TRANSIT WITHOUT VISA SUSPENDED

The Office of Homeland Security suspended the Transit Without Visa (TWOV) program August 03, 2003. TWOV was a convenience that allowed foreign nationals to stop in the United States en route to a third country, wait in a secure area and then board a continuing or new flight without having to get a U.S. visa. The Bureau of Customs and Border Protection will no longer permit this practice without a visa unless another valid visa applies.

NEW PASSPORT RULES FOR PASSENGERS TRAVELING TO THE U.S.

New Visa Waiver Program Has Tighter Requirements

Effective Oct. 1, all citizens from 27 countries participating in a new visa waiver program must present a machine-readable passport upon arrival at their port of entry into the United States. The machine-readable passports have coded data on the photo page, and all participating countries now are issuing the new type of passport. Airline agents will ensure that passengers have the correct documentation before they can be checked in for a flight.

Also effective with the new policy, passengers without machine-readable passports no longer will be able to take advantage of the visa waiver program. Nationals of a visa waiver-eligible country who do not yet have a machine-readable passport should either obtain one or apply for a visa from the U.S. Consulate in their country of residence or country of nationality prior to travel.

In addition, all children, including babies, must have their own machine-readable passport and can no longer be included on one of their parents' passports for entry into the United States under the visa waiver program.

Countries participating in the visa waiver program include:
AndorraFrance LuxembourgSingapore
AustraliaGermanyMonacoSlovenia
AustriaIcelandNetherlandsSpain
BelgiumIrelandNew ZealandSweden
BruneiItalyNorwaySwitzerland
DenmarkJapanPortugalUnited Kingdom
FinlandLiechtensteinSan Marino 

Information regarding the new visa policy and procedures can be found at the Department of State's Visa Services Web site, http://www.unitedstatesvisas.gov or on the State Department's Web site for travelers at: http://travel.state.gov/vwp


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