Travelling to the US Without a Visa After All?

Should we expect some positive changes soon?

For years we Poles have been waiting for the abolition of the U.S. visa. Our nation has witnessed debates and promises on this matter, but still there is no definite resolution.

Although some of us have even become indifferent to the topic, it is now the time to cock our ears and watch the situation closely. In Congress there has been a bill submitted that may bring changes to the visa requirements. For Poland, it means that there is a chance of opening the gates to the entrance into the visa waiver program for the United States. To put it differently, the visa requirements will be easier to meet than they are now. Maybe we can meet them even now.

Thereupon, it should be mentioned that our main concern these days is that the bar by which the number of visas is refused is being raised from 3 to 10 percent. In order for Poland to enter the program, this number should be kept within the limit above. A recent study showed that only 10.2 percent of Poles are refused a visa. This means that we can go below the threshold at once. The suggestion is to change the base of the percentage calculation system by taking the number of people applying for a visa, instead of the number of application in toto, as the accounting unit. It’s also important to mention that the act states that every country entering the program may not have more than 3 percent of its visa-holders overstaying illegally in the U.S. Although, perhaps, Poland has already met this requirement.

Numerous initiatives concerning visa abolition have already taken place in Congress, but so far with no positive effect, it seems. However, there are reasons for us to be slightly optimistic. Recent U.S. hysteria about terrorism led to restrictive measures that limited even further the ease with which foreigners may traverse its borders. This is slowly wearing off. The government has started to take more care about the growth of tourism, trying to improve the level of employment. Also, Americans are slowly realizing that Poland is no longer the poor country that it used to be; nowadays, Poles don’t take the form of impoverished yokels coming to the United States in search of earning easy money (doing so-called saksy — seasonal jobs which may be illegal).

Only some Congressional legislators who have Polish-American voters care about the subject of visa abolition. Now, it’s obvious that everything depends on the officials. More than a year ago, President Obama made a promise to abolish visas for Poles. And we can see that he’s taking steps toward it as he supported the latest bill draft concerning the issue. But to bring Congress to work on the issue, it’s essential that he raises the matter during official meetings with its leaders. This year is going to be hard for Obama because of the upcoming presidential election, and he should take into account the Polish electorate. We will see whether Polish voters, together with Polish diplomats, will manage to talk him into it.