Romania will be the 43rd country to become a member of the Visa Waiver Program (VWP). The new designation made by Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas in conjunction with Secretary of State Antony Blinken will go into effect on or around March 31, 2025.

The VWP allows citizens or nationals of participating countries to travel to the United States for tourism or business purposes for up to 90 days without obtaining a visa.

The Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) online application and mobile app will be updated to include Romania.

Individuals must apply online through ESTA before coming to the United States on the VWP.

According to the secretaries, Romania met the stringent security requirements for this designation through a whole-of-government effort:

  • It had a visa refusal rate of under 3 percent in the last fiscal year;
  • It issues secure travel documents;
  • It extends reciprocal travel privileges to all U.S. citizens and nationals without regard to national origin, religion, ethnicity, or gender; and
  • It agreed to work closely with U.S. law enforcement and counterterrorism authorities.

U.S. citizens already are eligible to travel to Romania visa-free and are eligible to remain for up to 90 days for tourism or business purposes if they have a passport valid for at least three months from the date of arrival.

Romania is the fourth country to be added to the VWP by Secretary Mayorkas. It follows Croatia (2021), Israel (2023), and Qatar (2024).

Jackson Lewis attorneys are available to assist with any questions on international travel.

Print:
Email this postTweet this postLike this postShare this post on LinkedIn
Photo of Forrest G. Read IV Forrest G. Read IV

Forrest Read is a Principal in the Raleigh, North Carolina, office of Jackson Lewis P.C. He has extensive experience in both business immigration law and employment law and has particular focus in legal issues in graduate medical education (GME).

Mr. Read’s immigration practice…

Forrest Read is a Principal in the Raleigh, North Carolina, office of Jackson Lewis P.C. He has extensive experience in both business immigration law and employment law and has particular focus in legal issues in graduate medical education (GME).

Mr. Read’s immigration practice focuses on assisting employers in obtaining employment-based nonimmigrant visas (e.g., H-1B, L, O, TN) for foreign national employees and work-related immigrant (green card) visas, including PERM Labor Certifications, and advising employers on compliance with U.S. immigration laws and regulations. He has broad experience in advising large, mid-size and small employers on their various immigration needs and developing strategies to help them navigate through complex immigration issues. He also has particular experience in counseling employers in the health care industry and addressing immigration-related issues that arise for their broad range of health care professional employees (including advising on and obtaining employment authorization for medical residents and fellows and obtaining J-1 visa waivers for foreign national physicians completing their medical training in the United States). His immigration practice also includes defending employers in connection with Department of Labor H-1B and H-2B investigations.

Mr. Read’s employment law experience includes representing management, particularly academic medical centers in the GME context, in a wide array of workplace disputes and litigation before federal and state courts and administrative agencies, including matters related to discrimination, retaliation, harassment, disability, family and medical leave, various wage and hour issues, contracts, and intentional torts. He advises academic medical centers on the interplay between applicable academic law and employment law and the ramifications of what are divergent legal requirements and standards. Mr. Read also provides counsel with respect to the legal impact of competency standards for residents and trainees in GME, including situations involving discipline, remediation, and dismissal. He provides advice and guidance in the peer review process, including provision of verification and assessment of training in response to third party inquiries.

As a member of the Firm’s Corporate Diversity Counseling group, Mr. Read also has experience in providing assessments and making recommendations to corporate and institutional clients with respect to diversity and inclusion policies and initiatives, conducting related internal investigations, and shaping, developing and enforcing effective policies and initiatives to ensure consistency with client values and in furtherance of business goals and objectives.