US authorities are working on a surprise for their Romanian strategic allies. Together with Poland, Romania may be excluded from the Visa Waiver program that eliminates the visa compulasory if you want to pay a visit to the US. This is because the number of dismissed petitions is over the 10% limit admitted. Warsaw officials expressed disappointment last Thursday, but Bucharest authorities seem to be still working on a response. So far Romania's foreign minister Adrian Cioroianu has just recommended the Romanians wishing to travel to America to ask for visas, provide complete documentation for it and leave the US territory on time.
The International Herald Tribune reported on it yesterday, explaining the solicitations for visas in the two states exceed the 10% limit set in the draft on the Visa Waiver expansion. The number of solicitations for US visas in Romania and Poland is larger than 25%.
According to the statistics in the US State Department, provided by the office of independent senator Joe Lieberman who chaired talks on the final version of this law, in the first 6 months of 2007 countries such as Romania, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Slovakia and Hungary didn't meet the requirement. The International Herald Tribune mentions Bucharest and Warsaw are special cases, because the number is over 25%. On the other hand the Czech Republic, Estonia and South Korea meet the US criteria to join the Visa Waiver, the report outlines.
Last Thursday the US Senate passed the final version of this draft on security and visas are no longer required from the citizens of some states who want to travel to the US. The House of Representatives was to pass the draft too yesterday and the President George W. Bush is to promulgate it. (...)
A.M.L.
Ziua Sambata 28 Iulie 2007 http://www.ziua.net/english
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