These Changes To Tighten Visa Waiver Program Are Now In Effect

Syria, Iran and Sudan are also designated as state sponsors of terrorism, according to the State Department.

Those who have travelled to Iran, Iraq, Sudan or Syria on or after 1 March 2011 can no longer enter the country under the program due to changes introduced overnight under the Visa Waiver Program Improvement and Terrorist Travel Prevention Act 2015.

Being removed from the VWP doesn’t mean a person is banned from traveling to the USA; that person will have to apply for a visa, like residents of non-VWP countries.

Those travelers will have to attend an interview and receive a visa from a US embassy or consulate before departing.

The adjustments to the program are being put in place to prevent citizens of other countries who may have traveled to join terrorist organizations, like the Islamic State group, but hold passports of European nations.

Dual nationals are not now eligible for a waiver, but the State Department said it is examining whether to extend the measures.

Citizens of 38 countries, mostly in Europe, are generally allowed to travel to the United States without applying for a visa.

The House overwhelmingly passed the bill in December, with House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, a Texas Republican, saying this month that the previous arrangement was a “huge security gap that needed to be fixed”.

Travelers who went to those countries as journalists or for aid work or business can apply for a waiver. And it has drawn Iranian charges that the U.S.is violating last summer’s nuclear accord by penalizing legitimate business travel to the Islamic Republic.

– Some Republicans in Congress complained the Obama administration was trying to circumvent the will of Congress. But the administration is reserving the right to make exceptions on a case-by-case basis. Iran’s government claims many people of Iranian heritage as citizens even if they’re unaware of the matter or don’t consider themselves Iranian dual nationals.

– The administration on Thursday announced rules on how the law will be implemented. “This is not a difference of opinion over statutory interpretation, it is a clear contradiction of the law and the agreement we reached with the White House”, the statement said.

“This letter serves to dispel any notion that the congressional intent would allow the waiver authority to be used for business travelers”, they wrote.

Many Europeans enjoy visa-free travel to the US.