WASHINGTON, DC – Senator Amy Klobuchar and a bipartisan group of senators introduced legislation to strengthen the security of the Visa Waiver Program to help prevent terrorists from entering the United States. The Visa Waiver Program Security Enhancement Act would help prevent foreign fighters from using the program, require additional biometric information and electronic passports to participate in the program, and increase information sharing between countries.

“Protecting our nation from those who would do us harm is the first and most important responsibility of Congress,” Klobuchar said. “While we have increased the security measures accompanying the Visa Waiver Program, there are ways we can make it even more secure. That is why I worked with members from both sides of the aisle, including Senator Feinstein and Senator Flake, to introduce this bipartisan bill to help strengthen the Visa Waiver Program and protect our national security.”

The Visa Waiver Program Security Enhancement Act would improve the security of the Visa Waiver Program by doing the following:

  • Require individuals who have traveled to Syria or Iraq in the past five years to acquire a traditional tourist visa instead of traveling without a visa under the Visa Waiver Program. This process requires an in-person interview with an American consular official and the submission of the traveler’s biometric information.
  • Require travelers using the Visa Waiver Program to submit biometric information, in the form of fingerprints and a photograph, before they travel to the United States.
  • Require all visa waiver travelers to use an electronic passport, which is more secure and harder to tamper with.
  • Require increased intelligence-sharing between Visa Waiver Program countries and the United States.

Klobuchar worked with Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Jeff Flake (R-AZ) to introduce the bill. The bill is also cosponsored by Senators Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND), Dan Coats (R-ID), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Mark Warner (D-VA), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Ron Johnson (R-WI), Jon Tester (D-MT), Angus King (I-ME), Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT).

 

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