As of September 30, 2004, the U.S. will extend its US-VISIT Program to all nationals of countries in the Visa Waiver Program, which include Belgium and Luxembourg.

Under the US-VISIT Program, all visitors arriving at seaports or airports in the U.S. will fingerprinted and photographed upon arrival.

For more info on US-VISIT, please [click here]

As of October 26, 2004, the use of machine-readable passports for visits to the U.S. will become mandatory for all Belgian and Luxembourg nationals, including children and babies.

With this machine-readable passport, travellers can enter the U.S. for a period of up to 90 days without a visa.

Travellers who do not have a machine-readable passport must apply for a visa at the local U.S. Embassy.

The U.S. Embassy's dial-in visa information service will now allow callers to speak directly to visa specialists who will answer questions and schedule visa appointments at the Embassey.  The new call number is +32 2 788 12 00.

Passengers from countries participating in the U.S. Visa Waiver Program need to present a machine-readable passport upon entry in the US.

The system will be extended at a later date to include travellers from Andorra, Australia, Austria, 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.
Since there is some discussion as to the applicability of the rules, we advise all foreign nationals to contact their local US Embassy for more details.