The White House announced changes Monday to a program waiving visas for some tourists after this month’s deadly attacks in Paris raised fresh concerns about foreign radicals coming to the United States.
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British passport holders now benefit from a long-standing deal which means they do not need a visa to enter the US.
Following the Paris attacks, the VWP and refugee programs have been scrutinized for security holes that could allow terrorists to slip into the US disguised as travelers or migrants, as one attacker in Paris is thought to have done.
The White House announced Monday new steps in its counter terror campaign, including measures that will tighten the security in the visa waiver program and the naming of a new senior adviser to the President, who will focus exclusively on the anti-ISIS fight.
Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy says the House will aim to pass legislation by year’s end overhauling a program that allows visa-free travel to the U.S.
While Earnest highlighted several proposed enhancements to the visa waiver program, he also hailed the program as something that “facilitates important global travel” that has “a positive impact on our economy”.
The Department of Homeland Security will immediately collect more information from travelers about past visits to “countries constituting a terrorist safe haven” and also will look at pilot programs for collecting biometric information like fingerprints from visa waiver travelers, the White House said in a statement.
The U.S.is “aggressively strengthening” the tourism program and “bolstering our relationships” with the 38 countries that participate, the White House said in a fact sheet on Monday.
The State Department will also work with Congress to increase fines on airlines that fail to verify passport data, from $5,000 to $50,000.
In the wake of the Paris attacks, the House passed legislation that would bar Syrian refugees from entering the USA until security officials certify they are not threats.
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USA “foreign fighter surge teams” will be deployed to countries that jihadists returning from war may attempt to travel from to the United States. The Director of National Intelligence will regularly review those countries to assess travel risk.
