House of Representatives Proposal to Tighten 'Visa Waiver' Regulations for Entry into the U.S.

Leaders of the Republican and Democratic parties in the U.S. House of Representatives announced on Thursday, December 3, a proposal to tighten 'visa waiver' regulations for entry into the U.S. According to the Republicans, this proposal will be voted on in the House next week and has the support of the Democrats as well. Following the deadly Paris attacks that left at least 130 dead, the White House announced on Monday that regulations for 'visa-free entry at the point of origin' would be tightened to better identify travelers from 38 countries who enter the U.S. under this bilateral agreement. Citizens from several European countries, including the UK, France, and Spain, will be among these 38 countries, and their backgrounds will need to be investigated to determine whether they have recently traveled to countries such as Iraq, Syria, and Sudan. According to this proposal, these 38 countries are required to provide their anti-terrorism information to the U.S., and if they fail to do so, they will be removed from the 'visa waiver' program. The proposal also mandates that citizens of these 38 countries possess passports with electronic chips containing biometric information. All information about the passport holder is digitally stored in these electronic chips. In this context, Candice Miller, a representative from Michigan, stated, 'For terrorists, travel documents and passports are as important as their weapons. This was an issue during the September 11 attacks and remains a concern today.' She emphasized that all potential avenues through which terrorists could act in the U.S. must be closed. While this proposal is set to be voted on in the House, two weeks ago, the House also passed a proposal aimed at halting the Obama administration's plan to accept 10,000 Syrian refugees.