The following article has been brought to our attention regarding rules that have now been put in place by the USA. If you have any concerns, please check DIRECTLY with your Country's government agency to see if this may apply to you, BEFORE YOU TRAVEL TO WASHINGTON, DC. "New Passport Rule for Incoming Int'l Attendees Begins" "As of Monday, October 25, visitors entering the United States under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) must have machine-readable passports, or the traveler must apply for a visa to enter the country, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said. But immigration officers will offer non-compliant travelers from 22 VWP countries a one-time exemption from the requirement and admit them to the United States, DHS added. Border officers will make note of the exemption on the passport and inform the travelers of their need for the updated passport or a visa. On subsequent visits, if travelers do not have a machine-readable passport or a visa, they could be refused entry. "These interim procedures will allow U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers to effectively enforce the law and exercise discretion when appropriate," said DHS official Asa Hutchinson. "These are prudent steps to ease travelers into these new documentation requirements." The 22 countries are: Austria, Australia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. On the other hand, "We have concerns about some European countries which have not been issuing machine-readable passports for very long and the impact it may have on those customers who fly to America from mainland Europe via London," says Jim Forster, British Airways' government and industry affairs manager." _______________________________________________ IETF-Announce@ietf.org https://www1.ietf.org/mailman/listinfo/ietf-announce
