The US is developing digital visas for international travellers and plans to scrap visas in passports for visitors from around the world.
United States Government agencies are already testing paperless visas for travellers entering the country and plan to offer them regionally and around the world.
The State Department’s Bureau of Consular Affairs is developing the capability to issue a digital visa authorization (DVA) instead of the traditional visa printed and placed in applicants’ passports.
The scheme’s initial trial was held at the US Embassy in Dublin, which conducted a limited DVA proof of concept with a small number of K-1 (fiancé(e)) visas.
The bureau stated that if the initial proof of concept is successful, it will extend the DVA to other visa classes and additional posts in the future.
At a media briefing this week, Julie Stufft, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Visa Services at the US Bureau of Consular Affairs, told journalists that paperless visas have been made possible by advances in technology.
After the completion of a successful trial, paperless American visas would eventually be offered to passengers from around the world.
Although the plan would see the end of visas in passports for visitors to the United States, it would still require a formal application process.
Ms. Stufft said, “Our process is identical to the way it is. It’s not a visa that’s adjudicated electronically. It’s not processed electronically.
“Someone may still need an interview or to come and speak to a consular officer, but ultimately there will be no piece of paper.
“This saves everyone a tremendous amount of effort in getting these very secure visa foils shipped out to all of our posts overseas, and this is just basically a very modern way to speak to the airlines and to the ports of entry at airports and the State Department all together to make this happen.
“We wanted to do this, frankly, for a long time, but now we have the full ability electronically to message someone’s visa status, and this is going to be a huge help for these applicants going forward.
#ICYMI Julie Stufft, @StateDept Deputy Assistant Secretary for Visa Services, provided an update to foreign journalists on U.S. visa processing worldwide. Find this transcript and more at our website.https://t.co/HaD38S2Zug pic.twitter.com/w0xm9EDz6p
— Foreign Press Center (@ForeignPressCtr) November 30, 2023
Dublin Airport was selected for the trials and proof of concept due to “the ingenuity of the consular section at the embassy there,” the presence of US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) pre-clearance procedures at Dublin Airport, and the participation of airlines flying out of Dublin directly to the United States who are already enrolled in CBP’s Document Validation programme.
No time frame for the wider roll-out of paperless visas was given.
Ms Stufft said, “Yes, well, we’ve already done a small pilot; now we’re branching out to other types of visas.
“We started with our embassy in Dublin, because there is an airport facility there with US officials who could check if someone boarded a plane, but we fully expect to expand that regionally and throughout the world.”
