press releases
Visa Still Required for Travel to the U.S.
Athens (November 8, 2005) – The U.S. Embassy clarifies that there are no immediate plans to expand the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) for travel to the United States. Currently, 27 countries participate in the Visa Waiver Program that allows travelers from these countries to enter the U.S. and stay up to 90 days without obtaining a visa beforehand. Greece is not included in the countries in the VWP.
U.S. authorities are presently reviewing the program and have not yet made any decision whether or not to expand the program. Should this happen in the future, countries that seek inclusion in the VWP will have to meet certain standards, including machine-readable passports, participation in an ICAO-standard biometric passport system, ability to demonstrate strong document and border security, immigration controls, and law enforcement cooperation.
The United States highly values the cultural, intellectual, and personal contributions that international travelers, students and business people bring to our shores. The U.S. is committed to working with the international community in order to build a comprehensive international border security process that will protect the citizens of the world against international criminals and terrorists. At the same time, the U.S. wants to maintain its open door policy for those who wish to visit.
The introduction of a new biometric passport in Greece will be an important step in increasing security for Greece and the European Union and will likely be one of the core requirements if U.S. authorities decide to expand the Visa Waiver Program in the future.
For more information on the U.S. visa program, please visit the website http://www.unitedstates.gov/. Those who want to travel to the U.S can visit the website www.usembassy.gr for information on obtaining visas.