According to new policies of the Department of State (DOS) and Homeland Security (DHS) departments, all citizens of countries participating in the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) who wish to enter the country visa-free must present a passport with certain security features based on the date which the passport was issued:
- If a passport from a VWP country was issued before Octobert 26, 2005, it must be machine readable.
- If a passport from a VWP country was issued between October 26, 2005 and October 25, 2006, it is required to have digital photograph printed on the data page or integrated chip with information from the data page.
- If a passport from a VWP country was issued after October 25, 2006, it must have a chip with information from the data page.
Temporary, emergency, official and diplomatic passports are exempted from biometric digital photo and chip requirements, but must be machine-readable.
If a traveler cannot meet all of the requirements, he/she must obtain a visa for entry to the United States, and cannot travel without a visa on VWP.
27 countries participate in the VWP: 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.
In November of 2006, President Bush announced plans to expand the VWP. In order to be considered for the program, countries must be able to prove that only a small percentage of their travelers to the United States overstay their visas or have their visas rejected when they are applied for.
The United States is continuing work on its e-Passport program. The e-Passports contain the holders’ biographic information and a biometric identifier, in this case a digital photograph, embedded in a contactless chip that set in the passport. However many are concerned that the chip, which uses radio frequency idenification (RFID) technology, will be vulnerable to data theft through the use of unauthorized chip readers.
In 2006, the Department of Homeland Security announced plans for the creation of a Passport Card. The Passport Card (also referred to as the PASS Card) is a limited-use passport in card format is currently under development and will be available for use for travel only via land or sea (including ferries) between the U.S. and Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Bermuda. Similar in size to a credit card, it will fit easily into a wallet.
In 2004, international visitors to the United States spent $93.7 billion in the country. This does not include the billions of dollars in business transactions conducted by internationals business travelers to the United States. International travel means jobs for thousands of Americans. However, the cases of Zacarias Moussaoui and Richard Reid highlight the fact that terrorists from “friendly nations” are trying to enter the country.
NBTA has always believed that national security in vital to the business travel community. The borders must be secure in order to keep those who wish us harm out. NBTA also believe that this security must be balanced with commerce. Business travel brings billions of dollars to the United States economy. Therefore, it is important that border security be designed in such a way to allow the lanes of international commerce to remain open for business.
For additional information, please contact Shane Downey at sdowney@nbta.org.