About Visa Waiver Program Improvement and Terrorist Travel Prevention Act of 2015

The Visa Waiver Program (VWP) permits citizens of 38 countries to travel to the United States for stays of up to 90 days without a visa for business or tourism purposes. All VWP travelers must obtain pre-travel authorization prior to boarding a plane or ship bound for the United States. For apply for ESTA you can visit our website www.usa-esta-org.com.

The VWP, administered by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in consultation with the State Department, utilizes a risk-based, multi-layered approach to detect and prevent serious criminals, terrorists, and other mala fide actors from traveling to the USA. DHS remains concerned about the risks posed by the situation in Syria and Iraq, where instability has attracted thousands of foreign fighters, including many from VWP countries. They could travel to the U.S. for operational purposes on their own or at the behest of violent extremist groups.

On December 18, 2015, the Visa Waiver Program Improvement and Terrorist Travel Prevention Act of 2015 signed into law, it established new eligibility requirements for travel under the VWP. In this article we describe in detail about the specific changes to the VWP, which will appear in connection with the adoption of this Act.




Under the Visa Waiver Program Improvement and Terrorist Travel Prevention Act of 2015, the following categories of travelers are NO longer eligible to travel or be admitted to the United States under the VWP:

• Nationals of VWP countries who are also nationals of Iran, Iraq, Sudan, or Syria;

• Nationals of VWP countries who have traveled to or been present in Iran, Iraq, Sudan, or Syria on or after March 1, 2011 (with limited exceptions)*.

*Please note that these restrictions do not apply to VWP travelers whose presence in these countries was to perform military service in the armed forces of a program country, or in order to carry out official duties as a full-time employee of the government of a program country.

Travelers who are known to fall into the dual national category noted above will receive notice via the email address they provided as part of the ESTA application on or about January 21, 2016 that their current ESTA is no longer valid. Any traveler who receives notification that they are no longer eligible to participate in the VWP may still travel to the United States with a valid nonimmigrant visa issued by a U.S. Embassy or Consulate. The new law does not ban travel or admission to the United States with a valid visa. A new ESTA application with additional questions will be released in late February that will address exceptions provided for in the new law, although travelers who are subject to these exceptions should carry with them proof of their military or government service on their trip to the United States.

The Act also requires that all VWP travelers use an electronic passport for travel to the United States by April 1, 2016. Finally, the Act includes other changes to the VWP to promote enhanced information sharing of terrorism and criminal data, and use of INTERPOL databases and notices for border screening purposes.

The vast majority of VWP eligible travelers will not be affected by the legislation.


Exception under the new law

The Act provides for limited exceptions. To qualify, the traveler must establish that the purpose of the travel to Iraq, Iran, Syria, or Sudan was to perform military services in the armed services of a VWP country, or in order to carry out official duties as a full-time employee of the government of a VWP country. But please note that these military and official government services exceptions, however, do not apply to the dual national restriction.
Under the new law, the Secretary of Homeland Security may waive these restrictions. As a general matter, categories of travelers who may be eligible for a waiver include:

• Individuals who traveled to Iran, Iraq, Sudan or Syria on behalf of international organizations, regional organizations, and sub-national governments on official duty;

• Individuals who traveled to Iran, Iraq, Sudan or Syria on behalf of a humanitarian NGO on official duty; and

• Individuals who traveled to Iran, Iraq, Sudan or Syria as a journalist for reporting purposes;

• Individuals who traveled to Iran for legitimate business-related purposes following the conclusion of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (July 14, 2015); and

• Individuals who have traveled to Iraq for legitimate business-related purposes.

What to do if my ESTA have denied or revoked?

If you have a revoked ESTA, and you are outside the United States, you will not be allowed to board a conveyance to the United States. CBP recommends that any traveler check his or her ESTA approval prior to making any travel reservations to the United States. If you think that your ESTA was revoked in error, you may go to the CBP website at www.cbp.gov. If you need to speak to someone immediately, you may contact the CBP Information Center.

If you did not receive a revocation email, but have travelled to Iran, Iraq, Syria or Sudan since March 2011, we recommend that you apply for a U.S. nonimmigrant visa well in advance of desired travel to minimize the chance of delays.

Further information can be found at travel.state.gov. If you need additional information, please feel free to contact us.