General Information

Sample - Machine Readable Passport

International travelers, who are nationals of Visa Waiver Program (VWP) countries, seeking to travel to the United States without a visa, should review this important information on passport requirements for travelers under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP). All VWP travelers, regardless of age or type of passport used, must present individual machine-readable passports.  In addition, depending on when VWP travelers’ passports were issued, other passport requirements apply:

Visa Free travelers entering the United States require individual machine-readable passports and depending on when the passport was issued, e-passport with an electronic chip. It is important to note that families require individual passports for each traveler, including infants, should they wish to travel visa free. Machine-readable passports typically have biodata for only one traveler in the machine-readable zone. Based on this, families may be denied visa free entry into the United States if the biodata for only one traveler is machine-readable. Travelers not in possession of machine-readable passports will require either B-1 (business) or B-2 (tourist) visas, or a combination of both (B1/B2).  Follow link to How To Apply For A Visa on this site.

The requirement that the traveler be in possession of a machine readable passport applies only to those seeking entry into the United States under the Visa Waiver Program; it does not apply to those applying for visas.

What is an e-Passport 

Follow link to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection website

How do I know if I have a machine-readable passport?

View sample Machine Readable Passport at top of this page. Travelers should also look at the bottom of their passport [the photo page] for two lines that are typeface lines, that have letters, numbers and hatch marks." The two lines at the bottom of a machine-readable passport, for example, would look like the following:

LINE 1: P COUNTRY LAST NAME << FIRST NAME < MIDDLE NAME <<<<<
LINE 2: PASSPORT NUMBER COUNTRY DOB<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Machine-readable passports allow data in the passport to be scanned automatically by a machine. The two lines of printed OCR-B machine-readable data (circled in red in the image of a U.S. machine-readable passport shown above) are the most noticeable features of a machine-readable passport. If you are in any doubt as to whether or not your passport is a machine-readable passport, you should check with the passport issuing authority of your country.

All VWP travelers, regardless of age or type of passport used, must present machine-readable passports; previous one-time exemptions for first-time VWP travelers without MRPs ended June 26, 2005. In addition, depending on when VWP travelers’ passports were issued, other passport requirements also apply:

• Machine-readable passports issued before 10/26/05
  – no further requirements.
• Machine-readable passports issued between 10/26/05 and 10/25/06
  – requires a digital photograph printed on the data page or integrated chip with information from the data page. A digital photo is one that is printed on the page, not a photo that is glued or laminated into the passport.

• Machine-readable passports issued on or after 10/26/06
  – requires integrated chip with information from the data page (e-passport). Visit the DHS website for more information. 

Emergency and Temporary Passports

German Passports - Visit the U.S. Embassy Germany website for more information. 

 Austrian Passports - Visit the U.S. Embassy Vienna website for more information about Austrian passports validity for VWP Travel.

Visit the Department of State's Consular Affairs website for further information about visa free travel and machine readable passports.