Effective 30 Sep, citizens of countries enumerated in the below link will be photographed and fingerprinted on entry into the USA

http://www.cbc.ca/stories/2004/04/02...erprint_040402

Canada and Mexico are exempt...for the present time.

Of note :Spain and the United Kingdom, allies in the Gulf War II, are included on the list. So much for gratitude.

With the UK on the list, I'm surprised that Canada isn't on it...

Then again, the rationale of the US in doing this is that these countries won't have their biometric passports ready by 30 September...

Looks like all the US-Visa Waiver programme lists have to go through the same procedure that Visa holders have to endure.

So much for their then announcement that US-Visa Waiver programmes are exempt when this first came out.

I see Mexicans next on the list.. and then..... guess who's left?

Well thats the end of my visits to the US....not that I have anything to hide...its just I do not trust the US, a) To keep the information private b) to use it correctly c) Why the **** should I have to do this, I have the right to travel freely...

I just hope GW gets well and truly booted and some of this madness stops...

I wish Canada would implement something similar. Given how we've become a dumping ground for illegal immigration, terrorism, and drugs particularly from Asia and the Middle East, and the growing rise in identity theft in North America, it would be nice if we could invest in the advanced technology that makes borders more secure. It's unfortunate that $100+ million can be given to the Qu�bec friends of Trudeau/Chr�tien/Martin in the name of saving Canada, but there's no money to invest in protecting our borders.

What about the advanced passports? They raised the passport fee after Sept 11th to cover the cost of the new security features, yet my new passport is no different than my previous one.

I don't see this US-VISIT program being extended to Canadian citizens any time soon. It would be too time consuming, especially at land border crossings.

Biometric passports just adds a layer of identification to the passport.
It won't do much good if it's issued to the wrong people.

This article in the Globe & Mail says "Canadians, diplomats and Mexicans will be exempt from the process if they have precleared border-crossing cards." Anyone know what that means? Are passports considered "precleared border-crossing cards"?

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servl...ional/Americas

The difference that I notice is that instead of having the picture inserted under the laminate on the identification page, it is scanned in. Don't know how much -that- increases security, however.

Canuckflyer, it's only a case of sloppy writing. What they meant to say was that it will exempt "Mexicans with pre-cleared border crossing cards". For Mexican citizens, they need something that is akin to a laminated visa that they use for unlimited entries into the US. It does not concern Canadian citizens.

The Canadian exemption comes about because this will be applied at all border crossings, and it would be rather difficult to do this with every car crossing over daily. The threat espoused by FA cannot be as bad as he and others contend, particularly now that Canada has required all landed immigrants to have the new ID cards, and has tightened general access provisions over the past two years.

A sidelight in some of the news reports of this new requirement is interesting. It notes that AC's increase in services to/from SAmerica is in part justified in that the airline will now gain substantial business from residents of those countries who do not want to go through this hassle -- and othe procedures imposed on them -- while transiting the US on their way to Asia or Europe.