Press Releases 2003
What is the Visa Waiver Program?
23 January 2003The Visa Waiver Program (VWP) enables citizens of participating
countries to travel to the U.S. for tourism or business for 90 days or
less without obtaining a U.S. visa. The VWP is administered by the
Attorney General in consultation with the Secretary of State. The Visa
Waiver Program (VWP) was created by an act of Congress as a pilot
program in 1986 and implemented in 1988. Congress passed legislation to
make the program permanent in October 2000, and the President signed
the legislation on October 30, 2000.
Currently there are 28
participating countries in the VWP: Andorra, Austria, Australia,
Belgium, Brunei, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland,
Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, The Netherlands, New
Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore, Slovenia, Spain,
Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and Uruguay.
How does a country qualify for VWP participation?
- Refusal
rate: In order to qualify for VWP participation, the nonimmigrant
visitor ("B-1/B-2" visa category) refusal rate for nationals of a
country who have applied at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate in that country
must average less than 3% for the previous fiscal year. Once a country
meets the refusal rate criteria, a number of other factors must be
evaluated before a decision on VWP nomination can be made:
- Reciprocity: VWP candidate countries must provide reciprocal visa-free travel for U.S. citizens.
- Passport
security: A country must have a machine readable passport (MRP) program
in place in order to qualify for VWP participation. In addition, VWP
candidate countries must demonstrate that adequate safeguards against
fraudulent use of their passports are in place, including proper
storage of blank passports and sufficient screening of passport
applicants. Consideration will also be given to the ease with which
host country citizenship can be obtained.
- Political and
economic stability: Countries under consideration for VWP participation
must be sufficiently stable to ensure that conditions which could
affect VWP qualifying criteria (such as overstay rates in the U.S.) are
not likely to change dramatically in the future.
- Border
controls: VWP candidate countries must demonstrate that effective
border controls are in place for all territory under their control.
Factors taken into consideration include the thoroughness and
consistency of entry checks as well as the extent to which the
country's territory is used as a transit point for alien smugglers.
- Law-enforcement
cooperation: The degree to which host country law enforcement agencies
cooperate with U.S. counterparts as well as international entities such
as Interpol will be considered. The Attorney General, in consultation
with the Secretary of State, must evaluate the nominee country's
interest in enforcement of U.S. immigration laws, and the existence and
effectiveness of extradition agreements with the U.S., including
extradition of its own nationals who violate US laws. The Attorney
General must submit a report to Congress on the country's qualification
for designation that includes an explanation of a favorable
determination.
- Security concerns: Any security concerns that could be raised by a country's admission into the VWP program will be considered.
Is there a probationary program for VWP entry?
No.
The probationary status entry program, designed for countries with a
refusal rate of less than 3.5 percent but more than 2 percent, was
eliminated by the new immigration legislation signed into law in
September 1996. Therefore, no more countries may be admitted in
probationary status.
How does the nomination process work?
The
nomination process is based on a 1997 protocol established between the
Departments of State and Justice. Under this protocol, the State
Department initiates the process by advising the Department of Justice
of its intent to nominate a country for consideration for inclusion in
the VWP. The Department of State may only nominate a country once it
determines that each the first three qualifications listed above
(including refusal rate below 3%, reciprocal treatment for American
citizens, and machine readable passport program in place) have been
met. If all three of these criteria have not been met, or if the
Department of State believes that deficiencies in the other
qualification areas are significant, the Department will not nominate a
country.
Once the Department of State has advised the Department
of Justice of its intent to nominate a country, an interagency team
reviews the nomination, focusing on the impact inclusion of the country
in VWP would have on law enforcement, national security, and
immigration control. If no clearly disqualifying objections are raised
during this prenomination review, the Secretary of State submits a
formal written nomination to the Attorney General.
After a country
is formally nominated, INS leads a site team of representatives from
interested agencies to visit the nominated country. The team reviews
the nominee country’s political, social, and economic condition; the
security of its passport and national identity documents; its border
controls, immigration and nationality laws, and law enforcement
policies and practices; and other matters that nay be of law
enforcement, immigration, or national security concern. Based on the
prenomination review and site visit, the interagency working group
submits a recommendation to the Attorney General, who then makes the
ultimate decision on VWP participation.
NOTE: As of February
21, 2002, Argentina is no longer included in the visa waiver program.
For further information, please check the Department of Justice website
at www.usdoj.gov.
For more information on obtaining a U.S. visa in Poland, please check the American Embassy website at www.usinfo.pl.
For more information: John Matel, Press Attaché, (022) 628-3041, ext. 2088, (0)601-394-202
Dick Custin, Asst. Press Attaché, (022) 628-3041, ext. 2088;
(0)601-394-201
