The chamber voted 407-19 in favor of the legislation, with all of those voting “no” being Democrats.
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The legislation aims to ensure that countries report lost or stolen passports to Interpol within 24 hours, and to screen all travelers against Interpol databases, to avoid being suspended from the visa-waiver program.
Others have said that the country can not shut its doors to travelers a large amount of money is from foreign travelers coming to the U.S.to visit, vacation or business travel that would become less if too many restrictions were put into place.
It comes after the Obama administration was angered when the House approved legislation last month cracking down on the Syrian refugee programme in the immediate aftermath of the Paris attacks. The program will not be available to nationals from Iraq, Syria and other countries under security watch, as well as to those people who have traveled to these countries from March 2011.
If the bill is finally executed, passed into the Senate and formally signed into a law, this would require travelers arriving in the U.S. under the VWP to possess an electronic passport with biometrics data starting in April 2016.
The waiver program allows tourists from 38 countries, including the United Kingdom, Spain and France, to stay in the USA for up to 90 days without a visa.
Under the plans for improvement that achieved bipartisan support, there is a need to expand the criteria, which would determine if a country should be removed from the Visa Waiver Program.
Some 20 million visitors come to the US annually under the visa waiver program. Individuals who have traveled recently to Iraq, Syria, Iran, or Sudan should anticipate having to disclose this information on the ESTA application and should be prepared for additional screenings, which could include an interview at a US consulate overseas prior to traveling to the United States.
To prevent falsification of passports, the measure would require all 38 countries to issue what it calls “e-passports” containing biometric information. President Barack Obama said he would veto it. The new bill will still allow VWP citizens to enter the country if they haven’t traveled to an area considered a “terrorist safe haven,”?or to follow the normal procedures and apply for a visa.
Requires U.S. intelligence agencies to regularly audit the security threat of VWP countries for compliance.
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“All European members are working together and with the American authorities to address the American concerns”, a European diplomat told AFP.
