Most nations could miss US-imposed passport deadline

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NY TIMES NEWS SERVICE , WASHINGTON
Saturday, Mar 06, 2004,Page 6

More than two dozen industrialized countries are expected to miss a US-imposed deadline for providing their citizens with computer-coded passports later this year, officials told Congress on Thursday.

That would leave State Department officials bracing for a surge in demand for visas from millions of travelers who would not normally need them to visit the US, the officials said on Thursday. Twenty-seven countries -- including Japan and 22 European nations -- must begin providing passports with facial-recognition technology by Oct. 26. Visitors from those countries who are issued passports without the technology after that date will be required to apply for visas to travel to the US. The rules were mandated by Congress as an anti-terrorism measure.

Maura Harty, assistant secretary of state for consular affairs, said nearly all of the countries would miss the deadline, including Japan, Britain, Germany and Italy. As a result, she said, demand for tourist visas would likely surge to about 12 million in the fiscal year 2005, from about 7 million in 2003, creating a workload that would likely swamp consular staff in US embassies and create significant visa backlogs.

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