Miller issues warning to Kerry on visa waivers for Iran

Michigan Congresswoman Candice Miller and four House Republican leaders have sent a stern warning to Secretary of State John Kerry that the new restrictions on visas for travelers to the U.S. does not offer waivers to Iranians.
Kerry recently assured a top Iranian official that the new visa law does not conflict with the free flow of travel that was a provision in the Iran nuclear agreement finalized in October.

Miller, author of the bill that revised the visa waiver program, responded by charging that Kerry is attempting to alter the intent of restrictions passed by Congress last week and signed into law by President Obama.

In a sharply worded letter to the secretary of state, Miller, a Harrison Township Republican, was joined by House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte and House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul. The letter, which was also sent to Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson, said in part:

Congress and the president strengthened the VWP (Visa Waiver Program) in order to protect the national security of the United States. Iran is impacted by this new law because it is a U.S.-designated state sponsor of terrorism.  The simplest way to eliminate this restriction is for Iran to end its support of terrorism.  We are deeply concerned that this point was absent from your recent correspondence with the Iranian foreign minister and urge the administration to press Tehran on this, as well as (on) its recent missile tests and persistent jailing of Americans.  The problem is with Iranian actions, not the new visa waiver law.

New law targets terrorism

The visa waiver program doesn't apply directly to Iran, but allows citizens from 38 other countries, which are mostly in Europe, to travel to the U.S. without a visa. According to USA Today, because of concerns about westerners traveling to Syria or Iraq to become foreign fighters before returning to Europe or the U.S., Congress adopted restrictions linked to terrorist "hot spots."

The new law does not prevent travel to the U.S. from countries that are not part of the 38-nation program, but it requires those travelers to go through the more stringent process of obtaining a visa for an extended stay.

The congressional criticism came after Kerry wrote a letter Saturday to Iran Foreign Minister Javad Zarif assuring him that the new law wouldn’t prevent the U.S.  from meeting commitments under the nuclear pact, including the lifting of economic sanctions.

“To this end, we have a number of potential tools available to us, including multiple entry, 10-year business visas, programs for expediting business visas, and the waiver authority provided under the new legislation," Kerry said.

Iranian business travel at issue

The new visa law, part of the massive spending bill enacted by the House and Senate, requires that travelers from the 38 participating countries will need visas to enter the U.S. if they have dual citizenship with Iran, Iraq, Sudan or Syria. In addition, those who have visited Syria or Iraq since 2011 would also require a U.S. visa

Of particular concern to Iran is that an international businessman traveling to Iran to take advantage of new post-sanctions opportunities would then have a harder time gaining admission to the United States, a deterrent to doing business with Iran. Iranians claim that provision violates an essential aspect of the nuclear treaty -- normalized trade relations.

The letter

Here is the full text of the letter sent by Miller, McCarthy, McCaul, Royce and Goodlatte:

We write in response to Secretary Kerry’s recent letter to Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif regarding how changes to the Visa Wavier Program (VWP) will impact Iranian nationals who wish to travel to the United States.  

The U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 158, “The Visa Waiver Program Improvement and Terrorist Travel Prevention Act of 2015,” with an overwhelming bipartisan vote of 407 – 19.  These security enhancements were signed into law last week by President Obama as part of end of year spending legislation.

As you know, the White House was an active participant in negotiation of the final text of the bill and prior to House passage expressed its support for the bill, in part, based on changes made as a result of those discussions.  As it was part of those active negotiations, there was reason to believe the Administration would faithfully implement this law. 

However Secretary Kerry’s letter to Foreign Minister Zarif calls into question the Administration’s intentions.  The law prohibits the vast majority of citizens of countries participating in the VWP who travel to Iran or are Iranian-dual nationals, from being able to use the VWP to enter the United States.  They will instead be required to obtain a visa - a process which citizens of most countries must go through before traveling to the United States.  The bill also contains very limited exceptions to the VWP travel prohibition.  It also gives the Department of Homeland Security Secretary the ability to waive the prohibition on an individual basis if it is in ‘the law enforcement or national security interests of the United States.’  This does not allow for the waiving of the VWP travel prohibition for an entire class of individuals.   

Based on the letter to Foreign Minister Zarif, we are deeply concerned that the narrowly-intended use of the waiver authority will be ignored in favor of applying the waiver authority to those who have traveled to Iran for business purposes.  Not only was such an exemption from the law not included in the legislation, it was specifically discussed during bill negotiations with Administration staff and expressly refused by Members of Congress despite the inclusion of two other exemptions.  This letter serves to dispel any notion that the Congressional intent would allow the waiver authority to be used for business travelers. 

Despite repeated requests to explain and clarify the intent of Secretary Kerry’s letter, the State Department refuses to do so.  Instead, officials at the State Department continue to refuse to say that the waiver authority could not be used to allow business travelers to Iran access to the VWP program. 

Congress and the President strengthened the VWP in order to protect the national security of the United States. Iran is impacted by this new law because it is a U.S.-designated state sponsor of terrorism.  The simplest way to eliminate this restriction is for Iran to end its support of terrorism.  We are deeply concerned that this point was absent from your recent correspondence with the Iranian Foreign Minister and urge the Administration to press Tehran on this, as well as its recent missile tests and persistent jailing of Americans.  The problem is with Iranian actions, not the new visa waiver law.      

We urge you to keep these points in mind as you continue to correspond with the Iranian Foreign Minister on the impact of U.S. law.  Should you require any more information regarding the Congressional intent of this provision, please do not hesitate to contact us.