Just came back from Iraq? Here is a new US visa rule for you

Whether you belong to a country that is enlisted in US visa waiver program or not, you will have to apply for US visa every time if you have travelled to Mideast.

Travellers who have been to countries like Iraq, Syria, Sudan or Iran since March 2011 will always have to apply for visa.

The Department of Homeland Security said this will be the case even if the traveller is from a country in the US visa waiver program.

Also, people having dual citizenships will have to apply for full visa.

AFP reported the department said it had started to implement the new rules on Thursday, but there had already been reports of travellers falling afoul of the controversial regulations.

"We will carry out the law that Congress passed and the president signed. The Department of Homeland Security... is working closely with the Department of State and other partners to ensure that the new amendments... are appropriately implemented," a senior administration official told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.

However, members of allied forces who fought alongside US troops in Iraq are exempted from the new rules.