Bulgaria's Foreign Minister Upbeat on US Visa Lift
Diplomacy | May 4, 2010, Tuesday // 09:02| views
“The United States has its own agenda. I don’t think it is reasonable to believe that the American side will step back from this agenda just to please a country, which was not ready when the door was open,” Minister Nikolay Mladenov told the Bulgarian Nat
Bulgaria has the potential to meet the United States requirement for lifting the visa regime, which is less than 10% of visa denials per year, the foreign minister has said during his visit there.
According to Minister Nikolay Mladenov Bulgaria has missed a rare chance to become a part of the e US Visa Waiver program a few years ago, when the requirements were not that demanding. The minister blamed the delay in the introduction of biometric passports and expressed doubts that the country will be given a second chance.
“The United States has its own agenda. I don’t think it is reasonable to believe that the American side will step back from this agenda just to please a country, which was not ready when the door was open,” Minister Mladenov told the Bulgarian National Radio on Tuesday morning.
Earlier in the year US Ambassador to Sofia, James Warlick said the United States will begin issuing visas valid for 10 years to all Bulgarians, who are approved by the Embassy in Sofia as eligible to enter the country.
Until now, all Bulgarian citizens, who wished to travel to the US, were supposed to appear for an interview at the Embassy to assess their eligibility, but were issued visas with different lengths of stay.
Bulgarian tourists and businessmen will now have to visit the Embassy only once every 10 years.
European Union high-ranking officials have repeatedly called on the US Administration to lift the visa requirements for Bulgaria and all EU member states.
The pressure increased in the wake of an announcement by US President Barack Obama that Greece will join 35 other nations on the US Visa Waiver Program (VWP).
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