Visa Waiver for Poland – Polish American Chamber of Commerce

New Legislation Proposed For the Visa Waiver Program

As part of the Visa Waiver Program (VWP), citizens of 36 foreign countries can travel to the United States for up to 90 days without a visa. Poland has been excluded from the program because Congress changed the VWP rules along the way on visa deny rate from 10% to 3%. At present, 9% of Poles who apply for visas to visit the United States are denied. However, fewer than 3% of Poles who come to America stay longer than the 90 days allowed on their visas. That’s why a new law is needed to allow countries with an overstay rate of less than 3% to be included in the Visa Waiver Program. The Visa Waiver Program Enhanced Security and Reform Act of 2012 would do just that. In the Senate, the Bill number S.2046 is sponsored by Senator Barbara Mikulski and in the House of Representatives the Bill number H.R. 3855, is sponsored by Rep. Mike Quigley. We must convince a majority in both houses of Congress to pass this legislation before President Obama can sign it into law. But it will only become law if you and your friends call and write to your Senators and Representatives.

You can use the following templates for your letters or email:

· Senator letter

· House of Representatives letter

If you don’t know your Congressman, here is a link where you can find them using your zip code https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml

If you are not registered to vote, this link shows you how to register

http://wei.secstate.wa.gov/osos/en/voterinformation/Pages/RegistertoVote.aspx

Thank you for supporting this important campaign to drop Visas for Poland.