The Visa Waiver Program (VWP) permits citizens of participating countries to travel to the United States for business or tourism for stays of up to 90 days without a visa.
Travel under the Visa Waiver Program is restricted to travelers possessing passports with specified security features. Visa Waiver Program requirements are:
- The passport must have a machine-readable zone on the biographic page
- The passport must be an electronic passport with a digital chip containing biometric information about the passport owner.
As of April 1, 2016, all travelers must have an e-passport to use the VWP. An e-Passport, denoted by the symbol , is an enhanced secure passport with an embedded electronic chip. E-Passports are issued by the proper passport issuing authority and must meet international standards for securing and storing information corresponding to the passport and bearer.
More information can be found on CBP.gov.
All Visa Waiver Program countries must issue passports with a digital photograph printed on the data page or their citizens will be required to obtain a visa to travel to the United States. A digital photograph is one that is printed on the page as opposed to a photograph that is glued or laminated into the passport. It looks like the image to the right.
If your passport does not have this feature, you can still travel without a visa if:
- You are a citizen of a country that joined the Visa Waiver Program prior to 2008 and possess a valid passport containing a machine-readable zone issued before October 26, 2005, or
- You have an “e-Passport,” which includes an integrated computer chip capable of storing biographic information from the data page, a digital photograph, and other biometric information.
If you were issued a passport on or after October 26, 2005 and it does not meet the aforementioned requirements, you will need to obtain a visa.
All Visa Waiver Program countries must issue passports with a machine-readable zone. A machine-readable passport has two lines of text as letters, numbers and chevrons (<<<) at the bottom of the personal information page, along with the bearer’s picture. It looks like the image below.
If your passport does not have this feature, you have two options:
- Obtain a qualifying, new passport if your country of nationality is producing one, or
- Obtain a visa.
Please contact your passport-issuing agency or your country's embassy if you have questions about your country’s production of a qualifying e-Passport.