High-tech passports to debut at SFO

Article Last Updated: 9/28/2006 02:58 AM

High-tech passports to debut at SFO

Computer chips will hold photos, information
By Michele R. Marcucci, STAFF WRITER
Inside Bay Area

San Francisco International Airport is the first in the nation set to accept new passports embedded with computer chips that contain a traveler's photograph and data, federal officials announced Wednesday. The airport, which federal officials said is a test site for the new passports, is one of 33 around the globe that will get the chip-reading machines, which are being put in place during the next few weeks to meet an Oct. 26 deadline mandated by Congress.

Starting on that date, 27 countries whose citizens do not need visas for short-term business and tourist travel to the United States will be required to issue passports that include the chips. The U.S. already has started to issue such passports, said Jarrod Agen, Department of Homeland Security spokesman.

The chip will hold a traveler's photo and the biographical information printed on their passport. It also will have the capability to hold digital fingerprints and iris scans, Agen said. Federal officials claim the new passports will make it tougher for people to travel to the United States using fake documents.

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Foreign travelers who qualify for the visa waiver program and have older passports may need to get a visa under the new rules. The list of visa waiver countries includes much of Europe, Australia and New Zealand, Japan, Singapore and Brunei. The 26 U.S. airports on the list — including San Francisco Airport and Los Angeles International Airport — will handle almost all of the estimated 13 million travelers from those countries. The list also includes airports in Canada, Ireland, Puerto Rico and Guam.

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http://www.insidebayarea.com/ci_4409440

http://www.dhs.gov/interweb/assetlibrary/vwp_travelerguide.pdf

New passports issued on or after October 26, 2006 by Visa Waiver Program countries must be e-Passports which include an integrated computer chip.

Older, but still valid passports issued by Visa Waiver Program countries between October 26, 2005, and October 25, 2006, must include a digital photo that is printed on the page, not a photo that is glued or laminated into the passport.

Older, but still valid passports issued by Visa Waiver Program countries before October 26, 2005, must have a machine-readable zone which is two lines of text as letters, numbers and chevrons at the bottom of the personal information page, along with the bearer’s picture.

control of the US population. New US passports will become National ID Cards.

"Papiere, bitte".