The U.S. Department of Homeland Security published a timeline on Monday detailing previously issued passport requirements for visa-free travel to the United States. Following are the key deadlines and requirements to ensure continued visa-free travel under the so-called Visa Waiver Program, which covers citizens of 27 mostly European countries, according to Reuters. June 26, 2005: Since this date, all visitors traveling to the United States under the Visa Waiver Program have had to have a machine readable passport. Such passports contain two lines of text as letters, numbers and chevrons at the bottom of the personal information page, along with a photograph. Oct. 26, 2005: From this date, all new passports issued by Visa Waiver Program countries must include a digital photo, or the traveler will be required to obtain a visa. Travelers who have valid, machine readable passports issued before Oct. 26, 2005 do not need to obtain new passports or visas until the existing passports expire. Oct. 26, 2006: From this date, all new passports issued by Visa Waiver Program countries must have an embedded computer chip capable of storing the biographic information from the data page, a digital photograph and other biometric information. Travelers who have valid, machine readable passports on this date do not need new passports until the existing ones expires if they were issued before Oct. 26, 2005, or if they were issued between Oct. 26, 2005, and Oct. 25, 2006, and include a digital photograph. --more 2336 Local Time 2036 GMT
