Immigration Bills

S. 653, Secure Travel and Counterterrorism Partnership Act, would grant DHS the authority to waive the Visa Waiver Program's (VWP) low nonimmigrant visa refusal rate requirements with respect to a country's participation in the VWP (i.e., have a low nonimmigrant visa refusal rate for two years) if the country has acceptable travel security measures and assists the U.S. in the War on Terror. It would require DHS to develop a system that collects basic biographical information and flight information of aliens traveling to the U.S.

H.R. 702, Secure Border Crossing Card Entry Act of 2007, would establish parity between Mexican nationals visiting the United States who possessed a valid biometric Border Crossing Card (BCC, also known as a laser visa) and have completed the necessary security checks, and Canadian visitors by allowing BCC bearers to remain in the United States for six months (Mexican nationals with BCCs may only stay in the United States for 30 days, while Canadians possessing tourist visas may stay up to one year).

The bill would require DHS to establish a pilot program to expand the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) (which now allows citizens of 27 countries to travel to the United States for up to 90 days without a visa, and, because there is little scrutiny of VWP “travelers,” has provided easy entry for terrorists and created a black market for stolen or forged passports from such countries) to include up to five new countries that are cooperating with the United States on security and counterterrorism matters, provided those nations first come to counterterrorism and security information sharing agreemen