2005 Press Releases
Machine-Readable Passport Requirements To Take Effect at U.S. Borders on June 26, 2005
Bratislava, May 16, 2005
The Department of Homeland Security has announced that as of June 26, 2005, all persons traveling under the auspices of the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) must present a machine-readable passport (MRP) to travel to the United States without a visa.
Machine-readable passports include two optical-character, typeface lines at the bottom of the biographic page of the passport that, when read, deters fraud and helps confirm the passport holder's identity quickly. A sample image of a machine-readable passport may be found at http://www.travel.state.gov/visa/temp/without/without_1990.html#4
Visa Waiver travelers who do not have a machine-readable passport may also 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 http://www.travel.state.gov and http://www.unitedstatesvisas.gov. Nationals of Visa Waiver Program countries living in Slovakia may apply for a visa at the U.S. Embassy in Bratislava. Complete information on the visa application process is available at http://www.usembassy.sk
Background: Since October 26, 2004 nationals of all 27 of the Visa Waiver Program countries were required to present a machine-readable passport for visa-free travel to the United States. Nationals of Andorra, Brunei, Liechtenstein, and Slovenia have been required to present a machine-readable passport for visa-free travel since October 1, 2003. Belgian nationals traveling under the auspices of the Visa Waiver Program have been required to present a machine-readable passport since May 15, 2003.
For a limited period that started on October 26, 2004, the Department of Homeland Security has provided immigration inspectors at U.S. borders and ports of entry the authority to grant a one-time entry at no charge for Visa Waiver travelers arriving without a machine-readable passport. This limited period will end on June 26, 2005. Starting on that date, transportation carriers will be fined $3,300 per violation for transporting any Visa Waiver traveler to the U.S. without a machine-readable passport. VWP travelers arriving in the United States on or after June 26, 2005 without a machine-readable passport should not anticipate being granted one-time entry into the U.S..
The Department of State has been working closely with Visa Waiver Program countries to communicate information about the machine-readable passport requirement to their citizens. Since October 26, 2004, Department of Homeland Security Customs and Border Protection officers have been notifying Visa Waiver travelers entering the United States with a letter explaining the machine-readable passport requirements.
The machine-readable passport requirements do not affect the separate deadline requiring Visa Waiver Program country passports issued on or after October 26, 2005, to contain biometrics in order to be used for visa-free travel to the United States.