The United States is engaged in extensive outreach and will continue an ongoing effort to make certain that Visa Waiver Program travelers are aware of a requirement effective October 26 that they must possess machine-readable passports in order to enter the country without a visa, according to State Department Spokesman Richard Boucher in a September 13 statement.

Beginning October 26, all travelers from 27 countries participating in the Visa Waiver Program must present either a machine-readable passport or a valid U.S. visa upon entry to the United States.

"We are confident that Visa Waiver travelers will not be deterred or inconvenienced by this change," said Boucher.

Visa waiver countries are:

Andorra, Austria, Australia, Belgium, Brunei, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom (for citizens with the unrestricted right of permanent abode in England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man).

Further information on the visa waiver program is available at http://travel.state.gov/visa/tempvisitors_novisa_waiver.html

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman
September 13, 2004

STATEMENT BY RICHARD BOUCHER, SPOKESMAN

Machine-Readable Passport Requirement

The State Department is continuing its efforts to notify visitors of the new guidelines for entry into the United States. As the October 26 deadline for Visa Waiver Program travelers to possess machine-readable passports approaches, our embassies and consulates have engaged in extensive outreach to make certain that eligible individuals are aware of this requirement. We are confident that Visa Waiver travelers will not be deterred or inconvenienced by this change.

In September 2003, the Secretary granted a postponement until October 26, 2004, as the date by which Visa Waiver Program travelers from 21 countries must present a machine-readable passport at a port of entry to be admitted to the U.S. without a visa. Since the granting of this one-year waiver, the governments of Visa Waiver countries have been working to meet this requirement, and we believe that they have dedicated appropriate resources to ensure that their nationals possess machine-readable passports. In addition, on a case-by-case basis, immigration officers at ports of entry may give a one-time waiver to those carrying non-machine-readable passports.

Nationals of the five countries that did not request -- and therefore did not receive -- a waiver of the machine-readable passport requirement, Andorra, Brunei, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, and Slovenia, have been presenting only machine-readable passports since October 1, 2003.

Belgian nationals who wish to travel under the auspices of the Visa Waiver Program have been required to present a machine-readable passport since May 15, 2003. This requirement was stipulated in the Department of Justice's review of Belgium's continued eligibility to participate in the Visa Waiver Program in February 2003.

In the coming weeks we will continue our on-going effort to make all Visa Waiver travelers aware of the machine-readable passport requirement to avoid any possible disruptions of travel.