The United States will implement the new visa-free plan from now on.

It is reported that the United States will implement the new regulations from now on according to the "20 15 Visa Improvement Plan and Terrorist Travel Prevention Act". The United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) welcomes millions of passengers to the United States every day. While making legal travel more convenient, it also hopes to maintain the highest standards of security and border protection. According to this law, the following categories of passengers will no longer be eligible to use the visa-free program to travel to or enter the United States:

◎ Citizens who have traveled to Iran, Iraq, Sudan or Syria or stayed in these four countries on or after March1/Kloc-0 (excluding the travel of visa-free plan participants to the above four countries for diplomatic or military purposes).

◎ Visa-free program members with Iranian, Iraqi, Sudanese or Syrian nationality.

Passengers in the above categories can still apply for visas to the United States at the American embassy or consulate in accordance with the general visa procedures. If you need a US visa to travel to the United States for urgent negotiations, medical care or other humanitarian needs, embassies and consulates all over the United States also accept priority applications for appointment interviews.

Passengers who have indicated on the application form of electronic travel authorization system (ESTA) that they have dual nationality and one of them is Iran, Iraq, Sudan or Syria, even if they still hold a valid ESTA travel permit, their ESTA travel permit will automatically expire from 20 16 1.

◎ At that time, he was an individual who went to Iran, Iraq, Sudan or Syria on official business on behalf of international organizations, regional organizations or local government units;

◎ At that time, he was an individual who went to Iran, Iraq, Sudan or Syria on official business on behalf of humanitarian NGOs;

◎ At that time, he was an individual who went to Iran, Iraq, Sudan or Syria as a reporter to report news;

◎ Individuals who went to Iran for legitimate business activities after signing the Joint Comprehensive Action Plan (2065438+July1April 5); and

At that time, he was an individual who went to Iraq for legitimate business purposes.

Whether ESTA applicants can get exemption will depend on the specific circumstances. In addition, we will continue to explore whether the exemption treatment is applicable to dual nationals with Iraqi, Syrian, Iranian or Sudanese nationality.

Any passenger who is notified that he is no longer eligible for visa-free travel to the United States can still travel to the United States through a valid non-immigrant visa issued by the American embassy or consulate. Such passengers must go to the American embassy or consulate for an interview and get a visa to the United States in their passports.

The new law does not prohibit travel to or entry into the United States, and most passengers applying for visa-free programs are not affected by the new law.

The new version of the ESTA application form is expected to add new questions at the end of February 20 16, covering exceptions for diplomatic or military purposes stipulated in the new law.

Please see travel.state.gov for visa application information.

Passengers with ESTA travel permits should check the status of their ESTA travel permits on the website of the United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) before going to the United States.

US tightens visa-free program

The White House recently announced that the government plans to take measures to adjust visa-free programs in the United States and will strengthen the review of visa-free tourists.

The White House said that the US Department of Homeland Security will consider implementing a pilot project to collect biometric information such as fingerprints of entry applicants. The Department of Homeland Security also requested Congress to authorize all visa-free visitors to use passports with security chips and increase fines for violating relevant regulations. Kevin McCarthy, the majority leader of the U.S. House of Representatives, also said that the House of Representatives will discuss new legislation to adjust the visa-free plan to the United States from June 5438+February, and it is proposed to require all visa-free countries and regions to issue passports with electronic chips and biometric information. According to the information on the website of the US Customs and Border Protection, travelers from countries and regions that have previously participated in the visa-free program also need to apply in the "Electronic Travel Permit System" to get visa-free access to the United States.

The reporter learned from some travel agencies in Beijing that the visa procedures for China tourists to the United States have not been significantly affected. The industry also said that in recent years, there have been many promotional activities for the Lunar New Year in China. The visa tightening program is mainly aimed at visa-free countries. The visa procedures for tourists from China to the United States are relatively complete, and it is expected that the impact on tourists from China to the United States will not be too great. According to the latest data from the White House, an average of 20 million passengers enter the United States visa-free every year.