Ahead of the summer travel surge, niche travel-compliance site US ESTA Visa Guide issued a June 13 explainer reiterating that all Visa Waiver Program (VWP) travelers must present an electronic, machine-readable passport bearing a functioning biometric chip to obtain or use an ESTA. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers have reported an uptick in chip failures and last-minute refusals at U.S. pre-clearance airports. Under International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) rules, inspection systems perform three cryptographic checks—Passive Authentication, Active Authentication and Basic Access Control—each of which can fail if a chip is damaged or the Machine Readable Zone is illegible. Travelers holding older “machine-readable only” passports issued before 2006 must upgrade; carriers remain liable for fines if they board ineligible passengers. Mobility teams should verify passport validity and chip functionality during booking, especially for group incentives and large-scale meetings. The reminder also flags that passport replacement mid-trip voids an existing ESTA, requiring a new authorization before re-entry. Given record U.S. visitor volumes for the World Cup and the Semiquincentennial, early passport checks will help companies avoid denied-boarding incidents and employee-travel delays.
Source: US ESTA Visa Guide
