From the U.S. Department of State:
Visa Waiver Travel Requires Machine-Readable Passport
Starting October 26, 2004: Travelers entering the United States under the Visa Waiver Program must have a machine-readable passport. Any traveler without a machine-readable passport will be required to obtain a visa before coming to the United States. Exhibition organizers, exhibitors and visitors, entering the U.S. will be impacted by this requirement if they have not obtained the machine-readable passport.
Twenty-seven countries currently participate in the U.S. Visa Waiver Program: Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.
New requirements covering digital photographs and e-passports take effect before the 2006 FABTECH International & AWS Welding Show.
Complete details on the Visa Waiver Program requirements can be found at the Department of State's Visa Services Website.
