Concerns about Secretary of State John Kerry’s recent claims that certain requirements in the recently enacted U.S. Visa Waiver Program (VWP) reforms pertaining to Iran could be waived were raised by congressional leaders in a Thursday letter.
The letter, signed by House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce (R-CA), House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX) and Rep. Candice Miller (R-MI), the author of The Visa Waiver Program Improvement and Terrorist Travel Prevention Act of 2015, warns that Iran is a U.S.-designated state sponsor of terrorism.
“Congress and the president strengthened the VWP in order to protect the national security of the United States,” the letter said. “Iran is impacted by this new law because it is a U.S.-designated state sponsor of terrorism. The simplest way to eliminate this restriction is for Iran to end its support of terrorism. We are deeply concerned that this point was absent from your recent correspondence with the Iranian foreign minister and urge the administration to press Tehran on this, as well as its recent missile tests and persistent jailing of Americans. The problem is with Iranian actions, not the new visa waiver law.”
H.R. 158, the Visa Waiver Program Improvement and Terrorist Travel Prevention Act of 2015, was passed by the House in an overwhelming bipartisan 407-19 vote and was signed into law by President Barack Obama as part of the end of year spending legislation.
“Secretary Kerry’s letter to Foreign Minister Zarif calls into question the administration’s intentions,” the letter said. “The law prohibits the vast majority of citizens of countries participating in the VWP who travel to Iran or are Iranian-dual nationals from being able to use the VWP to enter the United States. They will instead be required to obtain a visa – a process which citizens of most countries must go through before traveling to the United States. The bill also contains very limited exceptions to the VWP travel prohibition. It also gives the Department of Homeland Security secretary the ability to waive the prohibition on an individual basis if it is in ‘the law enforcement or national security interests of the United States.’ This does not allow for the waiving of the VWP travel prohibition for an entire class of individuals.
“Based on the letter to Foreign Minister Zarif, we are deeply concerned that the narrowly-intended use of the waiver authority will be ignored in favor of applying the waiver authority to those who have traveled to Iran for business purposes. Not only was such an exemption from the law not included in the legislation, it was specifically discussed during bill negotiations with administration staff and expressly refused by members of Congress despite the inclusion of two other exemptions. This letter serves to dispel any notion that the Congressional intent would allow the waiver authority to be used for business travelers.”