On February 18, 2016, the Department of Homeland Security announced that the agency is extending restrictions placed on Visa Waiver/ESTA travelers to include Libya, Somalia, and Yemen. These restrictions are part of the Visa Waiver Program Improvement and Terrorist Travel Prevention Act of 2015, enacted on December 18, 2015.
Foreign nationals who are citizens of ESTA program countries and who have traveled to Libya, Somalia, or Yemen since March 1, 2011 will no longer be eligible for the Visa Waiver/ESTA program. Persons registered with ESTA who have reported travel to any of these three countries will likely need to apply for a visa and should check their ESTA status in advance of any travel. DHS noted that these restrictions will not apply to dual nationals of these three countries at present.
Persons subject to these restrictions are required to apply for B-1/B-2 visitor (or other appropriate) visas at U.S. consulates, or to show that they are eligible for a waiver of the restrictions. DHS will approve waivers on a “case-by-case” basis if the waiver is in the “law enforcement or national security interests” of the United States.
For more details regarding the restrictions on Visa Waiver/ESTA travel, please see our original news post. For general information on the Visa Waiver and B-1/B-2 visitor categories, please see our website.
