U.S. ambassador in Bucharest Kathleen Kavalec declared on Friday for AGERPRES that it was time for Romania to join the Visa Waiver Program, expressing her confidence that this facility will bring the Romanian and American peoples even closer together.
"Our strategic partnership, which is now in its 28th year, and which is based on our shared democratic values, our cultural ties, our security cooperation, our business ties, is just getting stronger and stronger. I think it was time to bring Romania into the program. I want to thank the Romanian government for all the cooperation, the Romanian business sector that was part of the process to help qualify Romania for this program. I think that it will boost our people-to-people ties, our business ties, tourism. I think it will bring us even closer together," the American ambassador said.
Kathleen Kavalec stressed that it takes time to implement the online Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) that will be used to notify travel to the United States of America, in the context where a visa is not required.
"We expect it to be ready by the end of March, and at that point, rather than needing to get a visa, Romanians traveling to the U.S. for either business or tourism can simply register for the trip online. We recommend that they do this at least three days before the trip, but they will get an approval, either right away, or within 72 hours, that will allow them to proceed with their trip. And this will make it a lot easier for people who want a 'last minute' travel, to take advantage of, say, a sporting event, or a concert, a wedding or something that comes up unexpectedly. It will be a lot quicker, easier and cheaper, by the way. The fee will be only 21 dollars to apply for visa waiver online, as opposed to about 185 dollars right now for an actual visa," the diplomat said.
The American ambassador mentioned that the visa waiver only applies for Romanian citizens traveling for tourism or business purposes, and whose stay is for a maximum of 90 days, whereas if the trip to the U.S has other purposes, such as work or studies, or for longer stays, they still need to apply for a special visa.
"If you want to stay longer than 90 days, if you want to study, or work, or be an investor in a company, you would need a different kind of visa, and you would still need to come to the embassy to get that," she pointed out.
Romania's inclusion in the Visa Waiver Program, the diplomat emphasized, means "improved security for Americans in terms of who is coming to the U.S. as travelers."
"It's a more secure system that involves sharing information between our two countries to screen out for terrorism or other types of possible dangers. We expect it will increase tourism to the U.S. because rather than having to plan so far ahead, if you see a great airline deal to fly to the U.S. for $500 for the weekend, you can jump on it. So we expect it will bring us more visitors, which will help our economy, and we think that it will improve exchanges, including in the business sector; we expect that it will also give a boost to the economy through new business opportunities," said the U.S. ambassador.
Regarding the U.S. tourist attractions, besides the popular New York and Washington D.C., Kathleen Kavalec advocated for the region she knows best, her home state, but stressed that the United States cannot be known after a single trip. "There are so many places worth visiting in the U.S. I'm from California, so I always recommend my home state, but we have a great national park system for people who are interested in being outdoors. There's of course Hawaii, there's Florida, there's the Midwest, Texas. There are so many places to go. I think the difficulty is that it is such a big country, you have to go back multiple times. You can't see it all in one trip," explained Kavalec.
The United States ambassador also had a message for the Romanians who have previously applied for U.S. visas, stating that they were part of the process that led to Romania's inclusion in the Visa Waiver Program.
"A U.S. visa is still an advantage, because with a visa you can stay up to six months (a visa-waiver is only for up to 90 days) and is valid for ten years. So I thank all the people who applied for U.S. visas, because through applying they helped qualify Romania for the Visa Waiver Program. Do not give up on these visas, because you can still use them, and thank you for your support," Kavalec said.
According to representatives of the U.S. Embassy, around 70,000 Romanians submitted applications for B1/B2 visas to the United States in the fiscal year of 2024 ending in October. Approximately 13,000 were granted entry without an interview at the Consulate, as they were only seeking a visa renewal.
American authorities on Friday formally designated Romania as the 43rd country to join the U.S. Visa Waiver Program.