Poland's president meets US senator and congressman
Poland's President Bronislaw Komorowski met on Tuesday with US Senator Mark Kirk and Mike Quigley of the House of Representatives to discuss Poland's inclusion in the US visa waiver programme (VWP).
The president met with the co-authors of the legislation designed to make Poland participate in VWP, head of the Presidential Chancellery press office Joanna Trzaska-Wieczorek said.
The Polish president welcomes this initiative. US President Barack Obama announced his support for the legislation during his visit to Poland and during President Komorowski's visit to the US, Trzaska-Wieczorek added.
In March 2011 Senator Kirk, Congressmen Quigley and Barbara Lipinski and three other congressmen sent a bill changing the VWP criteria to the Senate and House.
The legislation aims to update and modernize VWP requirements, ultimately making Poland eligible to participate in VWP. It is designed to make the primary qualifying criteria for VWP participation a low overstay rate - set at less than 3 percent of foreign nationals who remain in the United States after their visa expires. Current practice uses the visa refusal rate. Under VWP citizens of 36 foreign countries can travel to the US for up to 90 days without a visa.
Discussed were also allied relations of the two countries with particular emphasis on cooperation in the ISAF mission.
President Bronislaw Komorowski paid a visit to Washington in December 2010 and US President Barack Obama visited Poland in May 2011. (PAP)