It seems to me that all visitors on visas are required
both to be fingerprinted and get eye scans as well. I
saw the machines at O'hare when I recently transited
the US from the Philippines. They did not require me
to be fingerprinted and scanned but I was just
changing planes but I was required to pass immigration
and recheck my bags. I have talked to many people who
will no longer take flights to third countries through
the US because it is such a hassle. In contrast when I
transited through Japan at Narita I simply walked from
one terminal to the other! Passengers from countries
other than Canada and Mexico require a transit visa
just to change planes now. As a result of this
nonsense you can get much cheaper flights by
transiting the US.
Cheers, Ken Hanly
TEHRAN, Iran - Iran's fiercely anti-U.S.
president has come out against a bill that would
require Americans to be fingerprinted on arrival in
Iran.
Speaking to a crowd in the northern Tehran suburb of
Shemiranat, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said he had
asked Iranian legislators to set aside a bill that
would require immigration officials to take
fingerprints of all U.S. passport holders.
"We do not have a problem with American people. We
oppose only the U.S. government's bullying and
arrogance," Ahmadinejad said Monday night, according
to the official Islamic Republic News Agency.
The bill, which passed a preliminary reading in the
Iranian parliament earlier this month, was drafted by
conservatives who sought to retaliate for the U.S.
requirement that Iranian visitors be fingerprinted.
The U.S. measure, which also applies to nationals of
some other countries, was implemented in 2002, in the
wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on New York and
Washington.
"In spite of Washington's decision to fingerprint
Iranian travelers who visit the United States, we have
asked legislators to avoid a countermeasure,"
Ahmadinejad said.
"If somebody, and that includes an American, is
entitled to enter Iran, then he will be welcomed with
respect," the president said.
Small numbers of American passport holders visit Iran,
mostly academics interested in Persian history and
culture. However, some U.S. basketball players play
for Iranian teams and U.S. wrestlers occasionally take
part in tournaments in Iran.
The United States and Iran have not had diplomatic
relations since Iranian militants stormed the American
Embassy in Tehran in 1979.
The atmosphere between the two countries improved
marginally under former President Mohammad
Khatami, who encouraged sport and cultural exchanges,
but it deteriorated after the Sept. 11 attacks when
President Bush declared that Iran belonged to an
"axis of evil" with Iraq and North
Korea.
Since taking office last year, Ahmadinejad has widened
the gap with Washington by taking a hardline on Iran's
nuclear program and calling for Israel's
destruction
