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White House Announces Visa Waiver Program Security Enhancements
Practical Law Legal Update w-001-0178 (Approx. 3 pages)
White House Announces Visa Waiver Program Security Enhancements
by Practical Law Labor & Employment
| Published on 08 Dec 2015 • USA (National/Federal) |
The Obama Administration has announced changes to the US Visa Waiver Program (VWP). The changes are intended to enhance the VWP's security in the wake of the November 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris.
On December 1, 2015, the White House announced that the Obama Administration is implementing security-related enhancements to the Visa Waiver Program (VWP). The VWP:
- Permits citizens of 38 different partner countries to travel to the US without a visa.
- Is used for short-term visits for business or pleasure lasting up to 90 days.
The newly-announced VWP enhancements build on changes that had been made to the program during the past year. On November 30, 2015, the White House issued a fact sheet detailing all changes.
The changes already in place include adding new:
- Data fields to the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Electronic System of Travel Authorization (ESTA) application form. All VWP travelers must apply for and receive ESTA approval before entering the US. The ESTA application includes required counterterrorism screening.
- Traveler screening and information-sharing requirements specifically addressing terrorism threats posed by foreign travelers.
The new security-related enhancements include:
- Further modifying ESTA to collect information from VWP travelers about their travel to terrorist safe haven countries, if any.
- Requiring DHS to speed up its review of VWP partner countries to identify:
- whether any of those partner countries are deficient in key areas of security cooperation; and
- potential pilot programs designed to assess collecting and using biometrics (fingerprints and photographs) to enhance VWP security.
- Requiring the FBI Director to evaluate and provide a written report on the sharing of terrorism information between the US and VWP countries.
- Coordinating with Congress to increase the monetary penalties for airlines that fail to verify a traveler's passport data.
The Obama Administration also announced that it intends to work directly with Congress to obtain statutory authority for security-related enhancements to the VWP. Both the House of Representatives and the Senate have already proposed legislation to tighten security within the VWP.