In mid December, the US Congress voted to increase restrictions on the visa waiver program for those persons who have, in the last five years, visited Iran, Syria, Iraq or Sudan and the President signed it into law. Visitors who are otherwise eligible to travel to the US without a visa (called visa waiver) will now be denied entry if they have visited any of these 4 countries since March 1, 2011. This includes people from France, Italy, UK, Ireland and many other countries who frequently travel to the US without a visa. This broad language will exclude those persons who are doctors, journalists, or business people who have traveled for legitimate purposes to engage in humanitarian work. These individuals will now need to apply for a B Visa at the US Consulate to travel to the US. Supporters hailed the new law as a way to control foreign terrorists from entering the country. However, others point out the law is overbroad in that those who use the visa waiver program are low risk individuals to begin with. This is seen as a direct response to the Paris France and San Bernardino, CA attacks.
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