RL32221 — Visa Waiver Program

The Visa Waiver Program (VWP), established in 1986 as a trial program and made permanent in 2000 (P.L. 106-396), allows nationals from 42 countries to enter the United States for periods of up to 90 days as temporary visitors (nonimmigrants) for business or pleasure without first obtaining a visa. Generally, temporary visitors for business or pleasure must obtain a visa from Department of State (DOS) officers at a consular post abroad before traveling to the United States unless they are nationals of one of the countries that participates in the VWP. Two main goals of the VWP are increasing tourism and strengthening national security. Some observers argue that the VWP strengthens national security because it sets standards for travel documents, requires information sharing between the member countries and the United States on criminal and security concerns, and mandates reporting of lost and stolen travel documents. VWP travelers have to present e-passports (i.e., passports with a data chip containing biometric information), which tend to be more difficult to alter than other types of passports. Nevertheless, some observers of the program have raised concerns about the possibility that terrorists will enter the United States under the VWP because those entering under the VWP undergo a biographic, rather than a biometric (i.e., fingerprint and digital photograph), security screening and do not need to interview in person with a U.S. consular official before embarking for the United States. There is also interest in the VWP as a mechanism to promote tourism and commerce and to ease consular workloads abroad. In the years prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, VWP admissions constituted approximately one-third of all temporary visitor admissions. For example, in FY2019 there were more than 22.9 million admissions to the United States under this program, constituting 31% of all temporary visitor admissions. In FY2021, the number of VWP admissions dropped significantly (to 1 million), constituting nearly 9.7% of all temporary visitor admissions, likely due to the impacts of COVID-19 on international travel. VWP admissions began to rebound in FY2022 (11.5 million), constituting 29.3% of all temporary visitor admissions. To qualify for the VWP, a country must offer reciprocal travel privileges to U.S. citizens; have had a nonimmigrant visa refusal rate of less than 3% for the previous year; issue their nationals machine-readable passports that incorporate biometric identifiers; issue tamper-resistant, machine-readable visa documents that incorporate biometric identifiers which are verifiable at the country’s port of entry; report the loss and theft of passports; share specified information regarding nationals of the country who represent a threat to U.S. security; and not compromise the law enforcement or security interests of the United States by its inclusion in the program. Countries can be terminated from the VWP if they fail to meet any of these conditions or otherwise threaten the United States’ security or immigration interests. All foreign nationals (i.e., aliens) entering under the VWP must present passports that contain electronic data chips (e-passports). Under Department of Homeland Security (DHS) regulations, travelers who seek to enter the United States through the VWP are subject to the biometric requirements of the United States Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology (US-VISIT) program. In addition, aliens seeking to travel to the United States under the VWP must get an approval from the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA), a web-based system that checks the alien’s information against relevant law enforcement and security databases, before they can board a plane to the United States. Under statute, the Secretary of Homeland Security has the authority to waive the nonimmigrant visa refusal rate requirement, provided certain conditions are met. However, the waiver authority was suspended on July 1, 2009, because DHS had not fully implemented an air exit system that incorporates biometric identifiers (an air exit system that can verify the departure of not less than 97% of foreign nationals who exit through U.S. airports was one of the conditions for granting the Secretary waiver authority). The waiver will not be available until such a system is implemented, and it is unknown when a biometric air exit system will be completed and fully implemented.

Curated by CRS — every bill listed in this report's relatedMaterials. Edge type cited_in_report, gold confidence.

• HR 6875 — United States-Uruguay Economic Partnership Act · 118th Cong
• HR 4367 — Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2024 · 118th Cong
• S 1926 — United States-Uruguay Economic Partnership Act · 118th Cong
• S 814 — Romania Visa Waiver Act of 2023 · 118th Cong
• S 493 — Securing the Visa Waiver Program Act of 2023 · 118th Cong