New rule for Visa Waiver program for USA

[Caribbean_guy]

EL GOBIERNO DE ESTADOS UNIDOS CAMBIA LOS REQUISITOS DE ENTRADA
PARA LOS CIUDADANOS DE LOS PAÍSES HASTA AHORA EXENTOS DE VISADO.
Iberia no podrá aceptar al transporte a aquellas personas que no cumplan estos nuevos requisitos establecidos por el Gobierno de los Estados Unidos de América.

El Gobierno de Estados Unidos ha introducido un nuevo requisito para la aplicación del Programa de Exención de Visado (Visa Waiver Program). A partir del 1 de octubre de 2003, los viajeros nacionales de los países acogidos a este programa necesitan disponer del nuevo Pasaporte Legible de forma Mecánica (en inglés Machine Readable Passport - MRP) para la exención de visado de entrada en Estados Unidos. En su defecto, será imprescindible que estén en posesión del Visado de No Inmigrante. Para los ciudadanos de Bélgica, esta obligación es efectiva desde el 15 de mayo de 2003.

Este nuevo pasaporte incorpora mecanismos de identificación personal más precisos. Por esta razón, los nuevos pasaportes han de ser individuales, no siendo válidos los pasaportes familiares. El resto de las normas de inmigración sobre el programa de exención de visados, siguen siendo aplicables.

El Programa de Exención de Visado (en inglés Visa Waiver Program - VWP), permite a los nacionales de ciertos países viajar o estar en tránsito por Estados Unidos y Puerto Rico con el pasaporte en vigor y sin necesidad de visado. Este programa es aplicable para viajes de turismo o de negocios con estancias inferiores a 90 días. Los países acogidos a este programa, entre los que se encuentra España, son los que figuran a continuación:


Los 27 países del Visa Waiver Program son los siguientes:
Alemania Andorra Austria Australia
Bélgica Brunei Dinamarca Eslovenia
España Finlandia Francia Holanda
Islandia Irlanda Italia Japón
Liechtenstein Luxemburgo Mónaco Nueva Zelanda
Noruega Portugal San Marino Singapur
Suecia Suiza Reino Unido

Si es usted nacional de alguno de los países indicados en el cuadro anterior y el propósito de su viaje a Estados Unidos es turismo o negocios, con estancia inferior a 90 días, deberá comprobar que su pasaporte cumple con los nuevos requisitos (es Legible de forma Mecánica) o, en su defecto, dispone de Visado de No Inmigrante válido. Para confirmar la validez de su pasaporte, le rogamos consulte con las Autoridades de expedición de pasaportes de su país o la embajada de Estados Unidos.

Iberia no podrá aceptar al transporte a aquellas personas que no cumplan estos nuevos requisitos establecidos por el Gobierno norteamericano.

[goatfarmnga]

I Better get good at Spanish QUICK Pam

[Pib]

My husband got this notice from his consulate:

"We have been informed by our Embassy in Mexico that as of October 1, 2003 all Danish citizens that do not have the new EU-type 'machine-readable passport' will need a visa to travel to the United States of America."

Substitute "Danish citizen" for "citizen of any of the following countries": Germany, Andorra, Austria, Australia, Belgium, Brunei, Denmark, Slovenia, Spain, Finland, France, Holland, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Singapur, Switzerland, Sweden and United Kingdom.

[goatfarmnga]

My passport will be new so I should be OK. Thanks PIB...By the way I just went to your website! Very nice and good info..I can not cook.. Pam

[Ken]

There was something on this on CNN tonight. Through the increased security efforts being initiated as a result of 9/11, thousands and thousands of counterfit documents have been taken from people trying to enter the US. They also stopped several hundred people trying to get in on a student visa because the college or university they were purportedly attending had no record of them. And a number of commercial airline pilots have been barred from flying in US airspace because their names appear on various watch lists. Also of conccern is the fact that California just became the 23rd state to allow aliens to get US drivers licenses, which means that document can no longer be used as proof of citizinship.

Consequently, it may be necessary for all US citizens to have a passport, and foreigners wishing to enter must have a machine-readable passport from their country, since this type of passport is least likely to be forged. Because of delays in making these passports available, the US State Dept has extended the deadline for a year.

The visa that Pib is speaking of is apparently what is being required in the interim.

[Peter & Alex]

I think that you'll find that even if you have a new UK EEC style passport which was issued overseas and not in the UK, then it will not be machine readable?

[owdumlad]

My U.K. passport was issued in Ottawa , Canada and is machine readable. So any limeys in Canada you are ok

[Formosano2000]

Originally posted by Pib
My husband got this notice from his consulate:

"We have been informed by our Embassy in Mexico that as of October 1, 2003 all Danish citizens that do not have the new EU-type 'machine-readable passport' will need a visa to travel to the United States of America."

Substitute "Danish citizen" for "citizen of any of the following countries": Germany, Andorra, Austria, Australia, Belgium, Brunei, Denmark, Slovenia, Spain, Finland, France, Holland, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Singapur, Switzerland, Sweden and United Kingdom.

Bush has pushed back the enforcement date until at least Oct/2004, because he realized no country can comply with his demand in time. And the fact is, the US economy will suffer if people are barred from entry purely for not having machine-readable passports.

According to NY Times:

-------------

WASHINGTON, Sept. 8 — The Bush administration has decided to postpone enforcement of new antiterrorism regulations that had threatened to block millions of Western Europeans and citizens of other developed nations from traveling to the United States unless they obtained new, computer-coded passports, senior administration officials said today.

They said the new passport rules, which were supposed to take effect on Oct. 1 and which were mandated by Congress as an antiterrorism measure, will not be enforced until October 2004.

------------

The full article can be foudn at:

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/09/politics/09PASS.html

[malagajohnbhoy]

apparently there is a new model of machine readable passports with a digital photograph incorporated. probably be best if we all checked with whoever issued our `passports - i've been told that the current pink eu model is not valid

[tht]

Was told this morning when I called the consulate in Miami it's a possibility for an extension till Oct. 26, but the Dep. of State's website still has Oct 1. as the date.

http://travel.state.gov/vwp.html#4