Last week, Department of Homeland (DHS) Security Secretary Jeh Johnson issued a press release describing significant new security requirements for the Visa Waiver Program (VWP). The VWP was passed into law by Congress in 1986 as a way to facilitate tourism and short-term business visits to the U.S. Over the past 20 years, the VWP has expanded from a handful of countries to more than 30 countries today. The VWP allows citizens of those participating countries to stay without a visa for 90 days or less, so long as their travel purpose is tourism or business, they have a round-trip ticket to return from the U.S. upon entry, they have complied with all prior admissions to the U.S., they have never been found ineligible for a U.S. visa, they are registered with the Electronic System for Travel Authorization, and they have a compliant passport (i.e., machine-readable and, for some countries, an integrated chip).

Recently, concerns have grown among members of Congress and the public that terrorists could exploit the VWP to gain entry into the U.S. In response, Secretary Johnson announced that VWP countries will be required to expand the use of federal air marshals on international flights to the U.S., require all passports to contain an electronic chip with a digital photograph (known as e-passports), and require VWP countries to use the INTERPOL Lost and Stolen Passport Database to screen all travelers crossing those countries borders. These security measures are in addition to certain changes to the Electronic System for Travel Authorization made last year which resulted in the collection of additional data on individuals desiring to use the VWP.

This action may pre-empt public reports of legislation, which has yet to be introduced into Congress, to tighten the VWP requirements. Any further action to tighten VWP requirements may have an adverse effect on business and tourism, as more than 20 million people come to the U.S. using the VWP. Additionally, the registration system, the Electronic System for Travel Authorization, assists DHS to screen applicants who are ineligible for the VWP by using that system to check applicants for terrorist ties, travel bans, visa denials, and criminal history, including information provided by the applicant’s home countries.

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Photo of Dillon Colucci Dillon Colucci

Dillon R. Colucci practices and handles U.S. immigration concerns and helps individuals, families, professionals, skilled workers, investors, and businesses live, work, invest, and do business in the United States. Dillon handles a wide range of immigration matters, including nonimmigrant and immigrant employment-based cases.…

Dillon R. Colucci practices and handles U.S. immigration concerns and helps individuals, families, professionals, skilled workers, investors, and businesses live, work, invest, and do business in the United States. Dillon handles a wide range of immigration matters, including nonimmigrant and immigrant employment-based cases.

Dillon provides business immigration counsel to clients, including HR managers, high-level executives, and employees to pursue a positive immigration outcome for all stakeholders involved. Dillon has focused on administrative appeals work, successfully representing several clients in their appeals of adverse decisions. He also spends time on I-9 employment verification matters as well as H-1B and LCA compliance, including internal and external audits and reviews to minimize employer liability.

Additionally, Dillon focuses on EB-5 immigrant investor matters, regularly working with developers across a variety of industries, as well as private equity funds on developing new projects that qualify for EB-5 investments. This includes the creation of new Regional Centers, having projects adopted by existing Regional Centers or through pooled individual EB-5 petitions. Dillon also counsels foreign nationals on obtaining permanent residency through individual or Regional Center EB-5 investments.