News

On 11-14 December, Undersecretary of Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Oskaras Jusys and Undersecretary of the Interior Ministry Anatolijus Rimkevičius paid a working visit to Washington. Lithuanian officials and representatives from the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security discussed the issues of visa-free entry for Lithuanian nationals and other aspects of bilateral cooperation. The USA Administration confirmed that Lithuanian achievements guaranteeing the state border control and migration processes management, as well as the issuance of Lithuanian personal identification documents meet the existent U.S. requirements for introducing visa-free regime.

At the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, on 13 December, O.Jusys and A.Rimkevičius met with Deputy Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Paul Rosenzweig. During the meeting, the security requirements of the U.S. Visa Waiver Program,  Lithuanian passport types and measures of their security that are already introduced as well as those under way were discussed. Lithuanian membership in the Schengen area was also presented.

Speaking about Lithuania’s progress seeking to join the U.S. Visa Waiver Program, Undersecretary of Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs O.Jusys stressed that the percentage of rejected U.S. visa applications for Lithuanian citizens has currently subsided.

“Lithuania makes every effort to meet all requirements of the U.S. Visa Waiver Program as soon as possible,” said Undersecretary O.Jusys.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is preparing a Memorandum of Understanding between Lithuania and the USA, which is planned to be presented to Lithuania in the beginning of 2008. The Memorandum will stipulate provisions that are necessary for the implementation of the U.S. Visa Waiver Program.

Seeking to synchronize all the technical requirements of the U.S. Visa Waiver Program, a delegation of officials from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security should come to Vilnius in 2008.

Undersecretary of Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs also met with members of the United States House of Representatives: republican John Shimkus and democrat Dennis Kucinich. During the meetings, the congressmen promised to continue to pay their attention to the issue of the U.S. Visa Waiver Program.