VISA WAIVER STATUS THREATENED FOR FIVE EUROPEAN COUNTRIES
March 18, 2016
Due to recent concerns over rampant passport fraud and theft in Europe following the Syrian refugee crisis, the United States has threatened to remove France, Belgium, Germany, Italy and Greece from its list of visa waiver program participants unless specific “loopholes” in passport fraud prevention laws in those countries are closed. Although United States Secretary of State John Kerry had imposed a February 1, 2016 deadline for the passport issues to be addressed, no announcement as to the five countries’ compliance with that deadline has been made. President Obama is expected to address the issue publically after Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson gives his anticipated report on the issue to Congress in the coming weeks. Updates will be furnished as soon as additional information becomes available.
If you have any questions, please contact Evelyn Sahr (esahr@eckertseamans.com, 202-659-6622) or Drew Derco (dderco@eckertseamans.com, 202-659-6665).