Romanians will likely be able to travel to the United States without visas starting next year. According to the assessment of the Romanian Embassy in the USA, the country has met the final criterion to join the Visa Waiver Program: the visa rejection rate for the USA has dropped below three percent.
„Today (Tuesday – ed.) is a big day, a day we have been waiting for a long, long time: as of today, Romania formally meets all the technical conditions to be part of the Visa Waiver program.
Yesterday (Monday - ed.), the fiscal year in the United States ended, and the last condition Romania had to fulfill has been met.
"Of course, we are waiting for confirmation from our American partners in the coming period, but our assessment, based on the number of visa applications from this year, as well as the strong downward trend in recent years, is that Romania has fallen below the 3% rejection rate," said Romania's Ambassador to the USA, Andrei Muraru.
Romanians will be able to travel to the United States without visas, "probably, in the first part of next year."
"Traveling to America without visas is not just a privileged status granted to a country. There will be significant benefits for us. By traveling more easily, Romanians will build more bridges and thus can boost trade or investments. Also, we expect to soon have more direct flights between Romania and America," Muraru concludes.
Romania has set the goal of joining the visa waiver program by 2025, and to lower the rejection rate below the 3 percent threshold, our country has carried out in the past year a public information campaign encouraging eligible Romanian citizens to apply for or renew their travel visas to the USA.
At the same time, Romanian authorities have taken steps to implement all technical and security measures required by US legislation regarding the Visa Waiver Program.
Romania's efforts have been supported by American partners at all levels, including the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of State, members of Congress, and the US Embassy in Bucharest.