I’ll never forget my first trip to the Czech Republic (then still Czechoslovakia). It was snowing, and the normally 8-hour bus ride from Munich to Prague took over 14 hours, almost ten of which were just to get to the Czech border. When we did finally arrive at the border, the guards came in very brusquely and demanded all of our passports. The communist world was in the process of breathing its last death rattle at the time, but the border patrol was no less grim and unsmiling. Hence my surprise when the guard took my passport, looked at me, smiled, and told me to stay on the bus because I didn’t need a visa. The rest of the bus, neighbors and fellow Europeans, were none too happy about this show of favoritism, and left the bus into the cold, wet snow grumbling and moaning about our good fortune.
Well, it’s been a long time coming, but effective yesterday, November 17, 2008 visitors to the US from the Czech Republic can enter the US without a visa, as can citizens of Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, the Republic of Korea, and the Slovak Republic. The US visa waiver program has been extended to include those countries, meaning that citizens entering for less than 90 days on business or pleasure can travel without obtaining a visa beforehand.
So, to any visitors from the Czech Republic, a warm Vítáme Vás! For more, see this DHS Fact Sheet.
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