US to revoke visa requirement for Poles?
PR dla Zagranicy
Paweł Kononczuk
14.02.2019 08:30
During a visit to Poland on Wednesday, US State Secretary Mike Pompeo said he hoped visa requirements for Poles travelling to America would be revoked “soon”.
Mike Pompeo in Warsaw. Photo: PAP/Leszek Szymański
Pompeo told private television broadcaster Polsat: “We’re working diligently to do that. I know the Polish government is working diligently to do that.
“Our ambassador here is working diligently on that. She’s made that one of her core missions here,” Pompeo added.
However, the US State Secretary did not give a precise date.
“There are a set of requirements that we have in place. Poland is getting closer and closer," he said.
For Poland to enter the US visa waiver programme, the visa application refusal rate for Poles would have to fall below America's 3 percent threshold.
According to the US State Department, American consulates in Warsaw and Kraków in 2017 rejected 5.9% of visa applications submitted by Poles, while in 2016 they rejected a record-low 5.37%.
Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Cyprus, and Croatia are the only EU member countries not included in the US visa waiver programme.
Pompeo arrived in Poland on Tuesday ahead of an international conference in Warsaw on the Middle East.
(tf/pk)
Source: state.gov