US senators Mark Kirk and Barbara Mikulski recently introduced a bill that stipulates free movement for citizens of Romania, Bulgaria, Poland and Croatia to the US.

According to Bulgarian NOVA TV, the pressure that the Polish community in Chicago put on the senators led to this initiative, reports Novinite.com. There are some 2 million Polish citizens in the city.

There are 38 countries benefiting from the Visa-free travel, but Romania is not one of them as the country’s rejection rate for visa applications is still high.

Some 42,000 Romanians asked for temporary tourist or business visas in the U.S. last year, up from 35,000 in 2013. The U.S. Embassy in Bucharest accepted at least 37,000 visa applications, as the rejection rate dropped under 10% for the first time.

No US visas for some Romanian officials with corruption convictions.

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