S. 2337: Visa Waiver Program Security Enhancement Act

114th Congress · introduced 2015-12-01 · Immigration · Latest: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S8242-8243)

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Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2015-12-01 · official record
Who proposed it: Sen. Feinstein, Dianne [D-CA] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S8242-8243) 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 Security Enhancement Act

Plain summary

Visa Waiver Program Security Enhancement Act This bill amends the Immigration and Nationality Act regarding the visa waiver program to prohibit a national of a program country who has traveled to Iraq or Syria at any time during the most recent five-year period from traveling to the United States without a visa. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) may prohibit a national of a program country from traveling to the United States under the program if the national has traveled during the past five years to a country in which: (1) a designated foreign terrorist organization has a significant presence, and (2) prohibiting the national from traveling to the United States under the program is in U.S. national security interests. An alien must, at the time of application for program admission, have a valid, unexpired, tamper-resistant, machine-readable passport that incorporates biometric and document authentication identifiers that comply with standards of the International Civil Aviation Organization. Any alien applying for program admission must have a passport that meets these requirements. (The exception for pre-October 26, 2005, passports under the Enhanced Border Security and Visa Entry Reform Act of 2002 is eliminated.) A program country must: (1) enter into and comply with an agreement with the United States to assist in the operation of an air marshal program, and (2) comply with U.S. aviation and airport security standards. A country that does not fully implement information sharing agreements shall be terminated from the program. In determining whether to designate a country as a program country or whether a program country should retain its designation DHS shall consider: the country's capacity to collect, analyze, and share data concerning dangerous individuals; the country's screening and sharing of lost or stolen passport information; whether the country collects, analyzes, and shares biometric and other information about individuals other than U.S. nationals who are applying for asylum, refugee status, or another form of non-refoulement protection in such country; and whether a country shares intelligence about foreign fighters with the United States and with multilateral organizations. DHS shall: ensure that each alien traveling to the United States under an approved electronic system for travel authorization has submitted biometric information, including photographs and fingerprints, before boarding a U.S.-bound conveyance; prioritize implementation of these biometric requirements in program countries that have a significant number of nationals who have traveled to fight with, or to assist, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL); and ensure within five years that such biometric information includes photographs and fingerprints. DHS may determine that a program country is in compliance with such biometric requirements if the country implements an agreement meeting specified criteria. Program fee provisions are revised.

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

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A “Yea” vote

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A “Nay” vote

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

What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Visa Waiver Program Security Enhancement Act

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)

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

Officials and money

Sponsor: Sen. Feinstein, Dianne [D-CA] · 25 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Ron Johnson (R-WI), Michael F. Bennet (D-CO), Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Angus S. King, Jr. (I-ME), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Susan M. Collins (R-ME), Christopher Murphy (D-CT), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Christopher A. Coons (D-DE)

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 (3)

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.
Bill: A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).
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 Senate)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-114s2337.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/114/s>

Record fed-us-cong114-s2337 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong114 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong114