Subcommittee on
Testimony of Stephen A. “Tony” Edson
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Visa
Services
May 14,
2008
Thank you, Chairman Wexler, Ranking Member Gallegly and distinguished Members of the Subcommittee. I am delighted to be here this afternoon and appreciate this opportunity to discuss the role Department of State plays in the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) under the new legislative requirements in Section 711 of “Implementing the 9/11 Commission Recommendations Act of 2007” (the 9/11 Act) as well as the implications that potential expansion of the VWP may have for our international relations.
European and Korean leaders told
President Bush repeatedly of the desire of their citizens to travel visa-free
to the
As I have testified previously before
this Committee together with our colleagues at the Department of Homeland
Security (DHS), we strive constantly both to protect
With the advancement of both new
security technologies and new security risks, we can and must ensure that for
VWP participant and aspirant countries, we are able to assess the risks posed
by individuals on a traveler-by-traveler basis, rather than a
country-by-country basis alone. The
changes to the VWP in the 9/11 act give us the tools to do this.
The 9/11 Act spells out several areas of enhanced security cooperation to which both participant and aspirant countries must agree, including participating in an Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA), more thorough and timely reporting of both blank and issued passports that are lost or stolen, exchanging passenger information, and repatriating nationals ordered removed from the United States. The law also provides, where necessary, for increasing airport security and travel document standards, and expanding the use of air marshals. The Department of State believes these enhanced security measures promote more secure international travel.
By statute, DHS has the lead for the VWP and works in close coordination with the Department of State on all aspects of the program. The Department of State has responsibility for formally nominating a country for consideration for VWP participation. We are the primary conduit for guidance on VWP issues to our posts abroad. State Department officers at these posts, in turn, are the primary interlocutors with host governments, the travel industry, the media, and public on issues related to VWP. We provide input to DHS’s evaluations of a VWP aspirant country’s law enforcement capabilities and cooperation, immigration requirements, and security standards, as well as during DHS’s statutorily mandated country reviews for both initial and continuing participation in the VWP. We are also working closely with our DHS colleagues and our posts abroad on the development and implementation of the ESTA program.
The
Provisions requiring a non-immigrant
visa refusal rate of less than three percent remain in the law, but the 9/11
Act gives the Secretary of Homeland Security a new waiver authority for
countries with a refusal rate greater than three percent but less than ten
percent in the previous fiscal year.
This waiver authority is conditioned on a number of factors, including
DHS implementation of the ESTA and certification that an air exit system is in
place that can verify the departure of at least 97 percent of foreign nationals
who exit through
I wanted to briefly clarify what a
nonimmigrant refusal rate means in the context of the VWP. For purposes of the VWP, the nonimmigrant
visa refusal rate is based only on the number of visitor ("B") visa applications
submitted worldwide, by nationals of that country. (B visas are issued for short-term business
or pleasure travel to the
For those aspirant countries whose
refusal rate is above the three percent requirement but below ten percent, once
DHS is able to exercise its waiver authority, State will formally nominate those
countries which meet the criteria for VWP membership. Based on a comprehensive interagency
assessment of the effect of a VWP aspirant country’s participation on
A number
of other countries have refusal rates below ten percent and/or meet
other VWP criteria. We know, for instance, that
The revised VWP legislation also gives
the Department the means to increase security information sharing with our all
of our VWP partners. The USG now has
signed memoranda of understanding (MOUs) with eight VWP
roadmap countries (
We are working closely with DHS on the second part of the MOU process, the bilateral negotiation of specific plans for enhanced information sharing with VWP members and aspirants. Moreover, the European Union Commission received a mandate from the Member States to negotiate with the USG certain travel security and information sharing topics that fall within EU competencies. The USG and representatives of the Commission have held constructive preliminary discussions on these topics. Both sides agree that the outcome of U.S.-EU talks will not affect the aspirant countries’ ability to join the VWP.
Sharing information on known and suspected terrorists remains
a high priority. As part of State’s
responsibility for Homeland Security Presidential Directive 6 (HSPD-6)
agreements on the integration and use of terrorist screening information, we anticipate signing HSPD-6 terrorist watchlist sharing arrangements
with all the VWP roadmap countries by September. The successful conclusion of
operational arrangements for an increased level of cooperation in this area has
been stimulated by the dialogue on VWP.
The foreign policy, diplomatic, and economic
implications are important as well. Here,
the benefits of VWP are substantial. The
two largest participants in the VWP by traveler volume are the
In commerce, the U.S.-European
trade and investment relationship is the largest in the world.
Transatlantic trade totals over $500 billion annually, and the
In closing, the Department firmly supports the provisions in the 9/11 Act. We see the new requirements as a positive means to strengthen the security of visa-free travel, permit some of our close friends and allies to join the Visa Waiver Program, and thereby enhance our cooperation and ties with those countries over the long term. The Department looks forward to working with our partner agencies and with this Committee toward that goal. I would be happy to answer your questions.