The US Congress struck a huge spending deal overnight including a measure that will tighten the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) by excluding certain travelers deemed by Washington to be a risk.
AFP reports that Republican and Democratic negotiators included the measure in a catchall spending package agreed to late Tuesday and unveiled in the dead of night that sets federal expenditures at $1.149 billion through September 30, 2016, the end of the fiscal year.
The text, which is expected to be voted on by Thursday, includes the legislation adopted by the House of Representatives last week which excludes citizens from VWP countries who are also dual nationals from Iran, Iraq, Syria and Sudan.
It would also exclude anyone from the 38 participating nations -- including 30 in Europe -- who has traveled to those four countries, or to a country Washington has listed as supporting terrorism, since March 2011. Such foreign nationals will not be barred from traveling to the United States, but they will be required to obtain a visa prior to their visit through standard means, which includes a face-to-face interview at a US consulate.