As
of June 26, 2005, Visa
Waiver Program (VWP) travelers without Machine Readable
Passports (MRPs) (or a valid visa) may be denied entry to
the United States. All VWP travelers are urged to obtain machine-readable
passports (or visas) prior to travel to the United States.
In the interest of facilitating travel, since October 26,
2004, the Department of Homeland Security's Customs and Border
Protection Bureau (CBP) had given officials at ports of entry
the discretionary authority to grant one-time exemptions on
a case-by-case basis to VWP travelers without a visa or MRP.
DHS ended this exemption policy and began full enforcement
of machine-readable passport requirements on June 26, 2005.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced in June
2005 that MRPs issued after October 26, 2005 to VWP
citizens must include a digital photo in order to be valid
for VWP travel to the U.S. Travelers whose passports do not
meet this biometric requirement will need to obtain a valid
U.S. visa for admission into the United States. This requirement
does NOT pertain to temporary, emergency, official and diplomatic
passports. VWP travelers with MRPs issued before October 26,
2005 do not need to obtain new passports or visas in order
to travel to the United States. Those MRPs will be valid for
VWP travel until they expire.
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