US Congress Moves to Tighten Controls on Visa-free Travel

Following the recent terrorist attacks, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a Bill tightening aspects of the visa waiver program that affects citizens of 38 countries.

The Senate has not scheduled a vote on either measure.

Australia is now one of the 38 countries under the VWP, along with the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Japan, whose citizens are eligible to travel to the U.S. without a visa for holidays or business stays of 90 days or less.

– Gives the Secretary of Homeland Security the authority to suspend a country’s participation in the visa waiver program if they fail to share counterterrorism information with the U.S.

By a 407-to-19 margin, the House passed the measure with broad bi-partisan support and the White House has indicated that the president backs the legislation, as well.

The threat of terrorism may tighten up who gets into the US. This also brings to light the need to revoke passports of US citizens who are fighting alongside ISIS. The Senate would impose a five-year restriction on individuals who have traveled to Iraq or Syria from using the waiver program. This bill would require VWP countries to check travelers against INTERPOL to determine if a traveler is wanted or if a fraudulent passport is being used. The visa waiver program is based on the diplomatic standard of reciprocity, and if the USA creates exceptions to its program for certain European nationals, the EU is likely to do the same for U.S. nationals.

Rep. Chris Stewart (R-Utah) voted in favor of the Visa Waiver Improvement and Terrorist Travel Prevention Act of 2015, which addresses national security vulnerabilities that exist under our current Visa Waiver program.

This bill is critical to reforming a valuable program so we can better ensure the safety of the American people while still allowing the benefits the VWP affords its members.

“My sense is that most Democrats will take a look at this legislation and probably support it”, said Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-Calif.), chairman of the House Democratic Caucus.

Speaker Paul Ryan praised the bill’s passage, writing in a statement:”today, we took a major step forward in our effort to prevent foreign terrorists from reaching our shores”.

The US travel industry is watching the developments on Capital Hill closely.

After the attacks in Paris, and closer to home in San Bernardino, California, lawmakers across the country want to keep people safe. Travelers would be required to have passports that contain biometric and other data to make them fraud-resistant.