Washington  - The US House of Representatives voted on Thursday to allow the transfer of Guantanamo Bay detainees to US soil but only to face trial.

The House voted 307-114 in favour of the measure included in the bill for the Homeland Security Department's budget. The vote removes an obstacle to President Barack Obama's plans for closing the controversial prison facility on Cuba.

The legislation still must be passed by the Senate before Obama can sign it into law.

Obama has set a deadline of January 22 for shuttering Guantanamo but is still facing key questions about what to do with the roughly 220 prisoners remaining there. He hasn't ruled out relocated some of them to federal prisons.

But congressional Republicans and a large number of Democrats protested holding the detainees in the United States indefinitely, arguing it would pose a threat to security. (dpa)