Timfountain

I have searched everywhere for the answer to this question, and hope
that someone here might have the answer.





The problem

As you may know, as of October next year, all visitors the US entering
from a visa waiver country are required to have a machine readable
passport. So far so good….





My Situation

My wife is French, and was issued her passport last year from the
consulate in London (she had been living in the UK for 12 years). The
consulate have only just discovered electricity and are not in a fit
state to emulate the main French passport office who can and have been
issuing machine readable passports for some time. She now has an L-2
visa in her passport. The goons over at the French consulate in Houston
are insisting she needs a new machine readable passport. My take on it,
after much research, is that this is incorrect as the requirement for a
machine readable passport is only for people entering under the visa
waiver programme. The L2 in her passport has a machine readable section.





The Question

Does anybody know a definitive source of what the correct answer to
this dilemma is? I understand that it is a fairly unique set of
circumstances, so any help would be very much appreciated. I found
this on the web which appears to answer the question, but I want to
make sure!





The Use of Machine Readable Passports for the Visa Waiver Program



Lisa Piascik, Director of Office of Public and Diplomatic Liaison,
Department of State

Foreign Press Center Briefing

Washington, DC

July 18, 2003



{snip}



QUESTION: I have -- I, personally, I have a non-machine-readable
passport because it was issued before Austria joined the European Union
and its validation, it expires in two years. So I couldn't travel with
this passport any more here?

Second question --

MS. PIASCIK: Can I answer your first question first?

QUESTION: No, second -- yeah, second question is in this passport there
is a journalist visa which is machine-readable. So can I enter with --

MS. PIASCIK: Let me backtrack and answer your first question first. The
Visa Waiver Program only covers travel which is considered tourist
or general business travel. It would be equivalent to our B1/B2
visa. Under the terms of the VWP, the traveler can only be coming
for 90 days or less and can't engage in any kind of substantive
work at all.

So the Visa Waiver Program only covers that kind of travel. If you were
coming here on tourism or just for business consultations you could
enter under the Visa Waiver Program now. After October 1st, you would
need a machine-readable passport to do that, and you could do that
without a visa.

However, as a journalist, you're working in the United States. It's not
an area that's covered under the Visa Waiver Program, so you would need
an I visa to do that. And if you need a visa, you don't need a machine-
readable passport to come in to the United States.



{snip}

Ingo Pakleppa - See Web Site For Email

I agree with your conclusion, but recently read on a lawyer's site the
claim that you'd need a machine readable passport before you could get an
H-1B visa. I believe that the lawyer made a mistake, but wanted to mention
that there is conflicting information floating around.

The French consulate in the USA shouldn't be a good source of information,
though; they deal with French laws, not US laws.

On Mon, 27 Oct 2003 20:27:56 +0000, TimFountain wrote:


    > I have searched everywhere for the answer to this question, and hope
    > that someone here might have the answer.
    >
    > The problem
    >
    > As you may know, as of October next year, all visitors the US entering
    > from a visa waiver country are required to have a machine readable
    > passport. So far so good….
    >
    > My Situation
    >
    > My wife is French, and was issued her passport last year from the
    > consulate in London (she had been living in the UK for 12 years). The
    > consulate have only just discovered electricity and are not in a fit
    > state to emulate the main French passport office who can and have been
    > issuing machine readable passports for some time. She now has an L-2
    > visa in her passport. The goons over at the French consulate in Houston
    > are insisting she needs a new machine readable passport. My take on it,
    > after much research, is that this is incorrect as the requirement for a
    > machine readable passport is only for people entering under the visa
    > waiver programme. The L2 in her passport has a machine readable section.
    >
    > The Question
    >
    > Does anybody know a definitive source of what the correct answer to this
    > dilemma is? I understand that it is a fairly unique set of
    > circumstances, so any help would be very much appreciated. I found this
    > on the web which appears to answer the question, but I want to make
    > sure!
    >
    >
    >
    >
    >
    > The Use of Machine Readable Passports for the Visa Waiver Program
    >
    >
    >
    > Lisa Piascik, Director of Office of Public and Diplomatic Liaison,
    > Department of State
    >
    > Foreign Press Center Briefing
    >
    > Washington, DC
    >
    > July 18, 2003
    >
    >
    >
    > {snip}
    >
    >
    >
    > QUESTION: I have -- I, personally, I have a non-machine-readable
    > passport because it was issued before Austria joined the European Union
    > and its validation, it expires in two years. So I couldn't travel with
    > this passport any more here?
    >
    > Second question --
    >
    > MS. PIASCIK: Can I answer your first question first?
    >
    > QUESTION: No, second -- yeah, second question is in this passport there
    > is a journalist visa which is machine-readable. So can I enter with --
    >
    > MS. PIASCIK: Let me backtrack and answer your first question first. The
    > Visa Waiver Program only covers travel which is considered tourist
    > or general business travel. It would be equivalent to our B1/B2
    > visa. Under the terms of the VWP, the traveler can only be coming
    > for 90 days or less and can't engage in any kind of substantive work
    > at all.
    >
    > So the Visa Waiver Program only covers that kind of travel. If you were
    > coming here on tourism or just for business consultations you could
    > enter under the Visa Waiver Program now. After October 1st, you would
    > need a machine-readable passport to do that, and you could do that
    > without a visa.
    >
    > However, as a journalist, you're working in the United States. It's not
    > an area that's covered under the Visa Waiver Program, so you would need
    > an I visa to do that. And if you need a visa, you don't need a machine-
    > readable passport to come in to the United States.
    >
    >
    >
    > {snip}

