After militant attacks in Europe, the United States (US) will tighten security procedures for its visa waiver program for visitors from friendly countries, officials said Monday.
The US already screens visa applicants from war zones carefully, but will now ask more questions of travellers from countries eligible for visa waivers.
Washington will also seek greater cooperation and intelligence sharing with allied countries to try to intercept “foreign fighters” returning from places like Syria.
This month’s deadly attacks in Paris are thought to have been the work of Europeans trained and radicalised by the militant Islamic State (IS) group in its Syrian and Iraqi bases.
As French or Belgian citizens, they could have flown to the US by registering with the ESTA visa waiver system and avoided the close scrutiny imposed on refugees.
But travellers will now be required to declare previous visits to any country the US Department of Homeland Security has deemed a “terrorist safe haven”.
Their registrations will also come under greater scrutiny from US agencies, which in turn will work in closer cooperation with allied police and intelligence outfits.