ABSTRACT
The Visa Waiver Program (VWP), which permits visa-free travel to the United States (US) for nationals of states such as the United Kingdom (UK), France, Germany and Ireland, emerged from obscurity after the 9/11 attacks. After 9/11, the US Congress considered abolishing the Visa Waiver Program but then only stiffened its requirements while adding new members was put on hold. Meanwhile, excluded states like Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and the Baltic states were joining the US-led coalition of the willing to fight the war on terrorism in Iraq and Afghanistan and they expected US reciprocity with visa-free travel. The US Visa Waiver Program excluded all but one of the ten new member states that joined the European Union (EU) in May 2004. US citizens enjoy visa-free travel to all EU member states under its common visa policy, but after enlargement nationals of ten EU member states did not enjoy visa-free travel to the US.
