Bulgaria and the Republic of Cyprus remain the only EU member states whose citizens will need US visas
Since 2006, the percentage of denied B-type visas for Bulgarians to the US has been below 10% twice, and in 2024 it was 6.02%, which is the lowest percentage. This is shown by a BTA report on the US State Department website.
One of the technical conditions for including our country in the US Visa Waiver Program is
the percentage of denied tourist visas for Bulgarian citizens not to exceed 3%.
The percentage of denials in 2024 – 6.02%; 2023 – 11.61%; 2022 –10.00%; 2021 – 18.40%; 2020 –12.52%; 2019 – 9.75%; 2018 – 11.32%; 2017 – 14.97%; 2016 – 16.86%; 2015 – 17.26%; 2014 – 15.2%; 2013 – 19.9%; 2012 – 18.00%; 2011 – 15.7%; 2010 – 17.2%; 2009 – 17.8%; 2008 – 13.3%; 2007 – 14.3%; 2006 – 17.5%.
The percentage of denied B visas for the United States for the fiscal year 2024 is 6.02%, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) announced at the end of November last year. The Foreign Ministry launched the “Visa Academy” campaign, part of the efforts to include our country in the US Visa Waiver Program.
The highest refusal rate – 19.9% was in 2013.
In 2019, it was 9.75%, according to data from the US State Department.
On January 10, the official cancellation of US visas for Romanian citizens will be announced. This will take place at a meeting in Washington between Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Romanian Ambassador to the US Andrei Muraru, the Romanian Embassy in Washington announced yesterday in a Facebook post.
As a result of the decision of the US Federal Government,
Romania will become the 43rd country included in the “Visa Waiver” program, which allows visa-free travel for up to 90 days for tourist or business purposes.
On November 27, the U.S. Department of State confirmed that Romania had met the visa denial rate criterion – in fiscal year 2024 (October 1, 2023 to September 30, 2024), 2.61% of Romanian applicants were denied U.S. visas.
In addition to the visa denial criterion, inclusion in the Visa Waiver Program requires the fulfillment of criteria related to the security of travel documents and information exchange, as well as the implementation of specific measures in the fight against terrorism and illegal migration.
After Romania’s inclusion in the Visa Waiver Program for the United States,
Bulgaria and the Republic of Cyprus will remain the only EU member states whose citizens will require U.S. visas.
Croatia was admitted to the Visa Waiver Program in October 2021.
On November 18, Bulgarian Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs Ivan Kondov highlighted Bulgaria‘s progress in fulfilling the criteria for the country’s inclusion in the US Visa Waiver Program during his meeting with US Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources Richard Verma. The US side welcomed the efforts of the Bulgarian authorities in this direction and expressed confidence that the upward trend will continue.
Illustrative Photo by Sharefaith: https://www.pexels.com/photo/flag-of-america-1202723/
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First published in this link of The European Times.
