The fact that Poland, a major ally of the US, still does not enjoy visa-free travel to the US has been an irritation to the Polish side for some years. However, the number of visa applications refused has fallen sharply over the past few years.

The American embassy in Warsaw launched a campaign in April to help Poland join the US Visa Waiver Program. The US ambassador to Poland, Georgette Mosbacher vowed to help lift visas for Poles travelling to America by the end of 2020.

Image by cytis from Pixabay

So is Poland close to being included in visa waiver program? Yesterday U.S. President Donald Trump told Poland’s president he expected to announce Polish entry into the U.S. Visa Waiver Program in coming weeks as the two held talks on defense, security, energy and other issues, the White House said on Monday.

Image by mohamed Hassan from Pixabay

Poland has long sought access to the State Department’s Visa Waiver Program under which most citizens of participating countries can travel to the United States for tourism or business for up to 90 days without obtaining a U.S. visa. The threshold for a country to enter the US Visa Waiver Program is a three percent refusal rate. And that refusal rate has fallen below 3% in Poland…Now it is time for administrative and procedural tasks, which may take several months.

We will see what future brings!