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High-tech Foreign Passports Won’t Be Ready by Deadline During a recent hearing of the House
Judiciary Subcommittee On Immigration, Border Security and Claims, Homeland
Security officials said the United States will not be prepared to read high-tech
passports of foreign visitors this fall. Officials
said the department would not have enough passport readers deployed to every
port of entry by October 26, 2005, even if Congress does not extend the deadline
for certain foreign countries to have the imbedded biometric technology. That date reflects a one-year extension
approved by Congress last year requiring every country participating in the
‘visa waiver’ program to have facial recognition technology imbedded into
passports or other travel documents by this fall. Many of the 27 countries in the program have said they would need another extension to meet the October deadline. The European Union has asked Congress to extend the deadline until August 28, 2006. According to GovExec.com, House Judiciary
Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner, R-WI, has said recently it is unlikely
that Congress would support another extension.
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff is scheduled to meet with
Sensenbrenner next month to discuss the issue. Last year, the department asked for a
two-year extension, and Congress provided one extra year.
Supporters of an extension argue that visa-waiver countries contribute
billions of dollars to the U.S. economy each year. The Visa waiver program allows foreign visitors to travel to
the United States for tourism or business for 90 days or less without obtaining
visas. Disclaimer: This newsletter is provided as a public service and not intended to establish an attorney client relationship. Any reliance on information contained herein is taken at your own risk. |