H.R. 490: Visa Waiver Program Enhanced Security and Reform Act

113th Congress · introduced 2013-02-04 · Immigration · Latest: Referred to the Subcommittee on Immigration And Border Security.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2013-02-04 · official record
Who proposed it: Rep. Quigley, Mike [D-IL-5] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Referred to the Subcommittee on Immigration And Border Security. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

Visa Waiver Program Enhanced Security and Reform Act

Plain summary

Visa Waiver Program Enhanced Security and Reform Act - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act regarding the visa waiver program to: (1) authorize the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) to designate any country as a program country; (2) adjust visa refusal rate criteria, including addition of a 3% maximum overstay rate; and (3) revise probationary and termination provisions. Directs the Secretary to submit to Congress: (1) an evaluation of the security risks of aliens who enter the United States without an approved Electronic System for Travel Authorization verification, and (2) a description of any improvements needed to minimize the number of aliens who enter the United States without such verification.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Visa Waiver Program Enhanced Security and Reform Act

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)

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The strongest published arguments

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Alternatives

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Rep. Quigley, Mike [D-IL-5] · 23 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Bradley Scott Schneider (D-IL), Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), Janice D. Schakowsky (D-IL), William R. Keating (D-MA), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Adam Smith (D-WA), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), Bill Foster (D-IL), Paul Tonko (D-NY), Frederica S. Wilson (D-FL), Richard E. Neal (D-MA)

Sponsor's campaign money: Rep. Quigley, Mike [D-IL-5] reported raising $998,074 (2025–2026). Details. Shown for context only; it does not mean any donor supported this bill.

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (2)

Authorization: A law that creates or continues a government program and says what it may do, often with a suggested spending ceiling. An authorization alone does not provide money; a separate appropriation does.
Securities: Financial investments that can be bought and sold, such as stocks and bonds.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-113hr490.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/113/hr>

Record fed-us-cong113-hr490 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong113 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong113