Judicial Watch Sues State Dept. for Records Related to Eligibility of Hungarians to Participate in Visa Waiver Program

(Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch announced today it filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the U.S. Department of State for communications and records regarding the eligibility of citizens of Hungary to participate in a visa waiver program (Judicial Watch v. U.S. Department of State (No. 1:23-cv-02964)).

 The lawsuit was filed after the Department of State failed to respond to an August 8, 2023, FOIA request sent to its Office of the Information Programs and Services for:

All records related to the modifications to the eligibility of citizens of Hungary to participate in the visa waiver program which went into effect on August 1, 2023 (https://hu.usembassy.gov/visas/visa-waiver-program/). This request includes, but is not limited to, all records reviewed, referenced, or relied upon in making the determination to implement the modifications, as well as all related records of communication between any official or employee of the Department of State and any other individual or entity.

On August 1, 2023, Reuters reported, “The United States imposed restrictions for Hungarian passport holders under its Visa Waiver Program on Tuesday … Relations between the two governments have been burdened recently with Budapest’s delay of a parliament vote on Sweden’s NATO accession and curbs on LGBTQ rights by Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s nationalist government.”

Citing “vulnerabilities” because Hungary granted citizenship to “nearly one million people” over the nine-year period of 2011 to 2020, the State Department announced on its website:

Today, we notified the Government of Hungary that the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) validity period for travel by Hungarian passport holders is reduced from two years to one year. Additionally, the validity of an ESTA for Hungarian passport holders will be limited to a single use.

“The Leftists running the Biden administration want to punish Hungary because they hate Viktor Oban, Hungary’s conservative prime minister,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. “And, as they try to bully Hungary over immigration, the Biden administration continues to allow millions of illegal aliens to come unhindered into the U.S.”

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