Romanian citizens who want to travel to the US shouldn’t expect the visas to be eliminated before 2017, said Hans Klemm, the United States Ambassador to Romania.

According to him, Romania meets all the requirements and criteria under the current law, except for the visa refusal rate, which is higher than the required level.

“Nothing will happen this year, I'm honest with you. Immigration is a sensitive project, it is one of the main topics discussed in this year’s presidential campaign in the US, we can’t expect it to happen sooner than 2017. A possible law amendment is possible in 2017 at the earliest,” Klemm said, according to local Mediafax.

Hans Klemm was in Arad, western Romania, on Thursday, where he donated 133 books for the American Shelf at the A.D. Xenopol County Library.

It is not the first time when the US Ambassador says that the visas can’t be eliminated this year. He also said that in early February, when he explained that the refusal rate was over the 3% legal threshold.

EU pressures the US and Canada to eliminate visas for Romanians and Bulgarians.

Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Us Embassy Bucharest on Facebook)