In a major policy shift, the United States said Friday that it will begin to fingerprint and photograph all foreign visitors, including those from close US allies, as from the end of September.

Citizens from 27 nations which were currently exempted from the fingerprinting process implemented in January would be required to be fingerprinted and photographed as visitors from other countries, State Department spokesman Adam Ereli said.

By Sept. 30, citizens of these 27 Visa Waiver Program countries, including those close US allies such as Britain, Japan and Australia, will have to provide digital index finger scans and a digital photograph to verify their identity when they enter the United States at airports and seaports, Ereli said.

The United States have asked the 27 nations to introduce passports with biometric data like fingerprints and iris identification features by Oct. 26 in exchange for the exemption from the entry procedures, or US-VISIT.

The US authorities expanded the fingerprinting program after it became apparent that this deadline could not be met. The State Department and the Department of Homeland Security have asked the Congress to approve a two-year transition to avoid potential disruption to international travel, Ereli said.

The fingerprinting procedures "will help mitigate the security concerns related to extending the deadline for biometric passports," he said.

The 27 countries are: Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

(Xinhua News Agency April 3, 2004)