Visa Waiver Program: Actions Are Needed to Improve Management of the Expansion Process, and to Assess and Mitigate Program Risks: Testimony Before the Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology, and Homeland Security, Committee on the Judiciary, United Stat

by U.S. Government Accountability Office

The Visa Waiver Program, which enables citizens of participating countries to travel to the United States without first obtaining a visa, has many benefits, but also has risks. In 2006, GAO found the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) needed to improve efforts to assess and mitigate these risks. In August 2007, Congress passed the 9/11 Act, which provides DHS the authority to consider expanding the program to countries whose short-term business and tourism visa refusal rates were between 3 and 10 percent in the prior fiscal year, if certain conditions are met. This testimony discusses GAO's recent report on the Visa Waiver Program. Specifically, it examines DHS's process for expanding the Visa Waiver Program and evaluates the extent to which DHS is assessing and mitigating program risks. GAO reviewed relevant laws and procedures; and interviewed agency officials in Washington, D.C., and in U.S. embassies in eight aspiring and three Visa Waiver Program countries. GAO recommended that DHS establish a more transparent process for Visa Waiver Program expansion, and improve and monitor overstay rates for current

28 pages, Paperback

Published September 9, 2017