House tightens controls on visa-free travel to US
The U.S. House has approved legislation tightening controls on travel to the U.S. and requiring visas for anyone who's been in Iraq or Syria in the previous five years.
The bill was approved 407-19. It takes aim at the "visa waiver" program, which allows citizens of 38 countries to travel to the U.S. without first obtaining a visa. Belgium and France, home to most of the perpetrators of the Paris attacks, are among the participating countries.
The legislation would institute changes, including the new visa requirement, for citizens of Iraq and Syria or anyone who's traveled to those countries in the previous five years.
The legislation is supported by the White House and may end up attached to a sweeping year-end spending bill now being finalized on Capitol Hill.
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