Visa Waiver

General Information

Effective October 26, 2004, Travelers from Visa Waiver Program countries must present either a machine-readable passport or a valid U.S. visa.

Visa waiver travelers from all 27 Visa Waiver Program countries must present either a machine-readable passport or a valid U.S. visa. This new requirement comes into effect on October 26, 2004. Travelers with a valid U.S. visa will not be required to have machine-readable passports.

In addition, as of September 30, 2004, all VWP travelers arriving at a U.S. port of entry, will be required to enroll in US-VISIT, a program involving a digital photograph and fingerscans. In a related item, President Bush signed into law a one-year extension for the date countries are required to produce biometric passports in order to remain eligible for the Visa Waiver Program, delaying the requirement until October 2005.

• For complete information on U.S. visa requirements, including studying, doing business or just visiting, click here: http://www.unitedstatesvisas.gov/
• To read the complete State Department announcement/statement on Biometric Passports, click here: http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2004/35066.htm
• For a complete list of Visa Waiver Countries, click here: http://travel.state.gov/visa/tempvisitors_novisa_waiver.html#2
• To visit the U.S. Consular homepage, click here: http://travel.state.gov/

Related Items:

• Implementation of Biometric Passports Extended to 2005
• Visa Waiver Program
• What is a machine-readable passport
• US-VISIT
  
  
• Some Visitors to United States Need New Passports by October
  Implementation of Biometric Passports Extended to 2005
• Immigration and Migration