DHS on Strengthening Travel Security with E-Passports

For Immediate Release
DHS Press Office
Contact: 202-282-8010

WASHINGTON—Effective today DHS  will begin to require the use of more electronic passports, or e-Passports, by all travelers coming to the United States from the 38 countries that participate in our Visa Waiver Program.

An e-Passport contains the security feature of an electronic chip, which holds all of a passenger’s including name, date of birth and other biographical information.  This not only protects privacy and prevents identity theft, but also helps to safely identify a passenger, making travel safer and faster.

Last August, DHS announced that the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of State would introduce additional or revised security criteria for countries in  Visa Waiver Program, including the use of e-Passports for all travelers coming to the U.S.  With the passage late last year of the Visa Waiver Program Improvement and Terrorist Travel Prevention Act¸ Congress has mandated that, effective today, all travelers from Visa Waiver countries to the U.S. must have an e-Passport.  Travelers who do not have an e-Passport from a Visa Waiver country must obtain a visa to come the U.S.   

Visa Waiver Program remains a valuable program for lawful trade and travel with Nation’s most trusted partners, and DHS committed to ensuring that it is a secure program as well. The required use of e-Passports is the latest in a series of recent actions that DHS have taken to strengthen the security of the Program.  In the last two years, DHS have also increased the data collected from travelers from Visa Waiver countries for vetting purposes, and have required increased terrorism and criminal information sharing and increased cooperation on the screening of refugees and asylum seekers with countries in the Visa Waiver Program.