Per a Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) announcement on December 15, the administration is implementing additional requirements for the 38 countries participating in the Visa Waiver Program, a program that permits nationals of those countries to enter the US for brief periods of up to 90 days without first obtaining a formal B-1/B-2 “Visitor” visa from a US consular post abroad. The program is often referred to as “ESTA” after the online application which individual users must complete before using the Visa Waiver program.
The 38 countries will need to meet a higher bar for screening for all those who pass through their country (as well as their own airport workers), vetting them against US-supplied terrorism watch-list information and essentially attempting to turn them into extensions of US anti-terrorism efforts.
Also addressed in the DHS announcement is the question of those who overstay their 90-day Visa Waiver period of admission. Where 2% or more of entrants from those countries overstay their periods of admission, these countries will be required to engage in “public information campaigns” to warn their nationals about the penalties for overstaying US visas. Right now, only four of the 38 countries meet the 2% threshold.