Is the Visa Waiver being delayed?
With only one week to go before the initial date set for the implementation of the program, there is still confusion over visa waiver for Romanian citizens wishing to travel to the US.
Bogdan Matei, 24.03.2025, 13:50
The Romanian authorities have reiterated that they received no official briefing from Washington as to the possible delay of the date set for the implementation of the visa waiver scheme for Romanian citizens. At the start of the year, Romania had been included on the list of countries whose citizens will no longer require visas to travel to the US, as of March 31st.
Romanian interior minister Cătălin Predoiu says the problem has nothing to do with Romania, adding that the issue of migration is under assessment by the new Republican administration in Washington led by president Donald Trump. Predoiu says Romanian authorities are prepared from a technical point of view and that they are in constant touch with the American side. He made these statements after information in the media that the Trump administration would like to delay the visa waiver by two months for technical reasons, with the nationalist opposition in Romania claiming that “the hopes of the Romanian people to travel visa-free to the United States were shattered by the hybrid regime in power in Bucharest”, specifically blaming the interior ministry for the situation.
The Romanian foreign ministry also said it received no official information about a possible change in the date from which Romanian citizens will be able to travel to the United States without visas. The country’s interim president Ilie Bolojan said talks would be held over the coming period with the American side on the date of the application of the Visa Waiver Program.
The Romanian media noted during the former Joe Biden administration that Romania’s inclusion in the Visa Waiver Program was an elementary measure as long as the two countries are allies within NATO and connected by a Strategic Partnership.
Radio Romania’s correspondent to the US says objective conditions may exist for a possible delay, given the downsizing and massive personnel cuts seen by the federal government, including among the staff of the Department of Homeland Security, which is in charge of the implementation of Romania’s visa waiver scheme. The department’s official website does list Romania among the countries included in the program, while the date of implementation is yet to be announced.
The context may also be explained by the confusion generated by the scandal of what appears to be the groundless arrest in the US of three German tourists, whose entry was denied and who were detained. Both Germany and the UK have revised their travel recommendations, pointing out the Visa Waiver does not guarantee admission to the United States in the absence of a valid Electronic System for Travel Authorization approval and that visitors may be subject to detention or removal if they break the rules.
