USA entry - passports
From 26 June 2005 (extended from 26 October 2004), only travellers with machine readable passports will be able to enter the USA without a visa. A machine readable passport (MRP) has 2 lines of characters across the bottom of the photograph page. All current passports which were issued in the UK are machine readable (the Passport Office says). Some passports issued by British consular posts abroad have a blank space instead of these characters and are not machine readable. Children whose names are included on an adults passport, even if that passport is machine readable, will need visas to enter the USA. More information on the website http://www.ukpa.gov.uk/.
New Passport Requirements from 26 October 2005
The additional passport requirements which will come into effect on October 26, 2005, will affect only those Visa Waiver Programme (VWP) travellers whose passports are issued on or after October 26, 2005. If your passport is issued before this date, you need only be concerned that it is machine-readable. Passports issued on or after October 26, 2005, must include a biometric identifier based on applicable standards established by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). The US Department of Homeland Security has announced that from October 26, 2005, a digital photograph of the passport holder's face printed on the data page of the passport will be the acceptable standard. Passports issued on or after October 26, 2006, must also include an integrated circuit chip capable of storing the biographic information from the data page, a digitized photograph and other biometric information. Many VWP countries already produce such passports and we believe that these include UK passports, although the Passport Office staff don't want to commit themselves yet (10th August 2005) in case they give misleading advice. See the US Embassy Website for full information.Reviewed February 2007