You Are In: USINFO > Products >Washfile

22 October 2004

United States To Allow One-Time Exemption for New Passports

Homeland Security Department explains machine-readable passport requirement

Effective October 26, nationals of Visa Waiver Program (VWP) countries must have either machine-readable passports (MRPs) or visas in their non-MRP passports in order to enter the United States, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said October 22.

However, DHS also announced that immigration officials are permitted to grant a one-time exemption to this policy and allow travelers from 22 countries entry without MRPs or visas in their passports.

Until October 26, citizens of VWP countries can travel to the United States without visas.

"These interim procedures will allow U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers to effectively enforce the law and exercise discretion when appropriate," said DHS Under Secretary for Border and Transportation Security Asa Hutchinson, announcing the exemption. "These are prudent steps to ease travelers into these new documentation requirements. The United States is a welcoming nation and we do not want to turn people away because they do not possess the newly required passport or a valid non-immigrant visa."

Under the new procedures, when granting the exemption, immigration officials will inform visitors of the machine-readable passport requirement and let visitors know they must obtain a visa or a MRP for subsequent visits.

Travelers can determine if their passports are machine-readable by looking at the bottom of the passports' photo page for two lines that are typeface lines -- they have letters, numbers and hatch marks, according to State Department Consular Affairs spokeswoman Kelly Shannon. Their appearance is similar to the following example:

LINE 1: P COUNTRY LAST NAME << FIRST NAME < MIDDLE NAME <<<<<
LINE 2: PASSPORT NUMBER COUNTRY DOB<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

The lines include the biographical data on the photo page of the passport, she said. "When a [machine-readable] passport is swiped through a machine-reader, the information would come up and it should match up to the biographic page [of the passport]," said Shannon.

"If it does not, then there is obviously going to be concerns that it [the passport] has been fraudulently altered," she said.

The U.S. government first issued a machine-readable passport in 1981. According to Shannon, "Machine-readable passports enhance security on several fronts. They are scanned at entry and exit points to verify integrity of the data. Lost or stolen machine-readable passports are easier to track. They also enable faster processing of travelers at ports of entry."

An estimated 13 million visitors from the VWP nations enter the United States each year. Travelers from the following countries are affected by the requirement for machine-readable passports: Austria, Australia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

Following are a DHS press release and a fact sheet on the machine-readable passport requirement:

(begin text)

U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Press Office
Homeland Security
October 22, 2004

Press Release

DHS Announces Machine-Readable Passport Procedures for Visa Waiver Travelers

Beginning October 26, 2004, officers from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Bureau of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will begin enforcing requirements that travelers applying for admission under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) must be in possession of a machine-readable passport. Following procedures announced today, if, after October 26, 2004, a Visa Waiver Program national presents him or herself for admission to the United States without a machine-readable passport or non-immigrant visa, a CBP officer is permitted to grant a one-time exemption to admit the traveler to the United States. The traveler will be issued a letter explaining the U.S. entry requirements and his or her passport will be annotated that a one-time exemption has been granted.

"These interim procedures will allow U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers to effectively enforce the law and exercise discretion when appropriate," said DHS Under Secretary for Border and Transportation Security Asa Hutchinson. "These are prudent steps to ease travelers into these new documentation requirements. The United States is a welcoming nation and we do not want to turn people away because they do not possess the newly required passport or a valid non-immigrant visa."

When granting the exemption, CBP officers will notify the traveler of the requirement for a machine-readable passport or that they can obtain a non-immigrant visa for subsequent visits. If a traveler fails to obtain a machine-readable passport or a non-immigrant visa for subsequent visits, they may be refused entry under the VWP.

Each VWP applicant must present an individual machine-readable passport. This is a change for family members who have applied for admission under one passport in the past. As announced last year, families must have individual machine-readable passports for everyone, including children. CBP officers can apply the same onetime exemption to families as well.

