Visa Waiver Program Countries Must Request Postponement of New Passport Rules

September 11, 2003

Visa Waiver Program Countries Must Request Postponement of New Passport Rules
The decision to postpone the date that the United States will require machine-readable passports of travelers from Visa Waiver Program countries is not final, contrary to reports published earlier this week.

According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, the authority to postpone the implementation of the new passport rule rests on Secretary of State Colin Powell. To assist Powell in making the decision, the Visa Waiver Program countries are being asked to send a Diplomatic Note to the State Department requesting the postponement and acknowledging that the waiver, which will expire Oct. 26, 2004, will be granted only once.

Any country requesting the postponement must certify that it is making progress toward ensuring that machine-readable passports are available to its citizens and that it has taken appropriate measures to protect against misuse of its non-machine-readable passports.

The final decision to officially delay enforcement of the new passport rules is expected to come "in the near term," according to the Department of Commerce.