Bruneians exempt from US-entry scrutiny
By Rosli Abidin Yahya 

Bruneians will not be subjected to being fingerprinted, photographed and checked against a terrorist watch-list before entering the United States, as such screenings will only be applicable to visitors who need a visa to enter the country. The new rules, detailed Monday by the American Department of Homeland Security, will affect all visitors who are required to have a visa - at least 23 million people, or 60 per cent of those who travel to the United States each year - starting next January.

The requirement does not apply to visitors from 27 countries where visas are not required, namely Japan, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Netherlands, Australia, Spain, Switzerland, Ireland, Sweden, Belgium,

Austria, New Zealand, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Iceland, Slovenia, Luxembourg, Portugal, Singapore, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Andorra, Brunei Darussalam and San Marino.

However, visitors from Brunei Darussalam and other 26 countries where visas are not required to enter US will be required to use "biometrics" by October 2004 to keep their "visa-waiver" status.

Under the new system, affected foreign visitors will face much tougher scrutiny. Their travel documents will be scanned into a computer, their photo taken, and their index fingers will be placed on an electronic scanner.

This data and other information, such as their address while in the United States, will be compared against documents and images of terrorists kept by the government, and placed on file.

Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin