Frustration has been mounting for several years over the fact that Polish citizens need visas to visit the United States, despite the close political and military ties existing between Poland and the U.S. This frustration has been exacerbated by the inclusion of many other new EU states in this 36-country group.
Visa requirements were lifted for Greeks and then for Czechs, Hungarians, Slovaks, Slovenes and all the citizens of the Baltic states. The Poles can’t stand the fact that Slovakians, and especially Lithuanians, who have taunted Poland with their treatment of the Polish minority in their country, don’t have to stand in line outside of an American embassy. This discrepancy has continued even while our soldiers have fought alongside the Americans in Iraq and Afghanistan.
A growing chorus in the media has made the visa issue an example of America’s lack of gratitude for the loyalty and sacrifice of its ally. Even the foreign policy expert, Pawel Zaleski, a remarkably levelheaded MP in the European Parliament, advocated requiring visas for Americans visiting Poland. However, Americans wouldn’t really care.
No one in Warsaw seems to remember that the U.S. Congress set a clear set of conditions for a country to have the visa requirement lifted. One of the key conditions was a requirement that the percentage of denied visa applications be under three percent. The limit was temporarily lifted to 10 percent, but has fallen again. Unfortunately, Poland does not fulfill this requirement. The number of rejected visa applications oscillates at around 10 percent.
The Poles have said that American consuls have arbitrarily rejected many of these applications. The public demanded that politicians force the Americans to waive the requirement, as Poles have earned their right to visa-free travel. Americans have treated the rule extremely seriously and these appeals have gone unanswered.
Polish frustration also arises from a lack of understanding of American visa rules. Currently, visas don’t need to be obtained for tourist or business travel that does not extend more than 90 days. A Polish journalist, for example, who wanted to travel to the United States to file a report or conduct an interview, would have to apply for a visa, just like his French and German colleagues, even if the visa requirement were lifted.
Every person traveling to the United States from a country with visa-free access must register in the ESTA system and pay $14. Ten of these dollars are dedicated to tourism promotion and the rest is dedicated to system maintenance. A person wishing to visit the United States should also have a working credit card. A customs official can ask for your hotel reservation or your tourist itinerary. It is highly probable that many Poles would not qualify and would have to be turned back, causing frustration for American customs control.
Despite this, Poland is actively engaged in negotiations to obtain access to the visa-free club of nations. The topic always comes up when an American official visits Warsaw or when a Polish politician goes to Washington. The visa issue has long complicated relations between the two nations and Americans ultimately agreed to take steps to rectify the situation. Because we weren’t able to fulfill the criteria set by the program, the U.S. has decided to change the eligibility requirements.
Congressman Mike Quingley, a Democrat representing the 5th district in Illinois, introduced a bill to Congress, called H.S. 959, that is now awaiting deliberation in committee. Sen. Barbara Mikulski of Maryland introduced an identical proposal in the Senate. The proposals, however, lack large numbers of co-sponsors. Eleven Congressmen co-sponsored it in the House and only one, Mark Kirk of Illinois, in the Senate.
The bill would change the criteria for individual countries in their quest for visa-free status. The bill is designed to allow any country to apply, provided that fewer than three percent of its citizens in the U.S. stay there illegally. The ESTA system will supply the necessary statistics to confirm these numbers. Even though unofficial sources have confirmed that Poland fulfills this requirement, it is still doubtful that visa-free status will be given. The consulates will no longer be able to filter out troublesome immigrants. Knowing the criminal inclinations of some Poles, getting visa-free status is as probable as us winning the finals at the Euro 2012. It would be a huge scandal if Poland, a year after being admitted, were to be thrown out of the visa-free zone.
The process of approving the new criteria in Congress is not easy. The bill was directed to a committee headed by Lamar Smith, representing the 21st district in Texas. Smith has frequently criticized the Obama administration for a lack of effort to secure the southern border. He is also a proponent of a federal verification database, to which Obama is opposed. Every year the database would show negative statistics, the country in violation would fall out of the program and the visa requirements would be restored.
Lamar Smith thinks that any changes to immigration and visa policy should be preceded by improvement to border security and legislation preventing employment of illegal aliens. In an interview with Lou Dobbs, he talks about jobs being lost to illegal immigrants.
Many legislators have criticized Quingley’s project, saying that it eliminates the control of the American consulates. However, anyone who follows the House or Senate knows of the immense power wielded by the committee chairperson. Lamar Smith is not enthusiastic about the project and may only agree to the bill if the verification database is put into place. Smith can also keep the bill languishing on his desk, as he is doing currently.
Even if it were to win the support of Barack Obama, who is fresh off the plane from Warsaw, the road to visa-free status will be long and eventful, and the end result is not certain. Will this have an effect on the legislative process? No one knows. The fact remains that Congress is opposed to any reforms that would loosen immigration restrictions.
It should be noted that there have been plenty of false promises made in the past. During his recent visit to Warsaw, Obama assured his hosts that they would soon be able to shop on 5th Avenue in New York City. Prime Minister Donald Tusk threatened that Poles could spend their money elsewhere. High-end stores can be found in London, Paris and Milan and, truth be told, one can find them in Warsaw as well.
All the Poles who can afford to shop on 5th Avenue already possess an American visa and can buy whatever their soul desires. The visa issue does not affect them, as they and their wallets are already welcome in the United States.
The American visa policy has been very consistent. Every person fulfilling the necessary conditions can easily get a 10-year visa. Visa-free travel depends on the Poles and their willingness to abide by the laws currently governing immigration. If the laws are not violated, then Poles will travel to America without visas in due time. Poland cannot count on leniency or special considerations because Americans will never agree to it. The issue has a relatively simple solution. If Poland abides by the standards set then the visa problem will be solved. There is no other way.
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