The new measures have formed part of a security-focused White House policy to curb irregular migration and increase security. A senior US official said "an adaptive and agile enemy" was the primary reason for the move.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Images/B.Andres
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The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Friday announced new security requirements for 38 countries whose citizens can currently travel to the country without visas.
The countries, which include Germany and most European Union (EU) member states, must now use US counterterrorism information to screen travelers and launch public information campaigns if 2 percent of their citizens overstay their visas.
The White House has continued to push forward with a security-focused policy on travel and migration since Donald Trump assumed the presidencyImage: picture-alliance/dpa/E.S.Lesser
The DHS said Hungary, Greece, Portugal and San Marino are expected to launch public campaigns to inform their citizens as 2 percent of travelers from those countries overstayed their visas.
Roughly 20 million people travel to the US each year on the visa-waiver program.
Security in focus
Announcing the new measures, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said:
"The United States faces an adaptive and agile enemy, as terrorists continue to explore ways to reach our country and to direct, enable and inspire attacks against us."
"It's critically important we stay ahead of these threats by improving our security posture."
More to do: The measures mean that countries participating in the visa-waiver program will now have to bolster their screening processes or face exclusion from the program.
The only way is up: global airports in pictures
As more people are flying, airports must also grow to cope with the passenger flows. China will have the world's largest airport in two years, but other airports are also planning to expand.
Beijing-Daxing is slated to handle 100 million passengers a year when fully up and running. After its expected opening in October 2019 "only" 45 million passengers will transit through per year. The mega-construction is set to cost over 10 billion euros.
Image: Reuters/J. Lee
The world s highest-altitude civilian airport
With an elevation of 4,411 meters (14,472feet) above sea level, Daocheng Yading airport replaced the previous highest, Bangda airport in the Tibet Autonomous Region. The region is a gateway to Tibet and China has looked to promote tourism as a way of reducing dissent among the native Tibetan population.
Image: imago/Xinhua
Where sheikhs fly
... and a lot of tourists and businessmen. With over 83 million passengers, the home airport of Emirates — Dubai International Airport — is the third-largest airport in the world. It is the hub to Southeast Asia, India and Australia.
Image: Reuters/A. Mohammad
Atlanta breaks new ground
Around 104 million passengers were transported from here in 2016. A year earlier, Atlanta was the first to handle more than 100 million passengers in a year — a world record.
Image: AP
Europe's No. 1
Heathrow airport in London — with over 75 million passengers in 2016 — is Europe's largest airport. With the airport operating at full capacity, old terminals are being demolished and new ones built. If a sixth terminal is added, capacity could increase to 115 million passengers per year.
Image: picture alliance/PA Wire/S. Parsons
Europe's No. 2
Nearly 66 million people flew through here in 2016. This makes Charles de Gaulle the second largest in Europe and the ninth largest in the world.
Image: AP
Germany's largest airport
... is located in Frankfurt. About 60 million people transit through Rhein-Main-Airport each year. In terms of international comparability, it is ranked 13th. Expansion structures are also planned, increasing passenger volume to 73 million.
Image: Reuters
Magnetic levitation train demands attention
Shanghai is the third-largest airport in China, with 66 million passengers. The current main airport in Beijing (Beijing Capital Airport, with 94 million passengers, is the world's No. 2). The Shanghai Pudong Airport is famous for having the world's only commercially used magnetic levitation train, taking passengers to the modern city district of Pudong.
Image: picture-alliance/ZB
BER Berlin: still pie in the sky
It will be much smaller than the airports mentioned so far — that is if it is finished. 22 million people will transit through BER Berlin Airport, but enlargement buildings are already planned for 2035, which would increase capacity to 58 million. One can only hope that future construction plans run more smoothly than previous ones.
Image: picture alliance/dpa
The world's least useful airport
The airport of St. Helena on the island of the same name was approved in May 2016 and the first scheduled commercial flight took place on 14 October 2017. It will probably never be one of the largest airports globally. Some British media have described it as "the most useless airport in the world."
Will this impact my travel plans: The new requirements are not likely to impact how travelers reach the US. Instead, the burden is on the countries' authorities to comply.
Does this change how countries screen travelers: Yes it does. All visa-free travelers will now be screened using information contained on the US' counterterrorism database. This measure will compliment additional information provided by US authorities to visa-waiver countries.
Which EU countries require a visa for US travel: Citizens ofBulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Poland and Romania require visas to travel to the US. European authorities have criticized the US for limiting travel for these EU member states, threatening restrictive measures for American travelers.
