I 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2006 

To improve the Nation’s homeland security by strengthening the security 

of the visa waiver program under section 217 of the Immigration and 

Nationality Act, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 23, 2007 

Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi introduced the following bill; which was referred 

to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on 

Homeland Security, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 

Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within 

the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To improve the Nation’s homeland security by strengthening 

the security of the visa waiver program under section 

217 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, and for 

other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. STRENGTHENING SECURITY OF THE VISA 

4 WAIVER PROGRAM. 

5 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This section may be cited as— 

6 (1) the ‘‘Secure Visa Waiver and Preventing 

7 Terrorist Travel Partnership Act’’; or 


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1 (2) the ‘‘Secure Visa Waiver Travel Act’’. 

2 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of the 

3 Congress that— 

4 (1) the United States should improve the Na5 tion’s homeland security by strengthening the secu6 rity of the visa waiver program by— 

7 (A) enhancing program security require8 ments; and 

9 (B) extending visa-free travel privileges to 

10 nationals of foreign countries— 

11 (i) that are actively cooperating with 

12 the United States to prevent terrorist trav13 el, including sharing counterterrorism and 

14 law enforcement information; and 

15 (ii) whose nationals have dem16 onstrated their compliance with the provi17 sions of the Immigration and Nationality 

18 Act regarding the purpose and duration of 

19 their admission to the United States; and 

20 (2) the improvements described in paragraph 

21 (1) will— 

22 (A) enhance bilateral cooperation on crit23 ical counterterrorism and information sharing 

24 initiatives; 


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1 (B) support and expand tourism and busi2 ness opportunities to enhance long-term eco3 nomic competitiveness; and 

4 (C) strengthen bilateral relationships. 

5 (c) DISCRETIONARY VISA WAIVER PROGRAM EXPAN6 SION.—Section 217(c) of the Immigration and Nationality 

7 Act (8 U.S.C. 1187(c)) is amended by adding at the end 

8 the following: 

9 ‘‘(8) NONIMMIGRANT VISA REFUSAL RATE

10 FLEXIBILITY.— 

11 ‘‘(A) CERTIFICATION.—On the date on 

12 which a biometric air exit border security sys13 tem is in place that can verify the departure of 

14 not less than 97 percent of foreign nationals 

15 that exit through airports of the United States, 

16 the Secretary of Homeland Security shall cer17 tify to the Congress that such air exit system 

18 is in place. 

19 ‘‘(B) WAIVER.—After certification by the 

20 Secretary under subparagraph (A), the Sec21 retary of Homeland Security, in consultation 

22 with the Secretary of State, may waive the ap23 plication of paragraph (2)(A) for a country— 

24 ‘‘(i) if— 


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1 ‘‘(I) the country meets all exist2 ing security requirements and en3 hanced security requirements de4 scribed in the Secure Visa Waiver 

5 Travel Act; 

6 ‘‘(II) the Secretary of Homeland 

7 Security, in consultation with the Sec8 retary of State and the Attorney Gen9 eral, determines that the totality of 

10 the country’s security risk mitigation 

11 measures provides assurance that the 

12 country’s participation in the program 

13 would not compromise the homeland 

14 security, law enforcement, or enforce15 ment of the immigration laws, of the 

16 United States; 

17 ‘‘(III) there has been a sustained 

18 reduction in visa refusal rates for 

19 aliens from the country and conditions 

20 exist to continue such reduction; and 

21 ‘‘(IV) the country actively cooper22 ated with the Government of the 

23 United States to prevent terrorist 

24 travel and enhance our border secu25 rity, including sharing 


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1 counterterrorism and law enforcement 

2 information, before the date of its des3 ignation as a program country, and 

4 the Secretary of Homeland Security 

5 and the Secretary of State expect 

6 such cooperation will continue; and 

7 ‘‘(ii) if— 

8 ‘‘(I) the average number of refus9 als of nonimmigrant visitor visas 

10 under section 101(a)(15)(B) for na11 tionals of that country during the pre12 vious full fiscal year was less than 6 

13 percent; or 

14 ‘‘(II) the total number of nation15 als of that country who were denied 

16 admission or who withdrew their ap17 plication for admission to the United 

18 States, combined with the total num19 ber of nationals of that country who 

20 were admitted as nonimmigrant visi21 tors but who violated the terms of 

22 such admission, thereby presenting a 

23 potential security risk, was less that 2 

24 percent of the total number of nation25 als of that country who applied for 


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1 admission to the United States as 

2 nonimmigrant visitors during the pre3 vious full fiscal year. 

