Polish citizens will soon be able to visit the USA without having to obtain a visa. When a citizen of a Visa Waiver Program (VWP) country seeks to travel to the U.S. and be admitted, that person must apply for Electronic System for Travel Authorization ("ESTA"). The U.S. Department of State has nominated Poland to join the VWP, which allows citizens of 38 countries to visit the USA without applying for a visa.
Those countries are as follows:
- Andorra - Hungary - Norway
- Australia - Iceland - Portugal
- Austria - Ireland - San Marino
- Belgium - Italy - Singapore
- Brunei - Japan - Slovakia
- Chile - Latvia - Slovenia
- Czech Republic - Liechtenstein - South Korea
- Denmark - Lithuania - Spain
- Estonia - Luxembourg - Sweden
- Finland - Malta - Switzerland
- France - Monaco - Taiwan
- Germany - Netherlands - United Kingdom
- Greece - New Zealand
Under U.S. law, a country is eligible to participate in the VWP when its citizens have exhibited a low rate of overstay in the U.S. In U.S. Fiscal Year 2018, the overstay rate for Polish citizens in the U.S. was 0.87% (Business/Pleasure visas), and 1.88% (Student and Exchange visitor visas). You may find our prior post on U.S. visa overstay policy in the U.S. to be worth reading. Countries are not quickly and easily admitted to the VWP. In fact, the last country to receive admission to the program was Chile. Chile was admitted to VWP on February 28, 2014, almost six years ago. Accordingly, this is a significant achievement for citizens of Poland who wish to come to the U.S. for the purpose of visiting relatives, studying in the U.S., and/or starting a small business.
We assist countless foreign nationals and we will be happy to personally assist you with your questions as well. Drop us a line at Lawyer@MurrayLawNJ.com or call us at (888)354-6257. For reasons on why you should consult an immigration attorney whenever you have an immigration issue, see our page titled: Reasons Why it is Vital to Use an Immigration Lawyer.
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