On March 7, 2003, the Department of Justice (DOJ) issued an interim regulation on the participation of Belgium, Italy, Portugal and Uruguay in the Visa Waiver Program (68 Fed Reg. 10954.)   The Visa Waiver Program (VWP) permits citizens of certain designated countries to apply for admission to the United States as nonimmigrant tourists for business or pleasure for up to 90 days. No visa is required.   Countries are added and deleted according to various criteria, including security concerns, reciprocal agreements, high risk travel and incidence of abuse of the VWP, such as overstay or working without authorization.   For a full explanation of the VWP,  view the  FAQs relating to the Visa Waiver Program on our website. 

Under the new rule, citizens of Uruguay will no longer be permitted entry to the U.S. under VWP after April 15, 2003.  However, Uruguayans currently in the United States under the VWP are permitted to remain until their I-94 expiration date.

Effective May 15, 2003, Belgium will be permitted to participate in the VWP for one year on a provisional basis.  Belgian citizens seeking entry under the VWP will be required to possess a machine-readable passport.   This special rule is imposed on Belgians due to concerns about security and the integrity of non-machine readable Belgian passports issued prior to March 1, 2001; Belgium began issuing machine-readable passports only after this date.

Finally, the rule confirms that Italy and Portugal will continue to be eligible for participation in the VWP, since both countries were found to be exerting satisfactory efforts to advance the law enforcement, security and extradition interests of the United States, despite some concerns over Portugal reporting lost or stolen passports.

We will continue to post updates to our website as they become available.

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