U.S. Tweaks Passport Requirement Associated Press Story location: http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,67849,00.html
09:28 AM Jun. 14, 2005 PT WASHINGTON � Acknowledging international concerns, the United States will revamp its biometric passport requirements to make it easier for foreign travelers from friendly nations to enter the country without a visa, The Associated Press has learned. While only 20 percent of Americans hold passports, Homeland Security officials consider making them a requirement for travel. The new passport standards � requiring digital photographs to match with a person's unique physical characteristics by October and an embedded identification chip later � would be similar to international biometric guidelines already in place. The standards take a step back from what the United States initially envisioned for biometric passports, but a Homeland Security Department official said Tuesday they represent an "acceptable milestone for now." The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the standards have not yet been announced, said Homeland Security still plans to require expanded biometric data in passports in the future. But without the revision, visitors from so-called visa-waiver nations that could not meet the stricter standards potentially faced being barred from entering the United States this fall. The Homeland Security official said the department was expected to unveil the new standards soon. Initially, the United States considered requiring fingerprinting or iris identification features in biometric passports, making the documents virtually impossible to counterfeit. A 2002 law required visitors from 27 allied nations that are not required to apply for a U.S. visa to carry the high-tech passports. But the visa-waiver nations, mostly in Europe, failed to meet the October 2004 deadline, prompting U.S. officials to revamp their requirements. The new rules would allow the visa-waiver nations to comply with less stringent biometric guidelines similar to those set in 2003 by a branch of the United Nations. Those guidelines require digital photos and machine-readable chips to store identifying information in passports. The changes would come after months of negotiations between the United States and its international allies, and between the Bush administration and Congress. Visiting Brussels last month, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff reaffirmed the United States' commitment to biometrics as a high-tech approach to security screening "compatible on both sides of the Atlantic." "Right now, in many ways we are using the most primitive kind of screening � meaning we screen for names that match lists of terrorists and criminals," Chertoff said during that trip. "And of course, names are not the best way to identify people. They're certainly not as good as biometrics." Chertoff heads back to Europe this week. The State Department has expanded the hours of its National Passport Information Center to answer questions about passport applications up to 17 hours each day. The center can be reached by calling 877-487-2778. You are a subscribed member of the infowarrior list. Visit www.infowarrior.org for list information or to unsubscribe. This message may be redistributed freely in its entirety. Any and all copyrights appearing in list messages are maintained by their respective owners.
