Bulgaria has made significant progress in meeting the criteria for inclusion in the U.S. Visa Waiver Program, caretaker Minister of Foreign Affairs Ivan Kondov said in a written response to MP Martin Dimitrov. Given the requirement to reduce the B-visa refusals rate below 3%, Bulgaria has the opportunity to successfully conclude negotiations after meeting this target for the 2025 financial year, Ivan Kondov added. In 2024, the visa refusal rate for Bulgaria was 6.02%, showing a significant decrease compared to 2023 when it was -11.61%.
On December 15, 2024, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs launched an information campaign under the slogan "You don’t need an Oscar to get a U.S. visa." The face of the campaign is the 2021 Oscar-nominee Maria Bakalova. The campaign aims to inform the Bulgarian public about the different types of U.S. travel visas and reduce B-visa refusals, Minister Kondov concluded.
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