Due to fears that the identities of roughly 1 million foreigners who were awarded Hungarian passports during a nine-year period hadn’t been fully vetted, the United States placed new travel restrictions on nationals of Hungary on Tuesday.
A government officer and an embassy. The U.S. is subject to limitations.
The Visa Waiver Program enables citizens of 40 countries to travel or do business in the United States for up to 90 days without obtaining a visa.
Holders of Hungarian passports may only enter the United States once during their one-year validity period of travel under the Electronic System for Travel Authorization, which has been cut from two years.
The Visa Waiver Program’s 40 participating states have only these two requirements.
According to a senior U.S. government official, the shift came after years of fruitless U.S. efforts to cooperate with Hungary’s government to address the security issues.
The official described diplomatic interactions in depth while speaking under anonymity.
The official claimed that hundreds of thousands of Hungarian passports were issued without strict procedures for identification verification, some of them to criminals who represent a threat to public safety and have no link to Hungary.
Under the direction of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, Hungary’s government started providing a streamlined citizenship process to anyone with Hungarian heritage in 2011, even if they didn’t live or intended to live in Hungary.
Through the streamlined process, hundreds of thousands of the at least 2 million ethnic Hungarians living in neighboring nations—primarily in Romania, Serbia, and Ukraine—acquired Hungarian citizenship.
Under the direction of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, Hungary’s government started providing a streamlined citizenship process to anyone with Hungarian heritage in 2011, even if they didn’t live or intended to live in Hungary.
Through the streamlined process, hundreds of thousands of the at least 2 million ethnic Hungarians living in neighboring nations—primarily in Romania, Serbia, and Ukraine—acquired Hungarian citizenship.
Critics said that the scheme gave Orban’s ruling Fidesz party an electoral advantage by allowing non-taxpaying ethnic Hungarians living abroad to vote in Hungarian elections.
Because of the worries, the United States previously reclassified Hungary as a temporary participant in the Visa Waiver Program.
In a statement from the Interior Ministry on Tuesday, the government of Hungary addressed the restrictions.
According to the statement, Hungary’s government was unable to comply with the United States’ request for the personal information of ethnic Hungarians who hold dual citizenship and are living abroad since doing so would jeopardize their security.
The statement read, “This is why President Joe Biden’s administration is now exacting revenge on Hungarians.”
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