4 ‘‘(9) DISCRETIONARY SECURITY-RELATED CON5 SIDERATIONS.— 

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In determining wheth7 er to waive the application of paragraph (2)(A) 

8 for a country under paragraph (8), the Sec9 retary of Homeland Security, in consultation 

10 with the Secretary of State, shall take into con11 sideration other factors affecting the homeland 

12 security of the United States, including— 

13 ‘‘(i) airport security standards in the 

14 country; 

15 ‘‘(ii) whether the country assists in 

16 the operation of an effective air marshal 

17 program; 

18 ‘‘(iii) the standards of passports and 

19 travel documents issued by the country; 

20 and 

21 ‘‘(iv) other security-related factors. 

22 ‘‘(B) OVERSTAY RATES.—In determining 

23 whether to designate a country as a program 

24 country, the Secretary of Homeland Security 

25 shall consider whether the estimated rate at 


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1 which nationals of the country overstay their 

2 authorized period of stay in the United States 

3 exceeds 2 percent.’’. 

4 (d) SECURITY ENHANCEMENTS TO THE VISA WAIV5 ER PROGRAM.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 217 of the Immigra7 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1187) is amend8 ed— 

9 (A) in subsection (a)— 

10 (i) by striking ‘‘Operators of aircraft’’ 

11 and inserting the following: 

12 ‘‘(10) ELECTRONIC TRANSMISSION OF IDENTI13 FICATION INFORMATION.—Operators of aircraft’’; 

14 and 

15 (ii) by adding at the end the fol16 lowing: 

17 ‘‘(11) ELIGIBILITY DETERMINATION UNDER

18 THE ELECTRONIC TRAVEL AUTHORIZATION SYS19 TEM.—Beginning on the date on which the elec20 tronic travel authorization system developed under 

21 subsection (h)(3) is fully operational, each alien 

22 traveling under the program shall, before applying 

23 for admission, electronically provide to the system 

24 biographical information and such other information 

25 as the Secretary of Homeland Security shall deem 


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1 necessary to determine the eligibility of, and whether 

2 there exists a law enforcement or security risk in 

3 permitting, the alien to travel to the United States. 

4 Upon review of such information, the Secretary of 

5 Homeland Security shall determine whether the 

6 alien is eligible to travel to the United States under 

7 the program.’’; 

8 (B) in subsection (c), as amended by sub9 section (c) of this section— 

10 (i) in paragraph (2)— 

11 (I) by amending subparagraph 

12 (D) to read as follows: 

13 ‘‘(D) REPORTING LOST AND STOLEN PASS14 PORTS.—The government of the country enters 

15 into an agreement with the United States to re16 port, or make available through Interpol, to the 

17 United States Government information about 

18 the theft or loss of passports within a strict 

19 time limit, not to exceed one week, and in a 

20 manner specified in the agreement.’’; and 

21 (II) by adding at the end the fol22 lowing: 

23 ‘‘(E) REPATRIATION OF ALIENS.—The 

24 government of a country accepts for repatri25 ation any citizen, former citizen, or national 


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1 against whom a final executable order of re2 moval is issued not later than 3 weeks after the 

3 issuance of the final order of removal. Nothing 

4 in this subparagraph creates any duty for the 

5 United States or any right for any alien with 

6 respect to removal or release. Nothing in this 

7 subparagraph gives rise to any cause of action 

8 or claim under this paragraph or any other law 

9 against any official of the United States or of 

10 any State to compel the release, removal, or 

11 consideration for release or removal of any 

12 alien. 

