Romania will soon meet the criteria of having rejection rates of less than three percent for visa applications to the US, making the country eligible for the US Visa Waiver program.
Dan-Andrei Maurau, the Romanian ambassador to the United States made the statement, also implying that Romanians have a good chance of travelling visa-free to the US in six months, VisaGuide.World reports.
The United States Embassy has issued a huge number of visas this year, approaching 50,000, maybe 60,000. There are many applications from both the private sector and the government, and we believe this is a very good chance. Last fiscal year, which ended on October 1, 2023, we had a rejection rate of over eight percent, so we can be below three percent this year.
Lower Rejection Rates – Crucial for Romanians to Travel Visa-Free to US Soon
The Ambassador pointed out that Romania is in the final stages of meeting the criteria for admission to the program, but lowering rejection rates is very important for reaching this milestone.
Ambassador Maurau told Economedia that the rejection rates must be under three per cent. According to him, rejection rates for visa applicants from Romania can be well under three per cent this year.
We are in the final stages, meaning by the end of the American fiscal year, which ends on October 1 this year, we are confident that we will meet the criterion of having a rejection rate of less than three percent for all Romanian citizens’ visa applications to the US.
US Issued Up to 60,000 Visas to Romanians in 2023 Fiscal Year
According to data by the Visa Office of the US Department of State, Romanians were granted 60,474 visas. That is up by 70 percent compared to the previous year, indicating an upward trend of Romanians permitted to visit the US in the last years.
In general, Romanians are increasingly being issued visas to the US during the last decade. While in the COVID-19 pandemic times, including from 2020 to 2022, the visa issuance rates surged, prior to the pandemic, thousands of visas were granted to Romanians.
In 2019, 60,482 visas were granted to Romanian nationals – only slightly less than in 2022. This is also the highest recorded number of US visas issued to Romanians.