MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

New visa requirements for layovers in United States

Many travelers making layovers in the United States to catch connecting flights between international points will now be required to obtain visas, the U.S. departments of State and Homeland Security announced.

The measure went into effect at 11 a.m. EDT (1500 GMT) today. Exempted from the new rule are citizens of 27 nations, most of them in Europe and the Far East.

Also exempted are people currently traveling, travelers who purchased their tickets prior to July 24 and will be in the United States before Tuesday, and holders of return-flight tickets who are scheduled to stop in the United States before next Saturday.

The government's aim is to prevent terrorist attacks similar to those of Sept. 11, 2001. The departments also suspended two programs that allow certain international air passengers to travel through the United States for transit purposes without first obtaining a visa: the Transit without Visa program (TWOV) and the International-to-International transit program (ITI).

A Homeland Security communiqué said that last year the suspended programs were primarily used by Brazilians, Mexicans, South Koreans, Filipinos and Peruvians.

The department explained that according to recent intelligence reports, "terrorist groups planned to use those programs to obtain access to the United States or its airspace without going through the consular-control process." The new measures "will affect international travelers, but we believe they are necessary to protect lives and property," Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge noted.

The TWOV and ITI programs may be reinstated as soon as additional security measures are implemented and their effectiveness assessed, probably within 60 days, the departments added.