Final Word from Thursday, May 27, 2004
The best way to prevent Czechs from wasting money on American visas, several readers said, is for the U.S. to eliminate the visas. Brussels asked Washington this month to include the 10 new EU members in its visa-waiver program, but this is unrealistic in the case of the CR. Under U.S. law, a country must have a visa-rejection rate below 3% for a long period before visas can be waived. The CR has a double-digit rate. The embassy doesn't like to be more specific, because of the sensitivity of the issue. Foreign Minister Cyril Svoboda disputed the embassy's figures in a radio interview, but his complaint fell on deaf ears. The mood in Washington, esp. with the threat of another al-Qaeda attack, is more toward tightening visa requirements than loosening them. If the rejection rate drops too low, officials in Washington start getting nervous that security is too lax. requirement