as e-passport, capable
of storing biographic information from the passport’s
data page, a digitized photograph and other biometric information.
The three requirements stem from legislation passed in 2002
by the U.S. Congress. The Enhanced Border Security and Visa
Entry Reform Act of 2002 (a U.S. law also known as the Border
Security Act) originally required that the government of
each VWP country certify it had a program to produce tamper-resistant,
machine-readable passports that incorporate a biometric
identifier that complies with International Civil Aviation
Organization standards by October 26, 2004. In mid-2004,
Congress extended the deadline one year. The U.S. Department
of Homeland Security, in recent months, has clarified requirements
for continued participation in the VWP.
Announcing that effective June 26 the United
States will enforce a congressionally mandated requirement
that VWP travelers present a machine-readable passport [MRP]
to enter the United States without a visa, Homeland Security’s
acting Assistant Secretary for Border and Transportation
Security Policy Elaine Dezenski explained that most VWP
travelers already have MRPs.
At a May 12 press briefing, Dezenski said
that during the previous six months, an average of about
147 passengers per day from VWP countries have attempted
to enter the United States without a machine-readable passport.
According to Dezenski, this accounts for only about 0.35
percent of the total VWP travelers entering the United States
under the VWP. “So it is a very small percentage,”
she said.
Machine-readable passports include two optical-character,
typeface lines at the bottom of the biographic page of the
passport that, when read, deter fraud and help confirm the
passport holder's identity quickly.
Announcing the October 26 deadline for VWP
countries to produce passports with digital photographs
-- and for travelers from VWP countries with passports issued
on or after that date to present passports with a digital
photograph -- Dezenski stated at a June 15 press briefing:
“We believe that the vast majority of the VWP nations
will be in compliance with the digital photo requirement
by October. Today’s announcement provides us time
to work with all VWP nations to assess their status over
the next several months.”
According to news reports, most of the VWP
countries are already producing passports with the digital
photograph.
“Keep in mind that these requirements
apply to new passports issued after October 26, 2005,”
Dezenski said. “So if your passport is valid as of
October 25th and includes a machine-readable strip, then
it's still valid for travel to the United States after that
October 26, 2005 deadline for the lifetime of the passport,”
she said.
Dezenski stated, “Programs like Visa
Waiver embody our shared goals in facilitating travel, preserving
integrity of our borders, and helping us to stop terrorists
and those who mean us harm.”
“Digital photographs provide more
security against both counterfeiting and other types of
manipulation,” she said. “Digital photographs
can be electronically stored and accessed, which is very
important, and therefore, make it easier to verify whether
the individual presenting the passport is the same person
to whom it was issued.”
“The electronic passport is the path
to secure and streamlined travel among Visa Waiver Program
countries,” said Homeland Security Secretary Michael
Chertoff, in a June 15 press release. “These passport
requirements will maintain and strengthen the integrity
of the Visa Waiver Program in a manner consistent with congressional
intent and international standards.”
Progress on the e-passport is advancing
and live tests have begun with the governments of Australia
and New Zealand, Dezenski said June 15. Airline crews from
these countries have volunteered to use the e-passport when
arriving in Los Angeles and Sydney, Australia, she said.
“This participation will enable DHS to further test
operations, equipment and software needed to read and verify
the information in the e-passport.”
Dezenski also explained that visa-waiver
travelers whose passports do not meet the requirements may
apply for a nonimmigrant visa at a U.S. embassy or consulate
abroad if seeking entry for business or tourist visits to
the United States.
Information on the Visa Waiver Program and
how to apply for a U.S. visa is available at www.travel.state.gov
and www.unitedstatesvisas.gov.
The 27 VWP countries are: 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.
In 2004, approximately 15 million VWP travelers
visited the United States.
Transcripts from Dezenski’s May
12 and June
15 press briefings on the Visa Waiver Program are available
on the State Department’s Foreign Press Center Web
site. The June
15 DHS press release is available on the Homeland Security’s
Web site.
Greg Jones
Washington File Staff Writer
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