Salmon, Sinema Introduce Legislation to Strengthen Visa Waiver Program

Press Release

Congressman Matt Salmon and Congresswoman Kyrsten Sinema introduced legislation yesterday to strengthen U.S. security by addressing security gaps in the visa waiver program (VWP). The VWP allows for visa free travel to the U.S. for stays of 90 days or less when certain requirements are met. It is open to 38 countries.

"The visa waiver program is an excellent program that benefits our economy and helps us grow jobs, as well as ties with our allies," said Congressman Salmon. "But as we ease entrance for our friends, we open the door for some that would seek to harm us. During a time of so many diverse threats, taking commonsense precautions to ensure Americans are safe at home is the duty of every Representative.‎ I'm proud to be working with Rep. Sinema on a commonsense and bipartisan fix to seal another gap that individuals who mean America harm could exploit to gain access to our nation."

"The Islamic State is a legitimate, immediate threat to the United States," said Congresswoman Sinema. "To keep our country safe and secure, we must address the serious security gaps in the visa waiver program. The visa waver program is an important tool that grows our economy and supports ease of travel for American citizens. To protect the integrity of this program and prevent IS and terror networks from using the program to gain access to the US, we've introduced this sensible, bipartisan solution to strengthen the program and reduce the threat of terrorists entering the United States from other countries."

Nearly one-third of all temporary visitors to the United States each year are VWP travelers. These visitors are permitted to enter our borders without first obtaining a visa from an American consulate in their countries of origin. The legislation suspends the visa waiver program for individuals who have traveled in the last five years to a country designated as a state sponsor of terror (Iran, Sudan, Syria), or to a specified list of countries with active global terror networks (Afghanistan, Egypt, Iraq, Libya, Yemen, Somalia, Nigeria). The bill also allows the Secretary of State to add additional countries if there is a known threat.

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