US Visa question

[slotnicki]

As I wasn't really planning to go to the US, I completely ignored discussions in the news earlier this year about US Visa requirements. Now that we're thinking of going, I just wanted to check that we don't have to get anything extra for a holiday - our passports are 3-5 years old.

TIA

If you're going just now, you'll be okay. just back and we had no probs filling in the waiver forms, but I think that's only for the next few months.

Message withdrawn

The cut off is October (I think the 30th but I'm not sure). Any passports issued after that date you will have to have a visa to go to the US. Mine expires next February, so as soon as I've come back from a short break in Holland in September I've got to renew it (AND get the children separate passports grrh)

Hi,

The good news here is that the deadline for such has been extended by 12 months.

The following is taken from the UK passport issuing website (UKPS).

"US law originally required that travellers under the Visa Waiver Programme carrying passports issued after 26 October 2004 would need to hold biometric passports. The US Senate has endorsed a one-year deferral of this requirement, to October 2005, which will come into effect once the President has signed it into law.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and UK Passport Service (UKPS) welcome this decision, which will now enable British travellers with valid machine-readable passports issued before the new deadline to travel to the US under the Visa Waiver Programme up to, and beyond, October 2005.

The primary biometric identifier approved by the International Civil Aviation Organisation is a facial recognition biometric (which can be derived from a passport photograph). The UKPS and FCO, in collaboration with international partners, (including the US), have a programme of work in place to implement this biometric in British passports from late 2005/early 2006".

Your passports should be machine readable i.e on the very back page there are two lines of data regarding you)and all your children should have separate passports.

HTH

Hawaii

Have you thought about CAT and sending SofiaAmes an email?
She is one of our Colonial Cousins, and a very nice one at that!
She is VERY well informed re visa's etc, so I think she will be able to help.

Sorry! Sofia for suggesting you without asking, but I immediately thought of you as our resident American 'Mom' expert

No problem. Though I think 808state has put it all quite correctly. It's important that your children have their own passports. Also, look up on the american embassy website for a copy of the visa waiver and make sure that you can answer the various questions that could make you potentially inelligible for the visa waiver "correctly." For example if you have a criminal record, are HIV positive, are a terrorist, drug dealer or a journalist you are not eligible for the visa waiver and have to get a visa.