Jozef

Man, your post really cracked me up! :-)

Anyway, as Ingo said, you're right, your wife doesn't need a new passport.
If the 'goons' over at the French consulate have an Internet connection you
can point them to this page:

http://travel.state.gov/vwp.html

(Note the typo in '...either a machine-readable passport oR a US visa'.)

Good luck!



"TimFountain" <member@british_expats.com> wrote in message
news:...
    > I have searched everywhere for the answer to this question, and hope
    > that someone here might have the answer.
    > The problem
    > As you may know, as of October next year, all visitors the US entering
    > from a visa waiver country are required to have a machine readable
    > passport. So far so good..
    > My Situation
    > My wife is French, and was issued her passport last year from the
    > consulate in London (she had been living in the UK for 12 years). The
    > consulate have only just discovered electricity and are not in a fit
    > state to emulate the main French passport office who can and have been
    > issuing machine readable passports for some time. She now has an L-2
    > visa in her passport. The goons over at the French consulate in Houston
    > are insisting she needs a new machine readable passport. My take on it,
    > after much research, is that this is incorrect as the requirement for a
    > machine readable passport is only for people entering under the visa
    > waiver programme. The L2 in her passport has a machine readable section.
    > The Question
    > Does anybody know a definitive source of what the correct answer to
    > this dilemma is? I understand that it is a fairly unique set of
    > circumstances, so any help would be very much appreciated. I found
    > this on the web which appears to answer the question, but I want to
    > make sure!
    > The Use of Machine Readable Passports for the Visa Waiver Program
    > Lisa Piascik, Director of Office of Public and Diplomatic Liaison,
    > Department of State
    > Foreign Press Center Briefing
    > Washington, DC
    > July 18, 2003
    > {snip}
    > QUESTION: I have -- I, personally, I have a non-machine-readable
    > passport because it was issued before Austria joined the European Union
    > and its validation, it expires in two years. So I couldn't travel with
    > this passport any more here?
    > Second question --
    > MS. PIASCIK: Can I answer your first question first?
    > QUESTION: No, second -- yeah, second question is in this passport there
    > is a journalist visa which is machine-readable. So can I enter with --
    > MS. PIASCIK: Let me backtrack and answer your first question first. The
    > Visa Waiver Program only covers travel which is considered tourist
    > or general business travel. It would be equivalent to our B1/B2
    > visa. Under the terms of the VWP, the traveler can only be coming
    > for 90 days or less and can't engage in any kind of substantive
    > work at all.
    > So the Visa Waiver Program only covers that kind of travel. If you were
    > coming here on tourism or just for business consultations you could
    > enter under the Visa Waiver Program now. After October 1st, you would
    > need a machine-readable passport to do that, and you could do that
    > without a visa.
    > However, as a journalist, you're working in the United States. It's not
    > an area that's covered under the Visa Waiver Program, so you would need
    > an I visa to do that. And if you need a visa, you don't need a machine-
    > readable passport to come in to the United States.
    > {snip}
    > --
    > Posted via http://britishexpats.com

Dan

Unfortunately, they hardly know French law either... No need for machine
readable passport UNLESS you are on the VWP.

The US visa in the passport is machine readable and is used for fast
scanning at the POE.

Not only a new passport will cost her some $60, but it now takes forever as
passports is no longer issued on the spot and there is a rush of people
replaceing them because of the new US regulation. Renewing a passport by
correspondence is no longer possible either.

The old passport is valid until its expiration date.

