The US Visa Waiver Program: Facilitating Travel and Enhancing Security

Ruth Ellen Wasem, chathamhouse.org

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Summary

• The US Visa Waiver Program (VWP) has changed substantially over the past 30 years.
It originated in 1986 as a pilot public diplomacy initiative to facilitate tourism and
reciprocity of travel among countries friendly with the US. Since 9/11 the US has leveraged
participation in the VWP to gain intelligence to fight terrorism.

• VWP admissions make up a significant portion of the tourists and business visitors who
come to the US each year. The number of VWP entrants increased by 71 per cent over
20 years, from 12.4 million in FY1996 to 21.2 million in FY2015.

• The travel industry’s research on the effects of visa facilitation – and of the VWP in
particular – shows it yields positive results. The head of the US Travel Association stated in
2015 that the 20.3 million visitors who came to the US in 2014 through the VWP generated
$190 billion in economic output and supported nearly 1 million jobs in the US.

• Weighing the benefits of the VWP to travellers and to the US travel industry against
the risks of individuals who pose a threat to national security arriving in the country
is no small matter. Critics make the case that the VWP is a major national security
vulnerability regardless of the modest economic boost that VWP travellers provide.
Supporters of the VWP warn that efforts to scale it back or tighten up the requirements
would jeopardize international cooperation in the fight against terrorism with US allies,
notably those in Europe.

• The VWP is not an especially partisan issue; it has supporters and detractors on both sides
of the aisle. Its economic and public diplomacy value has long been recognized. When
it was perceived as a national security vulnerability after the 9/11 attacks, policymakers
used the VWP’s popularity to require biometric passports and to leverage greater sharing
of intelligence from participating countries.

• Arguably, the value of a national security screening process is dependent on the depth and
breadth of the intelligence data. Thus, the relationship between the two dimensions of the
VWP has become symbiotic. ...

Conclusion

The VWP is not an especially partisan issue; it has supporters and detractors on both sides of the
aisle. Its economic and public diplomacy value has long been recognized. When it was perceived
as a national security vulnerability after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, policymakers used the VWP’s
popularity to require biometric passports and to leverage greater sharing of intelligence from
participating countries. Arguably, the value of a national security screening process is dependent
on the depth and breadth of the intelligence data. Thus, the relationship between the two
dimensions of the VWP has become symbiotic.

As there is zero tolerance for risking the admission of a potential terrorist into the US, the
calculus of amending the VWP requirements is complex. In recent years, Congress has tightened
them up, and in 2015 efforts to add Poland to the VWP fell short in Congress. Donald Trump
campaigned for the presidency on ‘extreme vetting’ of foreign nationals, and since taking office
has issued controversial executive orders aimed at improving ‘the screening and vetting protocols
and procedures associated with the visa-issuance process’. After the initial executive order,
rumours spread that President Trump planned to halt the VWP; however, such speculation thus
far appears to be unfounded. Nonetheless, managing the balance between national security and
the benefits of the VWP will likely remain a tightrope exercise for policymakers for some time.