Travelling to the USA after Oct 2007 - TravelPUNK Backpacker College Student Budget Travel Message Boards!

**BelfastFlyer** · 05-06-2007, 10:09 AM

Hey guys,
Just heard a shocking rumour - If you don't hold a biometric passport come October 2007 you will have to apply for a visa when going to the USA?!

This can't be true... I don't want to have to apply for a new passport (trying to fill this one, plus it's £66 I don't have!) but I don't want to have to stop going to the USA for the next 4 years either!

lemlern · 05-06-2007, 10:38 AM

Alas, the rumor is true!

Important Notice:
International travelers, who are nationals of Visa Waiver Program (VWP) countries, seeking to travel to the United States without a visa, should review this important information on passport requirements for travelers under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP). All VWP travelers, regardless of age or type of passport used, must present individual machine -readable passports. Previous one-time exemptions for first-time VWP travelers without MRPs ended June 26, 2005. In addition, depending on when VWP travelers’ passports were issued, other passport requirements apply:

Machine-readable passports issued or renewed/extended on or after 10/26/06 – requires integrated chip with information from the data page ( e-Passport ).
Machine-readable passports issued or renewed/extended between 10/26/05 and 10/25/06 – requires digital photograph printed on the data page or integrated chip with information from the data page.
Machine-readable passports issued or renewed/extended before 10/26/05 – no further requirements.
Temporary, emergency, official and diplomatic passports are exempted from biometric digital photo and chip requirements, but must be machine-readable.
Italian, French and Temporary German Passports
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. See Visa Waiver Program on the DHS, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) website for additional information.

http://travel.state.gov/visa/temp/wi...hout_1990.html

**TheJake** · 05-06-2007, 12:35 PM

i hate our country.

**ajb3000** · 05-06-2007, 01:06 PM

This is only for passports issued after the deadline, your current passport will be just fine for travelling on the VWP until you renew it.

xanthuos · 05-06-2007, 07:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ajb3000

This is only for passports issued after the deadline, your current passport will be just fine for travelling on the VWP until you renew it.

Correct.

Quote:

Originally Posted by lemlern

Machine-readable passports issued or renewed/extended before 10/26/05 – no further requirements.

As far as I know, your UK passport should be "machine-readable" and you received it prior to 26/10/05, correct?

The enlarged portion of the image is an example of what qualifies as "machine-readable." It's just that strip of characters that they can run through a scanner to verify the passport information.

**BelfastFlyer** · 05-07-2007, 04:15 AM

thanks guys, crisis diverted! :eek:

redwolfhound · 05-07-2007, 07:43 AM

Hey, Jake...
It's one thing to criticize a country you love, but to say you hate it...what a jerk.
And if you're such a genius, why don't you know the difference between "to" and "too"?

**BelfastFlyer** · 05-07-2007, 08:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by redwolfhound

Hey, Jake...
It's one thing to criticize a country you love, but to say you hate it...what a jerk.
And if you're such a genius, why don't you know the difference between "to" and "too"?

wooo there smokie! I don't think he was insulting his country, IMO it was more a political statement than anything.

**voyd** · 05-07-2007, 10:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lemlern

Machine-readable passports issued or renewed/extended on or after 10/26/06 – requires integrated chip with information from the data page ( e-Passport ).

Ha, I told everyone to get their passports renewed early! Now you have to get ones with 0rwellian chips! Woot!

**space virgin** · 05-07-2007, 02:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by redwolfhound

Hey, Jake...
It's one thing to criticize a country you love, but to say you hate it...what a jerk.
And if you're such a genius, why don't you know the difference between "to" and "too"?

Wow, way to make an entrance with your first (and only) post, mate.

BadAssBen · 05-07-2007, 05:30 PM

wow that sucks! It just seems ridiculous for anyone to want to come here and be put through so many hoops. Security is one thing, but this doesn't sound like anything that will make me feel any safer...

**DC_Jessica** · 05-07-2007, 05:46 PM

Hey Jake! If you hate the States so much, why don't you just move to Guam?? (At least it's unincorporated...

)

But seriously, I'm getting the brain chip implant so that I can continuing traveling in 2010...I'm intrigued by and have a love/hate relationship with dystopic media (1984, Children of Men, Demolition Man!!!, etc...) but when I see how THICK the incredibly technological cover to my new passport is, I get chills!!

**Dig** · 05-08-2007, 06:29 AM

That is seriously stupid to require "readable" passports by a certain time. Passports expire after 10 years anyways. Just don't accept any EXPIRED passports ... duh. The man has to make it difficult though.

Redwolfhound - why don't you butt out. First post and you start flaming someone.. huh, what an intro.

**marc873** · 05-08-2007, 07:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by redwolfhound

Hey, Jake...
It's one thing to criticize a country you love, but to say you hate it...what a jerk.
And if you're such a genius, why don't you know the difference between "to" and "too"?

Hey man, you can't even spell Arizona in your info bar. Very interesting first post from you. I will be curious to see how welcome you become here.

lemlern · 05-08-2007, 10:55 AM

Man, I think people just join forums to cause problems. I am sure we won't be hearing from him again. I definitely would not take travel tips from someone so narrow minded.

xanthuos · 05-08-2007, 05:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by redwolfhound

And if you're such a genius, why don't you know the difference between "to" and "too"?

The fact that the joke went way over your head makes it that much funnier.

xanthuos · 05-08-2007, 05:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by voyd

Ha, I told everyone to get their passports renewed early! Now you have to get ones with 0rwellian chips! Woot!

Exactly why I'm so happy I got mine renewed in 2004...

**worldwidemike** · 05-08-2007, 06:03 PM

Actually, I've called Jake and Red's shared state (the irony!) "Arid-zona," too. I think it's kind of a funny pun on its climate. I salute Jake for showing restraint in not firing back, and caution Red to keep it cool. We're here to talk about travel and not debate our love or otherwise of our respective countries' policies.

Move to Guam...hee-hee...

worldwidemike

**TheJake** · 05-08-2007, 06:18 PM

I can't say that I would not have fired back if I had read this thread earlier!

Wow! Who knew this was going on! Ha! I love it.

DC_Jessica - FINE! I will!
Xanthuos - Thanks for pointing that out. I am glad someone got the joke.
Everyone else excluding Red - Thanks!

Red - Welcome to tpunk! I hope you don't misconstrue my statement. I love this country of ours. It's beautiful and full of great people. What I meant by my statement was our government and all the smoke and mirrors that they make us walk through while jumping through hoops to create an illusion of security. I work at Sky Harbor and I go through it every single day. It's all ridiculous and it's all a joke. I can't even imagine how many other idiotic things are going on at even higher levels of security then the basic TSA man. It's been my experience that Stupidity starts at the top and works it's way down and that's what is happening in our government.

So while I do love our country and all the beautiful sites I have seen in it, I am very unhappy and pissed off with the current state of affairs. On top of that you have places like Phoenix. Dirty, disgusting and ugly. "An ugly oasis in the middle of a beautiful wasteland." as ole Ed Abbey put it. Living in Arid-zona has made me more cynical than I care to realize.

But like I said, Welcome to tpunk. Hope we can help in your travels.

**LiveFreeorDie** · 05-08-2007, 07:19 PM

Quote:

but when I see how THICK the incredibly technological cover to my new passport is, I get chills!!

If you fold the cover flat on the floor or a counter top and smash it fairly thoroughly with a hammer, the chip will not function. You are not required to replace a passport with a malfunctioning chip so the easiest thing is to break it.

Me - I just happened to need a renewal last year, before the chips came out. Woo hoo!