The US House of Representatives has overwhelmingly passed a bill that tightens travel by citizens of 38 nations, eligible to enter the US without obtaining a visa. It was passed by 407 to 19, and is a major piece of security legislation that came up in the chamber after the Nov. 13 Paris terror attacks, reports NBC News.

The new measure would require visitors from the visa waiver countries, including Western Europe to obtain a visa for travelling to the United States, for those who had travelled to Syria, Iraq, Iran or Sudan in the past five years.

Besides European countries, nations such as Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Brunei and Chile are also part of that program.

The new norms will mandate fingerprints of the travellers for enhancing the scrutiny of foreigners. The Nov. 13 shootings in Paris by Islamic State (ISIS) militants killed 130 people and set off a wave of fear across the United States.

The bill was introduced by a bipartisan group of senators led by Democrat Dianne Feinstein and Republican Jeff Flake with special caution on individuals who had been to Syria or Iraq in the last five years. Such applicants will be asked to take a traditional US tourist visa rather than using the privilege under the "visa waiver" program.

Closing the gaps

The designated countries also have to share information with the US authorities about suspected terrorists.

"This legislation will help close gaping security gaps and improve our ability to stop dangerous individuals before they reach our shores," said Republican Representative Michael McCaul, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee.

It has been estimated that 20 million visitors enter the United States a year under the program and stay for 90 days. The program started in 1986 and gave a boost for tourism besides tightening the country's relationship with the closest allies.

The White House also expressed support for the new controls on the visa waiver program.

According to a CNBC report, the legislation also threatens countries with expulsion from the visa waiver programme if there is no desired progress in sharing counter-terrorism information with the US. Candice Miller, a Republican congresswoman who drafted the bill said: "That really is a big thing."

The new laws mandate all visa waiver countries to check travellers against Interpol databases and issue fraud-resistant "e-passports" carrying biometric information and sharing of data on lost and stolen passports.

EU upset

The new plans have dismayed Brussels as it would make the travel of European Union citizens to the US harder and it is likely that the EU may be forced to respond with similar curbs on Americans.

The European Commission is already miffed that while Americans enjoy visa-free travel in the EU, many of its citizens from eastern European countries, including those from Poland have to apply for a permit before travelling to the US, the report added. The travel industry also warned lawmakers against hasty revisions to a time tested system.

However, Kevin McCarthy, the Republican majority leader in the House of Representatives, highlighted the lawmakers' concerns and said some of the Paris terrorists with EU passports could have easily travelled to the US.

"I want to emphasise that 5,000 western passport holders have travelled to Iraq and Syria. This is why this is needed now to be able to combat this," he told reporters.

The White House spokesman, Josh Earnest also said the administration was “pleased the conversations yielded legislation that would make our country safer.”

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