Travelers who have spent time in Libya, Somalia and Yemen over the last five years won’t be able to travel to the United States without a visa, under a new regulatory interpretation of a January law that puts limits on the U.S. Visa Waiver Program.
The three countries join Iran, Iraq, Sudan and Syria as countries subject to restrictions under the program.
“The addition of these three countries is indicative of the department’s continued focus on the threat of foreign fighters,” the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement Thursday.
The department announced the new limits as part of its continuing implementation of a law Congress passed last year in the wake of the Paris terrorist attacks, and news that some of the perpetrators had spent time with the Islamic State in Syria and elsewhere.
As a result, the law places new restrictions on the U.S. Visa Waiver Program, which allows travelers from 38 mostly European countries to travel to the United States for tourism, business or other reasons for up to 90 days without having to obtain a visa.
“After careful consideration, and in consultation with the director of national intelligence and the secretary of state, the secretary of Homeland Security has determined that Libya, Somalia, and Yemen be included as countries of concern, specifically for individuals who have traveled to these countries since March 1, 2011,” DHS said in a statement.
Right now, the restrictions on people who have traveled to Libya, Somalia and Syria since 2011 will not apply to dual national travelers who have citizenship in those countries. That’s different from the new rules announced in January, which barred dual citizen visitors from Iraq, Sudan and Syria from visa-free travel.
Under the new law, DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson may waive restrictions on a case-by-case basis if he determines that doing so is in the national security interest of the United States.
That interpretation of the law by Johnson has prompted criticism from Republican authors of the legislation who accuse the administration of caving to Tehran to allow case-by-case exceptions for people who have traveled to Iran for “legitimate business-related purposes” following adoption of the nuclear deal.
“The Obama administration is blatantly breaking the law, a law the president himself signed,” House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, R-Texas, and Rep. Candice Miller, R-Mich., said in a joint statement on in late January.
Johnson has said he has the right to offer waivers for a broad category of travelers who have visited all of the countries facing new restrictions, including individuals who traveled to these countries on behalf of international organizations, regional organizations, and sub-national governments on official duty. Those working on behalf of a humanitarian-oriented organization on official duty or working journalists may also apply for a waiver of the new restrictions.
Travelers from the countries in question seeking to come to the United States may still apply for a visa using the regular immigration process at U.S. embassies and consulates around the world.
“The new law does not ban travel to the United States, or admission to the United States, and the great majority of Visa Waiver Program travelers will not be affected,” the DHS statement noted.
