President Barack Obama recently plans to loosen some requirements of a visa law spurred by the deadly attacks in Paris. But then, the president's arrangement on the visa limits faces open resistance from both Democrats and Republicans in the U.S. Congress on Wednesday.
According to JPost, the measure went into effect in late January. It requires that citizens of 38 countries who previously were able to travel to the United States for up to 90 days without a visa must now acquire one if they have visited Iran, Iraq, Sudan or Syria since March 1, 2011. And Ed Royce, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, on Wednesday stated that he wanted to add Libya to the list of countries covered by the visa limitations.
And at a hearing of the House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee, lawyers revealed a particular concern over excusing some travelers who visit Iran, including those conducting business from the new visa restriction. "Nowhere does the law include this authority. In fact, Congress explicitly rejected the waivers requested by the White House," Chairman Michael McCaul, a Republican, stated via Reuters.
The November 13 terror attacks in Paris created fears about travels. A few of the Islamic State attackers who killed 130 people that day held European passports that would have allowed them easy enter the United States. Lawmakers, moreover, passed the visa restrictions on fears that travelers from the mainly European countries in the Visa Waiver Program could easily and directly head to the United States even if they have visited countries like Syria, Iran or Iraq.
Representative Bennie Thompson, the Homeland Security Committee's top Democrat, also voiced out Republican concerns about Obama's pronouncement of his plan to allow visa waivers for foreign business people who travel to Iran. "I have some questions about how the (Department of Homeland Security) would go about determining the legitimacy of the business-related purposes," he said.
Yahoo! News also reported that the administration officials, however, countered the claims and that they just wanted to shield journalists, humanitarian aid workers, employees of other international organizations, and business people helping economic revamping in Iran and Iraq. But then, individuals must qualify for the Visa Waiver Program, with background checks against the U.S. counterterrorism and law enforcement databases.
Meanwhile, administration officials expressed concerns with the visa limitations. They claimed that if the United States fails to loosen some of the new restrictions, foreign governments might stop information sharing, or impose new visa requirements on Americans who visit their countries.
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