13 ‘‘(F) PASSENGER INFORMATION EX14 CHANGE.—The government of the country en15 ters into an agreement with the United States 

16 to share information regarding whether nation17 als of that country traveling to the United 

18 States represent a threat to the security or wel19 fare of the United States or its citizens.’’; 

20 (ii) in paragraph (5)— 

21 (I) by striking ‘‘Attorney Gen22 eral’’ each place such term appears 

23 and inserting ‘‘Secretary of Homeland 

24 Security’’; and 

25 (II) in subparagraph (A)(i)— 


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1 (aa) in subclause (II), by 

2 striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

3 (bb) in subclause (III)— 

4 (AA) by striking the pe5 riod at the end and inserting 

6 ‘‘; and’’; and 

7 (BB) by striking ‘‘Com8 mittee on International Re9 lations’’ and inserting 

10 ‘‘Committee on Foreign Af11 fairs’’; and 

12 (cc) by adding at the end 

13 the following: 

14 ‘‘(IV) shall submit to the Con15 gress a report regarding the participa16 tion of new countries in the program 

17 through a waiver under paragraph 

18 (8).’’; and 

19 (iii) by adding at the end the fol20 lowing: 

21 ‘‘(10) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary 

22 of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Sec23 retary of State, shall provide technical assistance to 

24 program countries to assist those countries in meet25 ing the requirements under this section. The SecVerDate Aug 31 2005 20:59 Apr 24, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2006.IH H2006

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1 retary of Homeland Security shall ensure that the 

2 program office within the Department of Homeland 

3 Security is adequately staffed and has resources to 

4 be able to provide such technical assistance, in addi5 tion to its duties to effectively monitor compliance of 

6 the countries participating in the program with all 

7 the requirements of the program, including the new 

8 requirements imposed under the amendments to this 

9 section made by the Secure Visa Waiver Travel 

10 Act.’’; 

11 (C) in subsection (f)(5), by striking ‘‘of 

12 blank’’ and inserting ‘‘or loss of’’; and 

13 (D) in subsection (h), by adding at the end 

14 the following: 

15 ‘‘(3) ELECTRONIC TRAVEL AUTHORIZATION

16 SYSTEM.— 

17 ‘‘(A) SYSTEM.—The Secretary of Home18 land Security, in consultation with the Sec19 retary of State, is authorized to develop and im20 plement a fully automated electronic travel au21 thorization system (referred to in this para22 graph as the ‘System’) to collect such bio23 graphical and other information as the Sec24 retary of Homeland Security determines to be 

25 necessary to determine, in advance of travel, 


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1 whether an alien may present a law enforce2 ment or security risk and is eligible to travel to 

3 the United States under the program. 

4 ‘‘(B) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary of 

5 Homeland Security shall promulgate regulations 

6 describing this System and the information to 

7 be collected before implementation of the Sys8 tem. 

9 ‘‘(C) FEES.—The Secretary of Homeland 

10 Security may charge a fee for the use of the 

11 System, which shall be— 

12 ‘‘(i) set at a level that will ensure re13 covery of the full costs of providing and 

14 administering the System; and 

15 ‘‘(ii) available to pay the costs in16 curred to administer the System. 

17 ‘‘(D) VALIDITY.— 

18 ‘‘(i) PERIOD.—The Secretary of 

19 Homeland Security, in consultation with 

20 the Secretary of State shall prescribe regu21 lations that provide for a period, not to ex22 ceed 3 years, during which a determination 

23 of eligibility to travel under the program 

24 will be valid. Notwithstanding any other 

25 provision under this section, the Secretary 


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1 of Homeland Security may revoke any 

2 such determination at any time and for 

3 any reason and shall revoke such deter4 mination if the country of the traveler’s 

5 nationality becomes no longer qualified to 

6 continue in the program. 

7 ‘‘(ii) LIMITATION.—A determination 

8 that an alien is eligible to travel to the 

9 United States under the program is not a 

10 determination that the alien is admissible 

11 to the United States. 

