The US Administration has made the decision to sign, during the first half of 2009, agreements with some European Union countries for the alleviated issuing of US visas, according to Dragovest Goranov, spokesperson of the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry.
Goranov spoke in connection to the statement made by Michael Chertoff, the US homeland security secretary, cited by "Financial Times", that "he expected other countries flagged for entry (in the Visa Waiver program)- Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, Malta, Poland and Romania - to be admitted in the "next few months".
Goranov explained that after the signing of the so-called Visa Waiver agreement, US visas would still be required for Bulgarians wishing to travel to the US, but would be issued under alleviated conditions.
"After the signing of the agreement, Bulgarian citizens would be able to submit the required documents and fees with the US Embassy, but what is new here is that Bulgarians would also be able to submit a visa request via the Internet 72 hours before their trip to the US. However, the US side is not going to commit to giving an answer, and the answer could be "yes", but could also be a "no," Goranov explained Tuesday.
In the same article, published by "Financial Times" on Monday, Chertoff expressed surprise at European resistance to the program that requires visitors to the US to provide personal information online before travelling.
The travel notification system, which becomes mandatory in January, requires passengers from countries whose citizens do not require visas to register online with the US government at least 72 hours before departure.
The notification system applies to citizens of the 27 participating countries in the US visa-waiver program which allows 90-day visits without a visa.
In his interview with the "Financial Times", Chertoff dismissed suggestions the "electronic system for travel authorisation" was a form of visa.
"I've been surprised by the concern expressed because it is exactly the same information we've always obtained and kept," he said. "The only difference is we receive it earlier and it comes in electronic format as opposed to a piece of paper, and neither of those strike me as material from a privacy standpoint."
Citizens of visa-waiver program countries currently provide personal data on the I-94 immigration form before they enter the US.
In the same interview, the US homeland security secretary dismisses allegations that the US did not approve Greece for the program because Athens was being punished for blocking Macedonia's entry into NATO as a "non-sense."
Chertoff gave the interview before his upcoming tour of European countries - the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania and Slovakia - that along with South Korea were recently approved for the program.
The full text of the "Financial Times" article can be found at: http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=98320
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