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U.S. consul in Bucharest, reluctant in proposing deadline to eliminate visas for Romania
Luni, 18 Mai 2009 18:59
Ultimul update: 18 Mai 2009 19:00
The recent visit of the Romanian foreign minister in the U.S. reopened talks on lifting visas for Romanians. Minister Cristian Diaconescu was optimistic about including Romania in the Visa Waiver program, stressing the only impediment is the high refusal rate. Diaconescu gave as a deadline to let go of visas by yearend.
Read the whole article here.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
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2 comments:
If no visa is required, I assume that means no visa interview?
So the immigration inspector (or whatever they are called now) is the only person that talks to these folks?
@Anony,
I have the feeling that this article was originally written in Romanian and then translated to English, and by someone who doesn't really understand the subject.
If you read American newspapers, you can get the same sense, minus (perhaps) the translated-from-Romanian feeling.
This article seems to be about Romania joining the ranks of countries which participate in the United States' Visa Waiver Program (VWP).
But not just yet, and from the headline we see that our consular chief in Bucharest isn't in any hurry to say _when_ Romania would even _qualify_ for the VWP.
Said qualifications being a matter of federal statute rather than State Dept. whim and whimsy.
The VWP has recently changed to incorporate ESTA (see my Tags list in the sidebar).
Under ESTA, VWP travelers have to complete an online application/questionnaire a few days prior to their trip in order to register with VWP. Once their registration is approved (which takes only a few minutes), that ESTA clearance is good for two years of VWP travel.
Not VWP country traveler registering with ESTA gets clearance, depending upon the answers to their questionnaire. Such unlucky travelers aren't qualified individually as VWP travelers and must apply for a visa.
The short answer is that no, Romanians don't get to go all the way to U.S. immigration control before someone actually talks to them personally, BUT at some point that might become the case.
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