Diplomat: U.s. to Relax Visa Requirements for Poles
by President Barack Obama will make a gesture of solidarity with Poland, during talks on Saturday in Warsaw, proposing a relaxation of visa requirements for Poles traveling to the U.S., said a Polish diplomat said.
President Barack Obama will make a gesture of solidarity with Poland, during talks on Saturday in Warsaw, proposing a relaxation of visa requirements for Poles traveling to the U.S., said a Polish diplomat said.
The visa issue was a constant topic “irritant” in cordial ties between the NATO allies.
The visa requirement would improve the perception of Poles against the United States and could help the center-right government of Prime Minister Donald Tusk, ahead of elections in October, writes Reuters.
“ President Obama will propose a change in regulations which will allow a country to enter the Visa Waiver Program based on extended stays over the target and not on the number of refusals (for visas), as it was before, “ said the Reuters on condition of anonymity a Polish diplomat.
“This would be beneficial for us,” he continued.
Obama arrived Friday in Poland, where for two days will hold talks on missile defense, energy security and promoting democracy in Eastern Europe and the Arab world.
About Program VisaWaiver
VisaWaiver Program (VWP) enables nationals of the Member States to travel to the United States for tourism or business for a period of 90 days or less, without having to obtain a visa.
The program was established in 1986 with the objective of eliminating unnecessary barriers, stimulate the tourism industry and to allow the Department of State to focus consular resources in other areas.
Part of the VWP countries are:
Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, Czech Republic, South Korea, Denmark, Switzerland, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Iceland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, United Kingdom, Monaco , Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland.
State Department list published in 2010 refusal rates nationalities. Romania had a refusal rate of 24.8%, down 1.5 percent from a year earlier, given that this indicator is the biggest hurdle to its entry into the Visa Waiver Program.The only EU countries not included in the Visa Waiver Program are Romania, Bulgaria, Poland and Cyprus.
Paradoxically, in 2010 several EU countries – which are already part of the Visa Waiver – had higher rates of rejection of visa to the U.S. than Romania.Hungary for example, the country admitted in 2009 in Visa Waiver, had a refusal rate of 34.5%, Latvia was 33.9%, Lithuania 31.9%. Other countries with refusal rates higher than Romania were Estonia, Ireland and Britain, according to the press.
From 1 July 2009, for a country to enter the Visa Waiver Program must have a visa refusal rate below 3%, but mentioned Eastern European countries joined the program when the threshold for the visa refusal rate was 10% .
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