The new machine-readable document requirement had been scheduled to go into effect last year. Since the U.S. announced it was extending the implementation date from October 1, 2003, until October 26, 2004, VWP countries have been taking steps to issue machine-readable passports and to communicate information about these new requirements to their citizens. To help their citizens comply with the new document requirements, some countries are even offering to issue new machine-readable passports on the spot to their citizens at departure airports.

Through April 25, 2005, U.S. Customs and Border Protection will not impose fines on transportation carriers for transporting VWP travelers from 22 countries to the U.S. without a machine-readable passport. The 22 countries are: Austria, Australia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.

Congress has extended the deadline for the inclusion of biometrics in VWP-country passports until October 26, 2005. This does not affect the current requirements for machine-readable passports. An estimated 13 million visitors from Visa Waiver Countries enter the U.S. each year. Travelers from Visa Waiver Countries are allowed to enter the U.S. for up to 90 days for business or pleasure using only a passport.

[end text]

[begin text]

U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Press Office
Homeland Security
October 22, 2004

Fact Sheet

Machine-Readable Passport Requirement

Effective October 26, 2004, travelers applying for admission under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) pursuant to section 217 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) must be in possession of a machine-readable passport (MRP). As an alternative, travelers may obtain a non-immigrant visa in their current (non-machine-readable) passport.

If, after October 26, 2004, a Visa Waiver Program national presents him or herself for admission to the United States without a machine-readable passport or non-immigrant visa, a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer is permitted to grant a one-time exemption to admit the traveler to the United States. The traveler will be issued a letter explaining the U.S. entry requirements and his or her passport will be annotated that a one-time exemption has been granted. If a traveler fails to obtain a machine-readable passport or a nonimmigrant visa for subsequent visits, she or he may be refused entry under the VWP.

Travelers who receive an exemption and make an incidental trip to Canada, Mexico or the adjacent islands as part of their trip to the United States, should be advised that the exemption is applied for one entry in the U.S. only. Once they leave the United States, they may not be allowed to reenter without an MRP, despite the exemption on their I-94.

A number of factors may impact compliance with this requirement and will be considered regarding one-time exemptions:

-- Although outreach efforts have been made to advise travelers of this requirement, not all visa waiver travelers may be aware or may be confused by the various provisions.

-- Each VWP applicant must now present an individual passport. Some family groups that list minor children on one of the parent's passports may be adversely affected. Families are encouraged to obtain individual machine-readable passports prior to travel.

-- Some countries do not issue official or diplomatic MRPs. Diplomats or Government Officials who are on travel for government business will have a nonimmigrant visa with an "A-1 or A-2" classification and do not qualify for admission under the VWP.

-- Travelers who apply for entry into the U.S. at an airport with a non-machine-readable passport for the purpose of departing on a cruise that makes multiple stops at various U.S. ports may be considered again for a onetime exemption at each successive location during their trip if they can establish continuous travel from the arrival through the period of the cruise and ultimate departure.

For a period of six (6) months beginning October 26, 2004 until April 25, 2005, CBP will not impose a fine on the transportation carriers (under Section 273(a)(1) INA) for bringing to the United States any traveler who is a national of any one of twenty-two (22) designated countries applying for admission under the VWP without an MRP. The 22 countries are: Austria, Australia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.

As of October 1, 2003, nationals of the following four countries were required to present an NW for admission under the VWP: Andorra, Brunei, Liechtenstein, and Slovenia. Effective on that date, transportation carriers were liable for transporting nationals of these countries to the United States for admission under the VWP without an NW. This new procedure will not affect that policy, and CBP will continue to impose a fine in those circumstances.

As of May 16, 2003, nationals of Belgium were required to present an MW for admission under the VWP. Effective on that date, transportation carriers were liable for transporting these persons to the United States for admission under the VWP without an MRP. This new procedure will not affect that policy and CBP will continue to impose a fine in these circumstances.

(end text)

(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)