Title: Allied Nations Travel Modernization Act of 2019
Policy area: Immigration

Summary:
Allied Nations Travel Modernization Act of 2019
This bill allows a country to qualify for the Visa Waiver Program by having a low rate of visa overstays by its nationals and making certain commitments to defense spending as part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
A country may qualify or maintain qualification for the Visa Waiver Program if (1) the nationals of that country did not overstay their U.S. nonimmigrant visas at a rate higher than 2% during the last two fiscal years, (2) the country is a signatory to the Wales Summit Declaration and has committed for the last two fiscal years sufficient resources to meet its obligations under the declaration, and (3) the Department of State has not in the last fiscal year issued any travel advisory to that country other than exercise normal precautions.
The Wales Summit Declaration is a NATO document in which signatories agree to certain commitments, including certain minimum levels on annual defense spending.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2946 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2946

  To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide for certain 
additional means of qualification for the Visa Waiver Program, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 23, 2019

 Mr. Lipinski (for himself and Mr. Smith of New Jersey) introduced the 
  following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide for certain 
additional means of qualification for the Visa Waiver Program, and for 
                            other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Allied Nations Travel Modernization 
Act of 2019''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) In 2016, 23 million people entered the United States 
        under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP). Visitors through VWP 
        constituted roughly \1/3\ of all temporary visitors. According 
        to the Department of Commerce, VWP travelers in fiscal year 
        2014 spent approximately $84 billion on goods and services.
            (2) Due to the VWP, the U.S. Government saved from $1.9 
        billion to $3.2 billion for the cost of interviewing visitors 
        in 2010.
            (3) All VWP countries are required to enter into 
        information-sharing agreements with the United States on 
        whether the citizens or nationals of that country traveling to 
        the United States represent a security or criminal threat to 
        the United States.
            (4) VWP countries have provided the United States with 
        information on more than 6,000 known or suspected terrorists as 
        a result of VWP information sharing arrangements.
            (5) VWP countries have provided nearly 70 percent of the 
        records in INTERPOL's Stolen and Lost Travel Document Database, 
        which DHS utilizes in its daily vetting of ESTA applications 
        and Advance Passenger Information/Passenger Name Record data.
            (6) According to a Department of State FY 2018 annual 
        report, the United States issued over 120,000 nonimmigrant 
        visas to Polish nationals and over 50,000 nonimmigrant visas to 
        Romanian nationals.
            (7) A Fiscal Year 2017 Report by the Department of Homeland 
        Security found that the suspected in-country overstay rate was 
        1.17 percent for Poland and 1.19 percent for Romania.
            (8) Poland has taken a serious stance against terrorism in 
        recent years. This has included withdrawing from a refugee 
        relocation plan by the EU after the 2015 Paris terror attacks.
            (9) Romania deployed approximately 730 troops to 
        Afghanistan and Iraq and has signed all twelve of the 
        international protocols and conventions pertaining to 
        terrorism.
            (10) Congress should continue to promote the economy and 
        provide government agencies with the necessary resources 
        through the VWP. The inclusion of Poland and Romania in the VWP 
        program would contribute to program goals.

SEC. 3. DESIGNATION OF PROGRAM COUNTRIES.

    Section 217(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 
1187(c)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (2)(A)--
                    (A) in the heading for the subparagraph, by 
                inserting after ``Low nonimmigrant visa refusal rate'' 
                the following: ``; low visa overstay rate'';
                    (B) in clause (i), by striking ``or'' at the end;
                    (C) in clause (ii), by striking the period and 
                inserting ``; or''; and
                    (D) by adding at the end the following:
                            ``(iii) in the case of any other country--
                                    ``(I) the visa overstay rate (as 
                                such term is defined in paragraph (8)) 
                                for that country was not more than 2 
                                percent during the previous 2 fiscal 
                                years;
                                    ``(II) the country is a signatory 
                                to and has committed, during the 
                                previous two fiscal years, sufficient 
                                resources to support its obligations 
                                under the Wales Summit Declaration, 
                                issued at the meeting of the North 
                                Atlantic Council in Wales on September 
                                5, 2014; and
                                    ``(III) the Department of State has 
                                not, in the previous fiscal year, 
                                issued a travel advisory other than 
                                `exercise normal precautions' for 
                                travel to the country.''; and
            (2) in paragraph (3), to read as follows:
            ``(3) Continuing and subsequent qualifications.--For each 
        fiscal year after the initial period--
                    ``(A) Continuing qualification.--In the case of a 
                country which was a program country in the previous 
                fiscal year, a country may not be designated as a 
                program country unless--
                            ``(i) the sum of--
                                    ``(I) the total of the number of 
                                nationals of that country who were 
                                denied admission at the time of arrival 
                                or withdrew their application for 
                                admission during such previous fiscal 
                                year as a nonimmigrant visitor, and
                                    ``(II) the total number of 
                                nationals of that country who were 
                                admitted as nonimmigrant visitors 
                                during such previous fiscal year and 
                                who violated the terms of such 
                                admission,
                        was less than 2 percent of the total number of 
                        nationals of that country who applied for 
                        admission as nonimmigrant visitors during such 
                        previous fiscal year; or
                            ``(ii) in the case of that country--
                                    ``(I) the visa overstay rate (as 
                                such term is defined in paragraph (8)) 
                                for that country was not more than 2 
                                percent during the previous 2 fiscal 
                                years;
                                    ``(II) the country is a signatory 
                                to and has committed, during the 
                                previous two fiscal years, sufficient 
                                resources to support its obligations 
                                under the Wales Summit Declaration, 
                                issued at the meeting of the North 
                                Atlantic Council in Wales on September 
                                5, 2014; and
                                    ``(III) the Department of State has 
                                not, in the previous fiscal year, 
                                issued a travel advisory other than 
                                `exercise normal precautions' for 
                                travel to the country.
                    ``(B) New countries.--In the case of another 
                country, the country may not be designated as a program 
                country unless one of the following requirements under 
                clause (i) or (ii) is met:
                            ``(i) Low nonimmigrant visa refusal rate.--
                        The average number of refusals of nonimmigrant 
                        visitor visas for nationals of that country--
                                    ``(I) during the two previous full 
                                fiscal years was less than 2 percent of 
                                the total number of nonimmigrant 
                                visitor visas for nationals of that 
                                country which were granted or refused 
                                during those years; and
                                    ``(II) during either of such two 
                                previous full fiscal years was less 
                                than 2.5 percent of the total number of 
                                nonimmigrant visitor visas for 
                                nationals of that country which were 
                                granted or refused during that year.
                            ``(ii) Low visa overstay rate.--In the case 
                        of that country--
                                    ``(I) the visa overstay rate (as 
                                such term is defined in paragraph (8)) 
                                for that country was not more than 2 
                                percent during the previous 2 fiscal 
                                years;
                                    ``(II) the country is a signatory 
                                to and has committed, during the 
                                previous two fiscal years, sufficient 
                                resources to support its obligations 
                                under the Wales Summit Declaration, 
                                issued at the meeting of the North 
                                Atlantic Council in Wales on September 
                                5, 2014; and
                                    ``(III) the Department of State has 
                                not, in the previous fiscal year, 
                                issued a travel advisory other than 
                                `exercise normal precautions' for 
                                travel to the country.''.

SEC. 4. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.

    Nothing in this Act or the amendments made by this Act may be 
construed to require or direct the termination of the designation of a 
country as a program country under section 217 of the Immigration and 
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1187).
                                 <all>