12 ‘‘(iii) NOT A DETERMINATION OF VISA

13 ELIGIBILITY.—A determination by the Sec14 retary of Homeland Security that an alien 

15 who applied for authorization to travel to 

16 the United States through the System is 

17 not eligible to travel under the program is 

18 not a determination of ineligibility for a 

19 visa to travel to the United States and 

20 shall not preclude the alien from applying 

21 for a visa. 

22 ‘‘(iv) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—Notwith23 standing any other provision of law, no 

24 court shall have jurisdiction to review an 

25 eligibility determination under the System. 


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1 ‘‘(E) REPORTS ON THE ELECTRONIC TRAV2 EL AUTHORIZATION SYSTEM.— 

3 ‘‘(i) INITIAL REPORT.—Not later than 

4 60 days before publishing regulations re5 garding the implementation of the System 

6 in the Federal Register, the Secretary of 

7 Homeland Security shall submit a report 

8 to the Congress regarding the implementa9 tion of the System. 

10 ‘‘(ii) SECOND REPORT.—The Sec11 retary shall also report to the Congress on 

12 the implementation of the system 18 

13 months after implementation.’’. 

14 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Section 217(a)(11) of 

15 the Immigration and Nationality Act, as added by 

16 paragraph (1)(A)(ii), shall take effect on the date 

17 which is 60 days after the date on which the Sec18 retary of Homeland Security publishes notice in the 

19 Federal Register of the requirement under such 

20 paragraph. 

21 (e) EXIT SYSTEM.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

23 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

24 of Homeland Security shall establish a biometric exit 

25 system that records the departure on a flight leaving 


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1 the United States of every alien who departs by air 

2 who is participating in the visa waiver program es3 tablished under section 217 of the Immigration and 

4 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1187). 

5 (2) SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS.—The system es6 tablished under paragraph (1) shall— 

7 (A) match biometric information of the 

8 alien against relevant watch lists and immigra9 tion information; and 

10 (B) compare such biometric information 

11 against manifest information collected by air 

12 carriers on passengers departing the United 

13 States to confirm such individuals have de14 parted the United States. 

15 (3) REPORT ON EXIT SYSTEM.—Not later than 

16 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 

17 the Secretary shall submit a report to the Congress 

18 that describes— 

19 (A) the progress made in developing and 

20 deploying the exit system established under this 

21 subsection; and 

22 (B) the procedures by which the Secretary 

23 will improve the manner of calculating the rates 

24 of nonimmigrants who overstay their authorized 

25 period of stay in the United States. 


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1 (4) ANNUAL REPORT ON EXIT DATA.—Com2 mencing not later than 2 years after the date of the 

3 enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit an 

4 annual report to the Congress that provides entry 

5 and exit data and overstay rates for nationals of 

6 each of the countries participating in the visa waiver 

7 program. The report shall also designate which, if 

8 any, countries are no longer eligible to participate in 

9 the such program under the provisions of section 

10 217(c)(3)(A) of the Immigration and Nationality 

11 Act (8 U.S.C. 1187(c)(3)(A)). 

12 (f) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—Any report to the Con13 gress required by this section, or any amendment made 

14 by this section, shall be made to the following committees: 

15 (1) The Committee on Homeland Security and 

16 Governmental Affairs of the Senate. 

17 (2) The Committee on the Judiciary of the Sen18 ate. 

19 (3) The Select Committee on Intelligence of the 

20 Senate. 

21 (4) The Committee on Appropriations of the 

22 Senate. 

23 (5) The Committee on Homeland Security of 

24 the House of Representatives. 


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1 (6) The Committee on the Judiciary of the 

2 House of Representatives. 

3 (7) The Permanent Select Committee on Intel4 ligence of the House of Representatives. 

5 (8) The Committee on Appropriations of the 

6 House of Representatives. 

7 (9) The Committee on Foreign Affairs of the 

8 House of Representatives. 

9 (10) The Committee on Foreign Relations of 

10 the Senate. 

11 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

12 are authorized to be appropriated to such sums as may 

13 be necessary to carry out this section and the amendments 

14 made by this section. 

Æ 


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