Bulgaria secures visa program with US

Bulgaria secures visa program with US

A temporary agreement was signed today between Bulgaria’s foreign minister Ivailo Kalfin in addition to the United States Michael Chertoff who is the homeland security secretary to establish a visa waiver program between the two countries. Homeland security secretary Chertoff commented, “The ability to sign this agreement, leading on a path to a secure visa waiver program, is a milestone in the relationship between our countries.” The press release by the homeland security department also stated, “We appreciate Bulgaria’s support for the visa waiver program initiative, recognizing that it both has a convenience and a travel benefit but also an important security benefit.”

The program that was created covers the different areas of immigration including border security, international travel security as well as issuing passports that would contain biometric information of Bulgaria individuals. This agreement also creates a process for travelers to resolve lost or stolen passports, development of information programs and additional programs that would focus on air navigation security. Part of the conditions to the agreement is that Bulgaria lowers the amount of US citizens that are currently be denied access. The current percentage is thirteen percent but the new agreement would require that to be lowered to only ten percent.