The shot in the arm would come from Polish tourists who have relatives and friends here in Chicago, home to perhaps the largest concentration of Polish people outside of Poland — an estimated 900,000 Polish nationals and Polish Americans.
Unfortunately, that tourism now is discouraged because — unlike residents of 36 other nations — visitors from Poland need a visa as well as a passport before they can come to the United States for up to 90 days. Most tourists coming to the United States live in countries that qualify for visa waivers, meaning tourists need only a passport, but much to the frustration of Poles, their nation doesn’t qualify.
“For someone who doesn’t live in a [Polish] city where there is a U.S. consulate, they have to travel a few hours to one of the bigger cities, try for a visa, stand in line and pay hundreds of dollars,” said Grazyna Zajaczkowska, immigrant services program director for the Polish American Association.
As a result, many Poles choose to travel somewhere else, she said.
Moreover, Poles are offended that they are left out of the program when their nation long has been a close ally of the United States, sending troops to fight beside Americans in Iraq and Afghanistan, said Gary Kenzer, the association’s director. Poland repealed its visa requirement for U.S. travelers in 1991.
“It’s a slap in the face,” Kenzer said.
U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) and U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley (D-Ill.) are headed to Poland to talk with officials there about snipping the red tape. And President Barack Obama last July on a trip to Warsaw said he endorses bills Kirk, Quigley and U.S. Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-Ill.) have introduced that would tweak the law to benefit Poland, which is one of 12 nations nominated for visa waivers.
A 25-year-old law now nixes a nation for the visa waiver program if the U.S. State Department rejects more than 3 percent of the visa applications from its citizens. That’s a safeguard to discourage people from coming to the United States as visitors and then simply staying.
But Zajaczkowska said Poles, now that their own nation’s economy has grown stronger, no longer overstay their visas in significant numbers.
End the delay. Admit Poland into the visa waiver program.
Lipinski Applauds President’s Statement in Poland Supporting Legislation
to Admit Poland to the Visa Waiver Program and Urges Follow-Through
WASHINGTON (May 28, 2011) — Today, Congressman Dan Lipinski (IL-3) applauded President Obama’s statement of strong support for the bipartisan Secure Travel and Counterterrorism Partnership Program Act, H.R. 959, and urged him to follow through to make sure it is signed into law so that Poland can join the Visa Waiver Program. Congressman Lipinski helped introduce H.R. 959 and recently called on the President to support it in a letter also signed by Senator Mark Kirk, Rep. Mike Quigley, and other legislators.
“The President’s strong statement in support of this legislation is good news for both Poland and America,” Congressman Lipinski said. “But after many years of waiting, what is most important is that we see action. As a proud Polish-American whose district includes over 100,000 people of Polish ancestry, and as the co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on Poland, I have been working to add Poland to the Visa Waiver Program for as long as I have been in office. It is clear that VWP membership for Poland is long overdue. Nearly 50 Polish troops have fought and died alongside their American counterparts in Iraq and Afghanistan, its economy has avoided recession despite Europe’s economic woes, and it is poised to begin a successful term at the helm of the European Union. Yet Poland is the only member of the 25-nation Schengen Area that is not part of the Visa Waiver Program, which currently includes 36 nations. Poland has earned the right to join the VWP. Congress should recognize that fact and pass H.R. 959 without further delay.”
In statements to Polish leaders and the media while visiting Poland today, the President affirmed his support for admitting Poland to the VWP. In addition, in a letter to Rep. Lipinski, the President stated: “Thank you for your letter regarding my visit to Poland and your recent introduction of the Secure Travel and Counterterrorism Partnership Program Act of 2011 (S. 497/H.R. 959) to restructure the Visa Waiver Program. I write to express my strong support for the secure Travel and Counterterrorism Partnership Program Act of 2011…I also share your support for Poland and disappointment that this close NATO ally has been excluded from the VWP to date. Poland’s strong and steadfast support during our missions in Iraq and Afghanistan demonstrates the deep alliance we have forged and the close partnership between our two countries…Thank you again for your leadership on this important issue of interest to both countries.”
H.R. 959 would enable Poland to join the VWP. It would make the primary qualifying criteria for VWP participation a low overstay rate – set at less than 3 percent of foreign nationals who remain in the United States after their visa expires. Current practice uses the visa refusal rate, but experts agree that is an outdated measure that is less relevant to U.S. security, law enforcement, or contribution to rates of illegal immigration. The bill also enhances national security by encouraging information sharing between the United States and member countries.
The United States launched its visa waiver program in 1986 to make it easier for tourists and business travelers from friendly nations to visit without a visa as long as their homeland met stringent security and law-enforcement standards.
The program’s security standards include sharing security-related information with the United States and the timely reporting of lost or stolen passports. VWP participants also are required to maintain enhanced counterterrorism, law enforcement, border control, and document security standards.
Enhanced security procedures were added to the program under the Bill Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007, including the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) that allows the Department of Homeland Security to determine, prior to travel, whether an individual eligible for the VWP poses a law enforcement or security risk to the United States.
A complete list of the 36 nations that currently participate in the VWP is available at http://www.dhs.gov/files/programs/content_multi_image_0021.shtm#4.
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