immigration

[CRISSY61]

Can anyone tell me about changes being made re going through immigration in USA? I have read in the paper recently that very shortly fingerprints will be scanned on arrival & that a machine readable passport is required. How do I know if my passport will be ok? It was issued in 1997.

 

[Tony Bush]

As of end of September all visitors on the Visa Waiver program will have to have a digital photo taken and an electronic scan of their fingerprint on arrival in the US.

After October 26th all passports must be machine readable or you will have to apply for a full visa before travelling.

My passport was issued in 1995 and is machine readable. To tell - it will be a red passport and on the last page which contains your photo at the bottom will be two lines of info containig lots of '<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<' symbols plus your name and passport number etc.

If yours was issued in 1997 you should be fine.


Any problems just look at either www.passport.gov.uk of the US embassy site www.usembassy.org.uk and look for the visa / visa waiver info.


Tony

 

[AndRu]

And you need a VISA from the US Embassy if you have any kind of conviction (barring speeding penalty points) - not that you'll have one!

I'm all for tighter security for all our safety but I get the feeling that we as tourists are becoming a kind of menace to them and thats sad I love America, the life, the outlook, the country and most of all, the people its a shame that immigration is becoming such a thorny issue. Even though my wife, my children or I have anything to fear, I have to admit to being worried about our next trip to the US and what might happen if there is an 'administration error'.

As for having to have your photgraph taken on entry to the US - we couldn't get our 5 year old to have his picture taken at Sea World to get a free second days entrance to the park. If we can't get him to have his photo taken at somewhere as nice as SW, how are we going to get him to have his picture taken and finger prints done by a gun totting security guard in a hot airport after a 9 hour flight?

The more I think about it, the more I dread it.

 

[Tron[ADS]]

Originally posted by AndRu
As for having to have your photgraph taken on entry to the US - we couldn't get our 5 year old to have his picture taken at Sea World to get a free second days entrance to the park. If we can't get him to have his photo taken at somewhere as nice as SW, how are we going to get him to have his picture taken and finger prints done by a gun totting security guard in a hot airport after a 9 hour flight?

The more I think about it, the more I dread it.

I have exactly the same worry with my 3.5 year old who goes through phases where she just doesnt want to be photo'd....its just going to be a nightmare....still, no-one says they have to be smiling.

 

[AndRu]

My wife suggested this morning that we sneak one of my sons favorite teddies into our hand luggage. The purpose being to get it out when we reach immigration and use it as a persuasive tool to get my son to have his photo taken. You know the score:

Teddy says please be a good boy and have your photo taken etc etc.

Hopefully, the nice suprise of seeing a toy he thought had been left at home and some soft talking will do the trick. Might be an idea for you Tron? Anyway, good luck!

 

[AndRu]

I've just noticed this update by Virgin and it seems that those under 14 won't need to have their photos / fingerprints done.

What happens if I don’t want to have my fingerprints or photograph taken?
It is a requirement of US law that visitors aged 14 to 70 have their fingerprints and photograph taken. If you don’t want to comply with this requirement, you will not be permitted to enter the US.

So it looks like our kids are in the clear!

 

[wils]

That's a relief - no posing a tired grumpy 2 year old then. Will just have to try not to look suspicious myself!

Jo

 

[T16GEM]

this worries me too. one year when we were waiting in the line to go through imigration two guards came over and removed DFIL from the line and told the rest of us to wait at the side until he returned. We all were very worried, and then after about 20 minutes he came back and they escorted us directly to the front of the line, it turned out that DFIL looked like a criminal that they were after and they thought that it was him, so they took him out of line to see if it was.

Luckiliy DFIL wasn't the criminal and they let him go!

Still very scary though!!!!

 

[Cochise]

I think i am gonna have to check if the police still hold my youth antics on file.