US to tighten controls on visa-free travel to US

Voting no were 19 Democrats and 0 Republicans. There is 1 vacancy in the 435-member House.

Foreigners without visas must meet certain requirements to acquire weapons here, according to the Congressional Research Service, including a demonstration they intend to make a home in the state where they wish to purchase the firearm.

The 38 countries in the visa waiver programme are Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Britain, Brunei, Chile, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Monaco, Malta, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Taiwan.

People who have visited Iran and Sudan – which the U.S. accuses of supporting terrorism – would also need a visa. The bill would authorize the Department of Homeland Security to terminate any country’s participation in the program if it doesn’t adequately transmit data.

The House of Representatives passed legislation that would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to strengthen the USA visa waiver program.

Tourists who use the visa waiver program are already screened against American security databases, but are subject to less restrictive checks than other travelers.

‘You have more than 5,000 individuals that have Western passports in this program that have gone to Iraq or Syria in the last five years, ‘ said Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy.

“If this bill passes into law, the European Union has warned that it will consider travel restrictions targeting American citizens because the visa waiver program operates on the system of reciprocity”, said National Iranian American Council (NIAC) Action executive director Jamal Abdi.

Senators Jeff Flake, an Arizona Republican, and Feinstein have introduced separate legislation in the Senate.

A handful of Democratic lawmakers spoke against the visa waiver legislation before its passage.

While the bill received bipartisan support from lawmakers, some civil liberties groups warned that the measure was too broadly written and could unfairly exclude people, reports RT.

“We must prevent foreign individuals who pose a potential terrorist threat from entering our country”, Ross said.

“We can not nor should we simply shut our doors to the world if we want to continue to lead the world”, number two House Democrat Steny Hoyer said in support of the bill.

The USTA released a similair statement last week when the changes to the bill were being considered, writing that “the travel community is all in favor of a good-faith congressional debate about enhancements to the VWP, but if the [bill] imposes redundant, costly, inefficient protocols, it could ultimately do more harm than good”.