biometric passport

[ambientgirl 0]

hi there,

My husband is a UKC who renewed his passport back in Feb 2005 - he does NOT have the new Biometric UK Passport with the micro chip in it.

Does that matter or do they require him to have that as part of the I-130 process?

Wasn't sure if we have to apply for another passport.

May sound like a daft question but dont want any problems with traveling and moving to the US.

Thanks

[Fofire 0]

hi there,

My husband is a UKC who renewed his passport back in Feb 2005 - he does NOT have the new Biometric UK Passport with the micro chip in it.

Does that matter or do they require him to have that as part of the I-130 process?

Wasn't sure if we have to apply for another passport.

May sound like a daft question but dont want any problems with traveling and moving to the US.

Thanks

I cant tell you for sure with 100% accuracy but that should theoretically be no problem because if you dont have a biometric passport then you have to get a visa to get in . . .which (albeit its for another reason) he is getting one. Im just making this assumption on an educated guess but it seems that by applying for the visa he will be submitting the necessary (biometric) info valid for getting to the US.

Then again sometimes the gvmnt works in weird ways.

Fofire

[The Robinsons 0]

We were told that as an EU citizen you cannot enter the US if you don't have the biometric passport with the chip. The new passport was a requirement from the US to the EU as part of the visa waiver program.

[ambientgirl 0]

We were told that as an EU citizen you cannot enter the US if you don't have the biometric passport with the chip. The new passport was a requirement from the US to the EU as part of the visa waiver program.

Thank you both for your reply. I wasn't sure but I guess its better to be safe and apply for another passport so we have the micro chip in his UK passport. Just another added expense to this whole process but oh so worth it.

Thanks!

[lucyrich 20]

We were told that as an EU citizen you cannot enter the US if you don't have the biometric passport with the chip.

I believe you were told wrong. The requirement is that you need the biometric passport with the chip in order to enter the US on the visa waiver program, if your passport was issued after 10/26/06. See this Department of State webpage for details. If you're coming in on a visa, you're not coming in on the VWP, so you're OK. If your passport was issued before 10/26/06, you don't need the chip even if you are using the VWP. So someone coming in on a visa with a passport issued before 10/26/06 is doubly OK.

[briccasart 0]

lucyrich is correct.

Hold on to your husband's passport and save yourselves the money. It'd be a waste as it's good for another 8 years.

If you look at the photo page of your husband's passport, there should be a barcode with letters and numbers at the bottom (much like a US passport). This is sufficient as what happens is before boarding any US-bound plane, the Department of Homeland Security officer will swipe this barcode and all pertinent information will show up on the screen. Much like what happens when a teller gets you to swipe your driver's license at a bank.

My Irish husband had his passport issued in 2001 with this barcode and he has been in and out of the US about 10 times since with no problems.

[ambientgirl 0]

lucyrich is correct.

Hold on to your husband's passport and save yourselves the money. It'd be a waste as it's good for another 8 years.

If you look at the photo page of your husband's passport, there should be a barcode with letters and numbers at the bottom (much like a US passport). This is sufficient as what happens is before boarding any US-bound plane, the Department of Homeland Security officer will swipe this barcode and all pertinent information will show up on the screen. Much like what happens when a teller gets you to swipe your driver's license at a bank.

My Irish husband had his passport issued in 2001 with this barcode and he has been in and out of the US about 10 times since with no problems.

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU I just love this site. So many wonderful helpful people.

[The Robinsons 0]

Hm ok either the US embassy in Denmark are going by different requirements or it's just another thing they don't know what they're talking about. But I'm glad somebody knows better. Good luck.