2003 Media Release

July 17, 2003 -- MACHINE-READABLE PASSPORTS NEEDED BY VISA WAIVER PROGRAM TRAVELERS

Starting October 1, 2003, travelers entering the United States under the Visa Waiver Program must have a machine-readable passport. Any traveler without a machine-readable passport will be required to obtain a visa before coming to the United States.

Immigration inspectors may deny entry to any traveler attempting to enter on a visa-waiver basis without a machine-readable passport after October 1, 2003.

Countries participating in the Visa Waiver Program have long been required to have a program for the issuance of machine-readable passports, but after October 1, 2003, use of such a passport is mandatory for visa-free entry for both adults and children. Citizens of Belgium have been required to present a machine-readable passport for visa-waiver entry since May 15, 2003.

Citizens of Visa Waiver Program countries are permitted to enter the United States for general business or tourist purposes for a maximum of 90 days without needing a visa. 

The 27 countries currently in the Visa Waiver Program are:
Andorra, Australia, Austria, 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.

The Visa Waiver Program requirements can be found at the Department of State's Visa Services web site, http://travel.state.gov/vwp.html.

A machine-readable passport can generally be identified by the presence of two typeface lines printed at the bottom of the biographical page that can be read by machine.  These lines can be scanned at entry and exit points to verify the passport data. The machine-readable passport requirement applies to all categories of passport: regular, official or diplomatic.  If travelers have any doubt about whether a passport qualifies as machine-readable, they should check with their country's passport issuing authority.

A traveler who uses a non-machine-readable passport, even if from a Visa Waiver Program country, will have to apply for a non-immigrant visa at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate.  The worldwide US-visa application fee is US $100.