Ministry: US visa waiver programme could extend to Czech Republic in two years

The Foreign Ministry has indicated that earlier reports that the Czech Republic might be eligible for the United States' visa waiver programme in one year's time were too optimistic, estimating that such a move would realistically take about two years. The ministry nevertheless noted progress on the issue of visa waiver in the US this week. Both houses of the US Congress on Wednesday discussed visa-free conditions, and unofficial reports have suggested legislation changes agreed could see exceptions made for countries not meeting a current 3 percent threshold. Under the waiver programme, rejected US visa applications per country must not exceed 3 percent over three years.

But under proposed changes, countries not breaching a ten percent threshold over one year could potentially be eligible. The Czech Republic, for example, sees around nine percent of its applications for US visas rejected annually.

Author: Jan Velinger