UK visitors to USA will be fingerprinted

Visitors to the United States from some 27 countries, including the UK, are to be fingerprinted and photographed as part of the fight against terrorism. As reported by News From Abroad, US authorities has originally planned to insist all visitors to the country carried a passport carrying biometric data if they were to avoid having to apply for a visa – but many countries said they were unlikely to be able to issue such passports before summer 2005. The Departments of State and Homeland Security are requesting a two-year extension to allow the international community adequate time to resolve problems and develop viable programs for producing a more secure, biometrically enabled passport. The new plan is to allow citizens from the 27 countries – described by the BBC News website as “America’s closest allies” – to visit without a visa, as long as they are fingerprinted and photographed on arrival. A spokesman is quoted as saying: “We recognise that the visa waver country travellers are among our best allies, friends and international guests. We are doing all we can to make sure the security measures cause minimal inconvenience.” The new regime is expected to be introduced by 30 September. Report by Tim Gillett, News From Abroad