The United States has eased its deadline for all European countries to begin issuing biometric passports to their citizens by December 2005.  This is difficult because biometric technology is not ready for mass production, so machine-readable travel documents will be acceptable.

21 countries are on the Visa Waiver Program, which allows their citizens to enter the United States for short periods without obtaining a visa at an American consulate overseas.  All European Union states except Belgium have introduced the standard.

*****

U.S. Senator John Kyl (R-Arizona) wrote in a weekly column he distributes to statewide media that Congress should not consider any legislation that would legalize undocumented immigrants or allow foreigners to enter the country as guest workers until the federal government enforces the laws that have already been set forth.

Three Arizona republicans, Senator John McCain and Representatives Jim Kolbe and Jeff Flake, are currently backing passage of their Border Security and Immigration Reform Act, which would create a nationwide guest worker program. Many undocumented immigrants would get the chance to become legal residents if the legislation passes.  The purpose of the McCain-Kolbe-Flake bill is to reduce migrant deaths on the US-Mexican border, fill low-skill labor needs of businesses nationwide and include national security.

*****

A federal pilot program has been installed that will provide free services such as orientation sessions and citizenship preparatory classes and host families for newcomers to the United States.  By March, up to five cities will be selected to participate in the pilot program.  If successful, it could be rolled out nationwide within four years.  The program’s goal is to soften the image of federal immigration agencies.

*****

Inspectors are instructed to ignore OI 214.2(b)(1) and question business visitors about their source of compensation, whether their services are part of the U.S. labor market and if the services help the U.S. entity.  This is according to a Western Region Field guidance memo that is undated however believed to have been issued in 2000.

*****

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services celebrated the 212^th anniversary of the Bill of Rights by welcoming new Americans from 35 different countries at a naturalization ceremony.  The ceremony took place in the Rotunda for the Charters of Freedom Room in the National Archives and Research Building, which contains the original Bill of Rights, U.S. Constitution and Declaration of Independence.

*****

The visa counter is a major obstacle is keeping U.S. products out of China.  Delays in issuing visas have held up many Chinese business delegations heading to the United States as applications submitted in China make their way through new security checks in Washington.

New visa guidelines state that applicants whose business interests relate to sensitive technology must have their names cleared by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security before a visa is issued.

To help smooth visa approvals, U.S. embassy visa officers are urging companies to plan travel schedules far in advance and provide detailed lists of equipment that customers may want to buy as well as the research background of Chinese executives.

*****

The US-VISIT program integrates and enhances the capabilities of existing systems such as the Arrival and Departure Information System (ADIS) and the Enforcement Operational Immigration Records (ENFORCE/IDENT) system.  This week, the Department of Homeland Security announced that portions of these two systems will be used to support US-VISIT to record information relating to the arrival and departure of both immigrants and nonimmigrants to and from the US by collecting biometric and biographic data.

*****

Security clearances under the Visa Mantis program, the security clearance based on a person’s field of work, will now be valid for twelve months.  Visas issued to Chinese or Russian nationals must be issued as single entry visas valid for not more than three months.