06-22-2003, 05:40 AM
"The US Government has decided that, with effect from 1st October 2003, citizens of countries which participate in the Visa Waiver Programme ... must hold a machine readable passport if they wish to enter the United States without a visa."
"The Consulate General office in Auckland issues hand written passports and it will not be until late in 2004 that machine written passports will become standard issue"
So the U.S. Visa waiver program with N.Z. is useless since you still need to apply for a visa since N.Z. does not currently offer machine readable passports.
Just something I stumbled over while contemplating a trip to the U.S. to find a job.
"The Consulate General office in Auckland issues hand written passports and it will not be until late in 2004 that machine written passports will become standard issue"
So the U.S. Visa waiver program with N.Z. is useless since you still need to apply for a visa since N.Z. does not currently offer machine readable passports.
Just something I stumbled over while contemplating a trip to the U.S. to find a job.