"Ingo Pakleppa - see web site for email" <> wrote in message
news:...
    > I agree with your conclusion, but recently read on a lawyer's site the
    > claim that you'd need a machine readable passport before you could get an
    > H-1B visa. I believe that the lawyer made a mistake, but wanted to mention
    > that there is conflicting information floating around.
    > The French consulate in the USA shouldn't be a good source of information,
    > though; they deal with French laws, not US laws.
    > On Mon, 27 Oct 2003 20:27:56 +0000, TimFountain wrote:
    > > I have searched everywhere for the answer to this question, and hope
    > > that someone here might have the answer.
    > >
    > > The problem
    > >
    > > As you may know, as of October next year, all visitors the US entering
    > > from a visa waiver country are required to have a machine readable
    > > passport. So far so good..
    > >
    > > My Situation
    > >
    > > My wife is French, and was issued her passport last year from the
    > > consulate in London (she had been living in the UK for 12 years). The
    > > consulate have only just discovered electricity and are not in a fit
    > > state to emulate the main French passport office who can and have been
    > > issuing machine readable passports for some time. She now has an L-2
    > > visa in her passport. The goons over at the French consulate in Houston
    > > are insisting she needs a new machine readable passport. My take on it,
    > > after much research, is that this is incorrect as the requirement for a
    > > machine readable passport is only for people entering under the visa
    > > waiver programme. The L2 in her passport has a machine readable section.
    > >
    > > The Question
    > >
    > > Does anybody know a definitive source of what the correct answer to this
    > > dilemma is? I understand that it is a fairly unique set of
    > > circumstances, so any help would be very much appreciated. I found this
    > > on the web which appears to answer the question, but I want to make
    > > sure!
    > >
    > >
    > >
    > >
    > >
    > > The Use of Machine Readable Passports for the Visa Waiver Program
    > >
    > >
    > >
    > > Lisa Piascik, Director of Office of Public and Diplomatic Liaison,
    > > Department of State
    > >
    > > Foreign Press Center Briefing
    > >
    > > Washington, DC
    > >
    > > July 18, 2003
    > >
    > >
    > >
    > > {snip}
    > >
    > >
    > >
    > > QUESTION: I have -- I, personally, I have a non-machine-readable
    > > passport because it was issued before Austria joined the European Union
    > > and its validation, it expires in two years. So I couldn't travel with
    > > this passport any more here?
    > >
    > > Second question --
    > >
    > > MS. PIASCIK: Can I answer your first question first?
    > >
    > > QUESTION: No, second -- yeah, second question is in this passport there
    > > is a journalist visa which is machine-readable. So can I enter with --
    > >
    > > MS. PIASCIK: Let me backtrack and answer your first question first. The
    > > Visa Waiver Program only covers travel which is considered tourist
    > > or general business travel. It would be equivalent to our B1/B2
    > > visa. Under the terms of the VWP, the traveler can only be coming
    > > for 90 days or less and can't engage in any kind of substantive work
    > > at all.
    > >
    > > So the Visa Waiver Program only covers that kind of travel. If you were
    > > coming here on tourism or just for business consultations you could
    > > enter under the Visa Waiver Program now. After October 1st, you would
    > > need a machine-readable passport to do that, and you could do that
    > > without a visa.
    > >
    > > However, as a journalist, you're working in the United States. It's not
    > > an area that's covered under the Visa Waiver Program, so you would need
    > > an I visa to do that. And if you need a visa, you don't need a machine-
    > > readable passport to come in to the United States.
    > >
    > >
    > >
    > > {snip}
    > --
    > Remember, I am strictly a layperson without any legal training. I
encourage
    > everybody to seek competent legal counsel rather than relying on usenet
    > newsgroups.
    > Please support H.R. 539, H.R. 832 and S. 1510. More information at
    > http://www.kkeane.com/lobbyspousal-faq.shtml
    > Please visit my new FAQ at http://www.kkeane.com (always under
construction)
    > My email address in usenet posts is now invalid for spam protection. See
    > my Web site for information on how to contact me.
    > Please feel free to enjoy some of my photographs at my Web site
    > http://www.ingopakleppa.com ! Comments are welcome.

Olivier

For your information, the French have been issuing machine-readable type
passports since 1999, but only in France. The machine readable passports
(known as "Delphine") are now available through French consulates around the
world -- If you are worried about this, you can contact the nearest
consulate to get the new passport. There is a delay because the consulate
must have it processed by a central location in France.

Also, the U.S. has delayed the requirements until Oct 2004 for all visa
waiver countries (see dept. of state news releases).

