The Visa Waiver Program (VWP), administered by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in consultation with the State Department, permits citizens of 41 countries [1] to travel to the United States for business or tourism for stays of up to 90 days without a visa. In return, those 41 countries must permit U.S. citizens and nationals to travel to their countries for a similar length of time without a visa for business or tourism purposes. Since its inception in 1986, the VWP has evolved into a comprehensive security partnership with many of America’s closest allies. The VWP utilizes a risk-based, multi-layered approach to detect and prevent terrorists, serious criminals, and other mala fide actors from traveling to the United States. This approach incorporates regular, national-level risk assessments concerning the impact of each program country’s participation in the VWP on U.S. national security and law enforcement interests. It also includes comprehensive vetting of individual VWP travelers prior to their departure for the United States, upon arrival at U.S. ports of entry, and during any subsequent air travel within the United States.
A strong and vibrant economy is essential to our national security. The United States welcomed approximately 20 million VWP travelers in FY 2014 who, according to the Department of Commerce, spent approximately $84 billion on goods and services. VWP travelers injected nearly $231 million a day into local economies across the country.
The eligibility requirements for a country’s designation in the VWP are defined in Section 217 of the Immigration and Nationality Act as amended by the Secure Travel and Counterterrorism Partnership Act of 2007. Pursuant to existing statute, the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary of State, may designate into the VWP a country that:
After designation in the VWP, countries must maintain high and consistent security standards. DHS, in consultation with the State Department, is statutorily required to conduct reviews of the effects of each VWP country’s designation in the program on U.S. national security, law enforcement, and immigration interests at least once every two years. During the review process, DHS assesses VWP countries’ counterterrorism, law enforcement, immigration enforcement, passport security, and border management capabilities. DHS collects information from the government of the VWP country under review, the U.S. diplomatic mission in that country, the Departments of State and Justice, the U.S. Intelligence Community, and other sources. Many reviews also include operational site inspections of airports, seaports, land borders, and passport production and issuance facilities in VWP countries.
In addition to the biennial review process, DHS continuously monitors all VWP countries to ensure that their continued designation in the VWP will not adversely affect the security of the United States. Continuous monitoring allows DHS to react rapidly to evolving security threats. The Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary of State, has statutory authority to immediately terminate or suspend a country’s designation in the VWP without notice if there is a credible threat originating from that country which poses an imminent danger to the United States or its citizens.
Following the conclusion of every review, DHS, in consultation with the State Department, provides a report to Congress regarding the assessment results and designation determination.
In addition to national-level risk assessments, DHS conducts targeted, individualized vetting of all VWP travelers at various points throughout the travel continuum. The Department requires all prospective VWP travelers to obtain pre-travel authorization via U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) prior to boarding a plane or ship bound for the United States. DHS coordinates with the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) to vet ESTA applications to ensure that travel authorizations are not issued to individuals who pose a threat to national security. In November 2014, DHS began requiring ESTA applicants to provide additional information to further enhance its ability to identify applicants on the U.S. terrorist watchlist.
DHS automatically screens all ESTA information against numerous U.S. law enforcement and counterterrorism databases, as well as INTERPOL databases, while upholding strict privacy standards. DHS recurrently vets ESTA data on a daily basis to ensure that we are taking advantage of the latest law enforcement and intelligence information. CBP carefully evaluates any ESTA check that raises a counterterrorism concern. Since ESTA’s inception in 2008, CBP has denied several thousand ESTA applications as a result of vetting against the U.S. Government’s terrorist watchlist. The enhanced ESTA requirements implemented in November have already resulted in demonstrable security benefits.
In addition, U.S. law requires commercial air and sea carriers operating flights to, from, or through the United States to provide Advance Passenger Information (API) and Passenger Name Records (PNR) to CBP. This information includes travelers’ biographic and travel reservation information. CBP screens this data against U.S. and international law enforcement and counterterrorism databases to identify high-risk individuals before they depart for the United States and when they travel by air within the United States. All VWP travelers are subject to this vetting.