Author Topic: DHS ends visa waivers for terrorism countries; Iranian travelers granted leniency  (Read 723 times)

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    DHS ends visa waivers for terrorism countries; Iranian travelers granted leniency


    Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson listens to a question after speaking at the University of Michigan-Dearborn on the Department’s efforts to engage communities to form partnerships focused on fostering better public safety and homeland security, Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2016, ... more >


    By Stephen Dinan - The Washington Times - Thursday, January 21, 2016

    Foreigners who have recently traveled to Iraq, Iran, Sudan or Syria are no longer allowed to visit the U.S. without first obtaining a visa, the Homeland Security Department announced Thursday as it implemented the first new restrictions from Congress to tackle the threat from the Islamic State.

    But the department announced a special carve-out for business travelers to and from Iran, making good on promises Secretary of State John Kerry made to the Islamic Republic to fulfill what he said were U.S. obligations under the international Iran nuclear weapons deal.

    Under the terms of the arrangement, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson will waive visa requirements for business travelers to Iran on a case-by-case basis.

    Critics said the president was breaking the law he himself signed by adding those exceptions.

    “In fact, the categories of people that the Obama administration is exempting from the law were expressly rejected by Congress,” said Rep. Bob Goodlatte, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. “This needlessly compromises our national security and the safety of the American people.”

    At issue is the U.S. visa waiver program, which grants tourists and business visitors from more than three dozen countries entry into the U.S. without having to go through the extensive screening and in-person interviews required for obtaining a visa.

    The countries that qualify are mostly firm U.S. allies, including most European nations.

    But with thousands of Europeans having gone to train with the Islamic State and other terrorist organizations in Syria and Iraq, Congress worried they could use their European passports to gain easier entry into the U.S.

    Those fears were heightened after last year’s terrorist attack in Paris, which involved several terrorists with European documents.

    Under the new rules, those who are from visa waiver countries but who have visited terrorism-connected countries since 2011 must get a full visa, and go through the heightened screening that entails.

    Foreigners who hold dual-citizenship that includes one of the four targeted countries are also forbidden from visiting the U.S. under the visa waiver program, Homeland Security said.

    Even as Mr. Obama was signing the new changes into law last year, Mr. Kerry was assuring Iranian officials they would get special treatment under the terms of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) — the deal to halt Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of sanctions that had crippled that country’s economy.

    The law gives Mr. Johnson the power to waive the restrictions for national security cases.

    He says that power covers business travelers to Iran, under the terms of the JCPOA, as well as those who visited Iraq “for legitimate business-related purposes.”

    Also exempted are staffers for humanitarian organizations and journalists.

    “The new law does not ban travel to the United States, or admission into the United States, and the great majority of VWP travelers will not be affected by the legislation,” Homeland Security said in announcing the changes.

    http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/...ism-countries/