Costa Votes to Improve Americans’ Safety

Washington, D.C. – Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 158, the Visa Waiver Program Improvement and Terrorist Travel Prevention Act. Rep. Jim Costa released the following statement after H.R. 158 passed the House by a recorded vote of 407-19.

"Protecting and defending American citizens from all enemies, foreign and domestic is my first responsibility, and modifying the current Visa Waiver Program will improve our continuing efforts to keep Americans safe," said Rep. Costa. "The legislation passed today enforces much stricter guidelines on individuals who would like to visit the United States and will make it more difficult for terrorists to use false identities. While this bipartisan legislation is a strong step forward in keeping terrorists out of the country, we must continue to work together in developing and implementing a long-term comprehensive plan to combat terrorism and terrorist supporters."

Provisions in the Visa Waiver Program Improvement and Terrorist Travel Prevention Act include:

• In order to travel to the United States, travelers from Visa Waiver Program (VWP) countries must have an electronic passport ("e-passport") that is fraud-resistant, contains relevant biographic and biometric information, and otherwise satisfies internationally accepted standards for electronic passports.
• VWP countries have to certify that their ports of entry can validate these electronic passports.
• Countries that do not share information on citizens or nationals traveling to the United States that represent a threat to the security of the United States will be removed from the VWP.
• Countries that do not screen all travelers to the United States for unlawful activity against relevant "databases and notices" maintained by INTERPOL (International Criminal Police Organization) will be removed from the VWP.
• Nationals of VWP countries who have traveled to Iraq, Syria, designated state sponsors of terrorism (Iran and Sudan), and other "countries or areas of concern" since March 1, 2011, as well as anyone who is a dual national of one of those countries and a VWP country, ineligible to travel to the U.S. under the VWP. Instead, they are required to obtain a visa, as visitors from non-VWP countries have to do. That means, as described above, that they have to have an in-person interview with a U.S. Department of State Consular official and undergo more extensive security screening, including biometric security screening.