Washington, Aug. 8, 2015 (Reuters/NAN) The United States on Friday in Washington, announced tighter security measures for visitors from the 38 countries in its visa waiver programme.
The Department of Homeland Security said the countries included European nations that have seen hundreds of residents traveling to fight with militant groups in Syria and Iraq.
It said the changes required the use of e-passports or paper passports that contain chips carrying biometric information and expand use of U.S. air marshals on international flights.
Meanwhile, some U.S. lawmakers have been urging tighter restrictions on the waiver program which allows citizens from participating countries to enter the U.S. without a visa for stays of 90 days or less.
U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, has criticized the programme as vulnerable to abuse, calling it "the Achilles heel" of American efforts to stave off attacks on its soil.
The U.S. intelligence community assessed in February that more than 20,000 foreign fighters, including at least 3,400 Westerners, had traveled to the Syria-Iraq region since 2011.
The International Center for the Study of Radicalization said Western fighters in Syria and Iraq have found some of their most willing recruits in Belgium, France and Britain.
The centre said the three countries participated in the visa waiver program, as do many European countries.
Jeh Johnson, Homeland Security Secretary, said in a statement announcing the changes that the current global threat environment required the need to know more about those travelling the U.S.
He said it includes those from countries for which U.S.do not require a visa.
Johnson said the new restrictions also require that participating countries use an international database to screen for lost and stolen passports.
He said the changes build on measures taken in 2014 to require additional information on the application people in visa waiver countries provided to travel to the U.S.
The U.S. Travel Association, an industry group, welcomed the passport security and air marshal changes, but said it would evaluate other ones, including the development of passenger record databases and the screening of asylum-seekers.
Roger Dow, Association President, said though security should always be its first principle, it is well worth keeping in mind how the American economy and job creation benefit when the (visa waiver program) functions well. (Reuters/NAN)
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