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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Media Note
Periodic Review of Visa Waiver Program Participants Commences
The State Department, in conjunction with the Immigration and
Naturalization Service and other Department of Justice agencies,
announces that it is initiating a review of six countries currently
participating in the Visa Waiver Program. This review is in accordance
with legislation signed into law in October 2000. As mandated by this
law, all twenty-nine participating countries must be reviewed at least
once every five years to ensure that they are in compliance with all of
the program's requirements. The first six countries have been chosen as
part of that regular five- year review process. These first six
countries are Argentina, Belgium, Italy, Portugal, Slovenia and
Uruguay.
Congress created the Visa Waiver Program as a pilot program in 1986 to
allow travelers from participating countries to enter the U.S. for
business or pleasure without a visa if they intend to stay for 90 days
or less. In order to qualify for this program, each country must meet
specific criteria including effective border controls, law enforcement
cooperation, traditionally low visa refusal rates for its citizens,
reciprocity for U.S. citizen travelers, and passport security. Each
country must have a machine-readable passport (MRP) in place or be
developing such a program at the time of nomination. The Department of
State works closely with the Immigration Naturalization Service, the
Attorney General and other agencies of the Department of Justice
throughout the nomination and review process. Each of the qualifying
criteria and any other concerns are thoroughly examined to ensure the
continuing law enforcement and security interests of the United States.
A written report is sent to Congress to explain each country's
continuation or removal from the Visa Waiver Program.
The twenty-nine countries participating in the Visa Waiver Program are:
Andorra, Argentina, Austria, Australia, Belgium, Brunei, Denmark,
Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan,
Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, The Netherlands, New Zealand,
Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden,
Switzerland, the United Kingdom and Uruguay.
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