puppymalo

Well - that is the USA off my holiday list ... I thought the UK - who
went to war with America in case anyone forgot) had some sort of
special relationship!!

Obviously we are now filthy Europeans who need to be scrutinised by
Iris and the likes and fingerprinted like criminals - ALL TOURISTS
GUILTY until proven innocent!

Well America - if ordinary Brits like me who supported the war in Iraq
are now saying - **** OFF - then you really ought to take a good long
hard look at yourselves.

I admired Bush for a while - now I despise him and his administartion.

So in summary I will spend my dollars in Canada or somewhere else that
actually welcomes me and does not make me feel like I am a convicted
criminal!

crg

Maybe if you stopped passing out your easily altered passports like candy, the U.S. wouldn't need to check biometrics.

Non-brits are changing the pictures in your UK passports and using them to enter the US illegally. Some non-brits are even tricking your government into issuing them a passport with their photo on it.

The U.S. isn't trying to catch Brits, they're trying to catch the garbage that is pretending to be British, or have migrated to your country from terrorist source countries.

If you don't like it, then don't come. We're not a poor country and will be just fine without you. I won't have to wait in line as long to get on the rides at the Florida amusement parks.

Squirrel

I suppose the US never issues passports incorrectly and there is no such thing as a forged US passport?

All fingerprinting will do is match up the person who came to the US in Sept 2004 with the same person who comes 6 months later. The passport could still be the same forged one. What exactly does the US hope to achieve by this except alienate it's closest allies? All but one of the 9/11 attackers were in the US perfectly legally, but if the US is going to ignore flight schools that warn about suspicious students then all the fingerprinting in the world wont help them. What's to stop terrorists just getting hold of a Canadian passport and coming that way? Canadians are not going to be fingerprinted.

Maybe we ought to have introduced fingerprinting for Americans years back to stop them coming over to give money to the IRA terrorists.

simon bland

What's the BIG DEAL. As a British American, I see no problem with it. Unfortunatly the UK has not been as strict as the US in previous immigration, and there are now a lot of undesirable British Subjects or Citizens, Just read todays Sun Newspaper and you will see what I mean.

If you have nothing to hide, then why are you worried, it is only a temporary measure until the UK can start issuing Biometric Passports.

The alternative is to go back to the times before Visa Waiver, when everyone needed a visa to enter the US, NOW THAT WOULD BE A PAIN IN THE ARSE!!

supernav

So when you go to your British motor vehicle office -- and they take your pic and fingerprint for the license -- do you jump up and down and yell at them for treating you like a criminal and trash?

I think not.

If you didn't bitch when they took your pic for your license or passport -- then don't bitch when they take your pic to protect national security. The latter is MORE important as far as i'm concerned.

Oh, and if you take 20 secs to take my pic, etc. when I come to England. It won't bother me one bit. Why do i care?

-= nav =-

Squirrel

But why take a new pic anyway? They can see you are the same person or not that is on the passport, and read all the data when they scan the passport.
They don't take your fingerprints for a driving license. In the UK fingerprinting is associated with being a criminal. My husband is an American but he did not have to give his fingerprints to live in the UK.
One of these days they'll make everyone have a serial number tattooed on their forehead.

Mickey

Am I mistaken, or did your fellow Americans bitch when the Brazilians
introduced the same measures in retaliation.
Ring any bells?

"supernav" <member16283@british_expats.com> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > Oh,
    > and if you take 20 secs to take my pic, etc. when I come to England. It
    > won't bother me one bit. Why do i care?
    > -= nav =-
    > --
    > Posted via http://britishexpats.com

crg

"I suppose the US never issues passports incorrectly and there is no such thing as a forged US passport?"

All countries have passport vulnerabilities. However, the U.S. has more resources to pick out bogus U.S. passports than those of other countries. I'm sure UK passport control is pretty good at spotting bogus UK passports.

"All fingerprinting will do is match up the person who came to the US in Sept 2004 with the same person who comes 6 months later."

The system will also catch previously deported criminal aliens using altered UK documents. It's very common for someone to get caught with a false UK passport, only to be caught again a short time later with another one. For example, someone from Syria who was deported for criminal activity 10 years ago who becomes a UK citizen can't just change a few letters in their name, and waltz back in.

The criminals, illegal aliens, and terrorists are always trying to adapt. Visa Waiver is a weak link. After the visa waiver loophole is closed, I'm sure they'll be trying to enter with Canada, Bermuda, and US travel documents.

"Canadians are not going to be fingerprinted."

Anyone can be fingerprinted at the U.S. border if the officer feels the need, even U.S. citizens.

As for all but one of the 9/11 hijackers entering legally, that's not true. Many had overstayed their period of admission, or otherwise violated their status. Once US VISIT is rolled out fully, then they'll know who is overstaying.

LithiaSpgs

It is not aimed at English citizens but we need to know who is coming into the
country and when they leave. It is only fair. It is not that big a deal and the
stuff is destroyed once you exit.

LithiaSpgs

    >So in summary I will spend my dollars in Canada or somewhere else that
    >actually welcomes me and does not make me feel like I am a convicted
    >criminal!

What could Canada have to offer a tourist that cannot be matched 100 times over
by the USA? Do they have Disneyland in Canada? Grand Canyon? Hollywood? New
York? Chicago? (well Toronto is like Chicago)

LithiaSpgs

    >if the US is going to ignore flight schools that warn about suspicious
    >students then all the fingerprinting in the world wont help them.

On that we agree. Bush is an idiot. You Brits should have known better than to
put your eggs in Bush's basket. France and Germany were RIGHT and you were
WRONG.

    >What's
    >to stop terrorists just getting hold of a Canadian passport and coming
    >that way? Canadians are not going to be fingerprinted.
Canada, for the most part, is really part of the USA. While it is a separate
country legally, it is part of the greater US Kingdom (kind of like a suburb of
the USA). Its citizens share the same culture and values as US citizens share.
Its non citizens will be fingerprinted.

LithiaSpgs

    >If you have nothing to hide, then why are
    >you worried, it is only a temporary measure until the UK can start
    >issuing Biometric Passports.

Not only should all passports be biometric but everybody should have an ID that
is the same. We need to know who you are and why you are here.

LithiaSpgs

    >They don't take your fingerprints for a driving license. In the UK
    >fingerprinting is associated with being a criminal. My husband is an

They do in Georgia (USA). I have to give mine when I got the license and
everytime I go into the DL office, they check it. I like it. It insures that
nobody can go into a DL office and say they are me and get a duplicated license
with their pic and my name on it. And, when a resident of Georgia loses or has
a wallet stolen, you don't have to have any other ID to get the license
replaced. Just show up and put your index finger on the scanner.

LithiaSpgs

    >Am I mistaken, or did your fellow Americans bitch when the Brazilians
    >introduced the same measures in retaliation.
    >Ring any bells?

Most Americans are not bitching. We recognize that things have changed since
9-11-01. We live in a whole different world now than we did on 9-10-01.
Security has to take priority over convenience.

supernav

With the advent of computers, internet and highly educated terrorists and criminals -- every country -- not just the US -- has to enhance, upgrade and secure their borders to keep up.

Biometric security is a fast-growing new field, and expect it to be implemented in many countries in the future. Especially if those muslim terrorists keep spreading their faggy terror all over the world.

Like someone said. If you get deported - all you gotta do is go to another country, get another passport, new name. And you're back in. This CLOSES that easy loophole.

-= nav =-