At Visa-Applications.org, we recognize the Romanian government’s initiative urging its citizens to renew their expired US visas as a pivotal step towards joining the US Visa Waiver Program (VWP), which facilitates visa-free travel to the United States.
The campaign, titled “Qualify Romania in the Visa Waiver Program,” is set to be widely promoted through television, radio, and online platforms. Romanian citizens with visas that have expired in the last four years are encouraged to renew them by 30 September.
The Romanian government aims to fulfill the technical requirements for the VWP by the end of the US fiscal year 2024. A crucial requirement is achieving a refusal rate of less than 3% for US B1/B2 visas—business and tourist visas—issued to Romanian citizens within this fiscal year.
Currently, Romanians, Bulgarians, and Cypriots are the only EU citizens who still need visas to enter the US.
Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu has emphasized that mobilizing a large number of Romanians for this renewal campaign is essential for achieving visa-free travel to the US by next year.
Romania is reportedly nearing the target 3% refusal rate. Valentin Vătăjelu, the national coordinator for Romania’s VWP accession, stated that this campaign is a “safety net” to ensure that previous efforts are not wasted.
Last month, Romanian Ambassador to the US, Andrei Muraru, announced that Romania is in the final stages of meeting the VWP admission criteria. Although the rejection rate for the fiscal year ending October 1, 2023, was over 8%, Muraru expressed optimism that the rate could fall below 3% this year.
The US Embassy has issued a substantial number of visas this year, with estimates ranging between 50,000 to 60,000. Muraru highlighted in an interview with Agerpres that there is a high volume of applications from both private and governmental sectors, giving Romania a strong chance to meet the criteria.