House passes bipartisan bill to tighten controls on visa-free travel

The recent terror attacks across the nation and worldwide have urged our lawmakers, both Republicans and Democrats, to take a closer look at the Visa Waiver Program, which allows foreign visitors from 38 countries to enter the United States without a visa for 90 days. Sen. “This includes several of the Paris attackers, who could’ve traveled to the United States without a visa”.

Schultz was responding to demands by President Obama, Democratic presidential frontrunner Hillary Clinton, and most Republican presidential hopefuls, that Silicon Valley collaborate directly with USA intelligence agencies in policing the Internet, including turning over information on the clients of companies like Google when the U.S. government demands it.

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. Reid used a British passport to board that American Airlines flight without a visa, according to a Homeland Security Department Office of Inspector General report from 2004. They will have to go through the usual process of applying for a visa through a consulate or embassy if they want to go to the U.S. Visas would also be required from people who have visited Sudan and Iran.

From October of next year, each partner country will have to guarantee and verify that it can validate machine-readable and e-passports at every port of entry or it will be removed from the programme until such time as it does.

“This bipartisan bill addresses key vulnerabilities in the Visa Waiver Program by implementing more stringent background checks for foreign travelers and more frequent reviews of the program’s effectiveness”, Ryan said.

The House is poised to crack down on visa-free travel to the US, even from friendly nations like Belgium and France.

The bill, supported by the White House, was proposed since the terrorists in Paris could have travelled to the country without complying with the requirement of obtaining a visa. “This bill fixes holes in our visa waiver program to help prevent terrorists from traveling to the United States”.

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

The top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, Rep. John Conyers of MI, opposed the legislation for judging travelers based on their home countries rather than their character. For a traveler to be eligible to this program, they must also have a valid ESTA approval prior to traveling to the U.S. The bill was approved on a 407 to 19 vote. “I think our focus should be on behavior, not country of origin”.