US Ambassador to Bulgaria Gives Thumbs Up for Lifting Visas

The US Ambassador to Bulgaria, James Warlick, is supporting the dropping of visa requirements for Bulgarians int he United States. Photo by BGNES

No one wants more than me the drop of visa requirements for Bulgarians in the United States, the US Ambassador to Bulgaria James Warlick has announced.

His statement was an answer to a question by a reporter in the Bulgarian city of Ruse, the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA).

Warlick has explained that this is a decision of the Congress and he refused to forecast on the day it would be made.

He also pointed out that a significant step forward in this direction has been made with the introduction of the 10-year business and tourist visas, which are a huge relief to Bulgarians traveling to the United States.

Earlier it was announced that the EU Home Affairs Commissioner, Cecilia Malmstrom, has renewed the calls of the European Commission on the United States to drop the visa requirements for citizens of Bulgaria, Romania, Cyprus and Poland, making travel visa-free for all EU states.

The issue was on the work agenda of the biannual EU-USA meeting in the field of Justice and Internal Affairs, held on Wednesday and Thursday, in Washington.

“The position of the European Commission remains unchanged. We want all EU member states to join the US Visa Waiver Program,” a spokesperson of the commissioner told the Polish state-owned radio.

Washington authorities consider these four EU member states do not fulfill certain criteria to be exempted from the compulsory visa regime yet, including the issuing of biometric passports and meeting the visa refusal threshold.

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