I guess, we close all international traffic and stay at home.
I hope all thes countries do the same to all US-Americans like Brazil.

Same rights, right?



U.S. Extends Fingerprinting Rule to Millions More Visitors
By DAVID STOUT               Published: April 2, 2004


ASHINGTON, April 2 — A program requiring many foreigners to be photographed
and fingerprinted before entering the United States will be expanded to
include some 13 million more visitors, the Department of Homeland Security
said today.

The expansion will mean that, by Sept. 30, travelers from 27 countries who
can enter the United States without visas will, for the first time, have to
be photographed and fingerprinted.

The new development also makes it probable, based on experience, that
Americans traveling overseas may be subjected to more scrutiny in
retaliation.

Homeland Security officials said the change was decided upon after it
became clear that most countries would not be able, for technological
reasons, to meet the Oct. 26 deadline to develop machine-readable passports
that include biometric identifiers.

Among the 27 countries whose citizens will be affected are some of
America's longstanding allies, including Britain, Japan, Germany and
Australia.

The Department of Homeland Security issued a statement describing the
photograph-and-fingerprint procedure as "fast and easy for travelers" and
something that provides "an added layer of security."

The State Department, which joined the homeland security agency in
announcing the expanded program, said it has been notifying diplomats in
the 27 countries. (There is no change in the status of visitors from Canada
and Mexico, who may enter the United States without passports.)

A State Department spokesman, Adam Ereli, rejected any suggestion that the
27 countries might view today's announcement as "a slap in the face," as
one questioner put it at a news briefing.

"If that's the way it's seen, then it's certainly not intended in that
light," Mr. Ereli said. "At the same time, there are security needs, I
think everybody recognizes those security needs."

The photograph-and-fingerprint procedure "is a very, very low-hassle,
unintrusive way of protecting the public and protecting the United States,"
Mr. Ereli said.

Asa Hutchinson, undersecretary for border and transportation security in
the Department of Homeland Security, said today that the Homeland Security
and State Departments will ask Congress to extend the Oct. 26 deadline for
machine-readable foreign passports for two years, in recognition of the
technological difficulties in developing them.

Since January, visitors from countries that must have visas to enter the
United States have been fingerprinted and photographed at scores of
American airports and seaports. The new security level was put into effect
in response to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

The new procedures have allowed customs officials to immediately verify
visitors' identities, check their criminal backgrounds and determine if
they are on watch lists of suspected terrorists and other criminals.

Mr. Hutchinson said the procedures are quick and unobtrusive and have
helped Homeland Security and State Department officials intercept more than
200 people suspected of criminal or immigration violations. The people have
included convicted rapists, drug traffickers and individuals convicted of
credit-card fraud, he said.

But since January, some American travelers have complained about the
treatment they have received from immigration and customs officials in
other countries, apparently in retaliation.

Travelers from the 27 countries affected in today's announcement have been
allowed to enter the United States with only a passport, provided they stay
no longer than 90 days. They will still be able to do that, but now their
pictures and fingerprints will be taken.

The countries affected are Andorra, Austria, Australia, Belgium, Brunei,
Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan,
Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway,
Portugal, San Marino, Singapore, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and
the United Kingdom.

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