"TimFountain" <member@british_expats.com> wrote in message
news:...
    > I have searched everywhere for the answer to this question, and hope
    > that someone here might have the answer.
    > The problem
    > As you may know, as of October next year, all visitors the US entering
    > from a visa waiver country are required to have a machine readable
    > passport. So far so good..
    > My Situation
    > My wife is French, and was issued her passport last year from the
    > consulate in London (she had been living in the UK for 12 years). The
    > consulate have only just discovered electricity and are not in a fit
    > state to emulate the main French passport office who can and have been
    > issuing machine readable passports for some time. She now has an L-2
    > visa in her passport. The goons over at the French consulate in Houston
    > are insisting she needs a new machine readable passport. My take on it,
    > after much research, is that this is incorrect as the requirement for a
    > machine readable passport is only for people entering under the visa
    > waiver programme. The L2 in her passport has a machine readable section.
    > The Question
    > Does anybody know a definitive source of what the correct answer to
    > this dilemma is? I understand that it is a fairly unique set of
    > circumstances, so any help would be very much appreciated. I found
    > this on the web which appears to answer the question, but I want to
    > make sure!
    > The Use of Machine Readable Passports for the Visa Waiver Program
    > Lisa Piascik, Director of Office of Public and Diplomatic Liaison,
    > Department of State
    > Foreign Press Center Briefing
    > Washington, DC
    > July 18, 2003
    > {snip}
    > QUESTION: I have -- I, personally, I have a non-machine-readable
    > passport because it was issued before Austria joined the European Union
    > and its validation, it expires in two years. So I couldn't travel with
    > this passport any more here?
    > Second question --
    > MS. PIASCIK: Can I answer your first question first?
    > QUESTION: No, second -- yeah, second question is in this passport there
    > is a journalist visa which is machine-readable. So can I enter with --
    > MS. PIASCIK: Let me backtrack and answer your first question first. The
    > Visa Waiver Program only covers travel which is considered tourist
    > or general business travel. It would be equivalent to our B1/B2
    > visa. Under the terms of the VWP, the traveler can only be coming
    > for 90 days or less and can't engage in any kind of substantive
    > work at all.
    > So the Visa Waiver Program only covers that kind of travel. If you were
    > coming here on tourism or just for business consultations you could
    > enter under the Visa Waiver Program now. After October 1st, you would
    > need a machine-readable passport to do that, and you could do that
    > without a visa.
    > However, as a journalist, you're working in the United States. It's not
    > an area that's covered under the Visa Waiver Program, so you would need
    > an I visa to do that. And if you need a visa, you don't need a machine-
    > readable passport to come in to the United States.
    > {snip}
    > --
    > Posted via http://britishexpats.com

Dan

No. She ONLY needs a machine readable passport if she enter on a visa
waiver. Since she has a visa stamp, this requirement does not applies to
her.

Welcome to French bureaucracy. Bear in mind that if she did decide to
change her passport, that would take her more than 6 months as her file will
have to be sent to France for PP production.



"TimFountain" <member@british_expats.com> wrote in message
news:...
    > I have searched everywhere for the answer to this question, and hope
    > that someone here might have the answer.
    > The problem
    > As you may know, as of October next year, all visitors the US entering
    > from a visa waiver country are required to have a machine readable
    > passport. So far so good..
    > My Situation
    > My wife is French, and was issued her passport last year from the
    > consulate in London (she had been living in the UK for 12 years). The
    > consulate have only just discovered electricity and are not in a fit
    > state to emulate the main French passport office who can and have been
    > issuing machine readable passports for some time. She now has an L-2
    > visa in her passport. The goons over at the French consulate in Houston
    > are insisting she needs a new machine readable passport. My take on it,
    > after much research, is that this is incorrect as the requirement for a
    > machine readable passport is only for people entering under the visa
    > waiver programme. The L2 in her passport has a machine readable section.
    > The Question
    > Does anybody know a definitive source of what the correct answer to
    > this dilemma is? I understand that it is a fairly unique set of
    > circumstances, so any help would be very much appreciated. I found
    > this on the web which appears to answer the question, but I want to
    > make sure!
    > The Use of Machine Readable Passports for the Visa Waiver Program
    > Lisa Piascik, Director of Office of Public and Diplomatic Liaison,
    > Department of State
    > Foreign Press Center Briefing
    > Washington, DC
    > July 18, 2003
    > {snip}
    > QUESTION: I have -- I, personally, I have a non-machine-readable
    > passport because it was issued before Austria joined the European Union
    > and its validation, it expires in two years. So I couldn't travel with
    > this passport any more here?
    > Second question --
    > MS. PIASCIK: Can I answer your first question first?
    > QUESTION: No, second -- yeah, second question is in this passport there
    > is a journalist visa which is machine-readable. So can I enter with --
    > MS. PIASCIK: Let me backtrack and answer your first question first. The
    > Visa Waiver Program only covers travel which is considered tourist
    > or general business travel. It would be equivalent to our B1/B2
    > visa. Under the terms of the VWP, the traveler can only be coming
    > for 90 days or less and can't engage in any kind of substantive
    > work at all.
    > So the Visa Waiver Program only covers that kind of travel. If you were
    > coming here on tourism or just for business consultations you could
    > enter under the Visa Waiver Program now. After October 1st, you would
    > need a machine-readable passport to do that, and you could do that
    > without a visa.
    > However, as a journalist, you're working in the United States. It's not
    > an area that's covered under the Visa Waiver Program, so you would need
    > an I visa to do that. And if you need a visa, you don't need a machine-
    > readable passport to come in to the United States.
    > {snip}
    > --
    > Posted via http://britishexpats.com