Visitors to US to face new security checks

Maltese citizens who are planning a visit the US will, as from tomorrow, have their fingerprints and photograph taken as soon as they arrive at an American airport.

The measures come into effect following a new law passed in the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks and the need for more security in the US. Apart from needing a visa, Maltese visitors will start being enrolled in the US-Visit programme as soon as they arrive in the US.

These new procedures will take about 15 seconds and will be carried out while Customs and border protection officers review travel documents and ask questions about the visitor's stay in the US. The US-Visit programme is meant to identify people who have violated immigration controls, have criminal records or belong to groups listed as terrorist organisations by the United States. Digital photos and fingerprints are checked against criminal databases.

At present, all "old" EU members benefit from a visa waiver, which allows their citizens to enter the US visa- free for up to 90 days. These will also be affected by the new rules. From the end of this month, visitors from these countries will also have to be enrolled in the new US-Visit programme. In addition, the US will require visas from these EU travellers who are not in possession of a machine-readable passport as of October 26.

Although the new procedures were approved by the European Commission last May, the measures are still very controversial within the EU. In fact, the European Parliament does not agree with the Commission and is challenging the deal, expressing concerns over infringements of privacy rights.

Following discussions on the subject last week, Antonio Vitorino, the Commissioner for Justice and Home Affairs, said the two sides agreed to find mechanisms to guarantee privacy and passenger data protection.