US tightens security measures on visitors, foreign student pilots

The Department of Homeland Security said foreign visitors seeking admission under the Visa Waiver Programme would need machine-readable passports beginning Tuesday.

Those not complying will get one free pass and a letter explaining the new rules, with the one-time exemption noted in the visitor's permanent computer record, said the DHS.

A machine-readable passport carries an unalterable barcode containing a wealth of encrypted information about the bearer, which an immigration officer can read by scanning the document much like a supermarket checkout clerk scans food prices.

The new US passport requirement had been scheduled to take effect a year ago but was extended to give VWP participating countries time to issue machine-readable passports and inform their citizens of the new rules.

Also, the Transportation Sec-urity Agency has begun requiring non-US citizens seeking training at US flight schools to submit to fingerprinting and provide security data for training on any type or size of aircraft.

Following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the Trans-portation Security Act mandated the Justice Department to do threat assessments on non-US citizens seeking training on aircraft weighing 12,500 pounds or more, including commercial aircraft.

This month, new legislation transferred that responsibility to the Transportation Security Admin-istration and gave enforcers new teeth.

"September 11 taught us that terrorists exploited the use of US flight schools," said retired Admiral David Stone, Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security for TSA. "Fortifying security by knowing who trains at these schools is an integral part of our mission to secure the homeland."