Setting Interoperable E-Passport Standards
A Department of Homeland Security official announced that the US will host a conference this summer to "devise specifications for and test the machine-readable electronic chips in passports...." The e-passports will be required, starting in October 2006, of visitors from the 27 counties in the Visa Waiver Program, including much of Europe as well as Australia, New Zealand, Japan and Singapore.

The chip in the passport will contain key data in a standardized digitally encoded format including a photograph of the passport holder. By carrying the e-passport, citizens of the 27 states will be able to travel to the U.S. without needing a visa.

DHS' goal of leading the development of a common e-passport standard for much of the industrialized world is not an easy task. However, in addition to the direct benefits of having many visitors use an e-passport, the exercise may well provide DHS and other countries with valuable experience in setting international security standards. Such experience may prove useful in other security applications.