WASHINGTON, (June 27, 2005) — The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is reminding travellers originating from 27 Visa Waiver Program (VWP) countries that, as of yesterday, June 26, 2005, they must have a machine-readable passport to enter the U.S. without a visa.

Machine-readable passports have a sequence of lines that can be swiped by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers to confirm the passport holder’s identity quickly and to obtain other information about the holder.

As of June 26, transportation carriers will be fined $3,300 US per violation, for transporting any VWP traveller to the U.S. without a machine-readable passport. Those travellers arriving in the U.S. on that date without the appropriate passport will not be granted one-time entry into the U.S.

The 27 countries participating in the VWP include: Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.

The machine-readable passport requirements do not affect the separate congressionally mandated deadline requiring VWP country passports issued on or after October 26, 2005, to contain biometrics in order to be used for visa-free travel to the U.S.