U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman
| For Immediate Release 2004/972 |
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.