Poland has been America’s historically staunch ally and fellow fighter for freedom, but despite the close ties between the two countries, the Polish are often denied entry to visit relatives in America. Citizens of every member of the EU can travel freely to the USA without a Visa except Bulgaria, Romania, and Poland. And Poland has paid her dues.

After World War II, and despite being a devout ally, the West conceded to the Soviets, and Poland was incorporated into the eastern bloc to be under the Kremlin yoke for the next five decades. Upon the demise of the USSR, Poland immediately became an ardent American supporter, restoring strong diplomatic relations that continue unheeded to this day.

Polish patriots seeking liberation from occupying forces of the 18th century contributed greatly to the American Revolution. “Father of the American Cavalry,” Casimir Pulaski, was given a national holiday for his prowess and saving the life of George Washington. A good friend of Thomas Jefferson, expat Taddeusz Kosciusko engineered fortifications to defend against the British. He would later leave his will toward black emancipation and education. Countless towns, bridges, parks, monuments, mountains and even a submarine have been dedicated to such Polish-American heroes of valor.

Continuing to align themselves with the West, and in effort to prove themselves militarily with NATO, Poland has greatly contributed toward America’s War on Terrorism. Poland deployed the fourth-most troops in the second Iraqi war, and currently has over 2,500 soldiers engaged in Afghanistan.

Controversially, Poland has hosted black CIA interrogation/torture sites against suspected members of Al-Qaeda. A complaint was filed by The European Court of Human Rights for failing to investigate the CIA prison. A criminal case was launched in 2008 and is still ongoing for crimes against humanity. Additionally, NATO-Poland has harassed Russia by approving American SM-3 missile bases to be built near the border with Belarus.

Even as a member of the UN, NATO and Schengen committee, Polish people must enter a costly, time consuming application process to visit America. With a sizable Polish Diaspora, many family members are denied the right to visit relative émigrés.

Poland is the only European country that avoided recent economic depression, and even rated a positive GDP growth in 2010. The majority of Polish visitors are not looking to overstay their Visas during a boom time in their home country. An enormous Polish diaspora (Polonia) exists outside her European borders. America harbors an estimated ten million citizens of Polish descent. Chicago alone has over 180,000 Polish-speaking residents.

In April of 2011, the Polish American Congress raised the issue enough to garner attention from Senator Mark Kirk who sponsored bill S. 497 and Congressman Mike Quigly wrote up the corresponding H.R. 959 to modify existing immigration restriction rates to include Poland on the Visa Waiver Program. Currently, the visa refusal rate is the standard for a nation to qualify for the VWP.

The bill seeks to replace the standard, using overstay rates as the deciding factor. Quigly testified before the House Subcommittee on Immigration Policy and Enforcement Dec. 7. “This is an issue of fairness and equity for a longstanding friend and partner, Poland,” said Rep. Quigley. “Expansion of the Visa Waiver Program will improve our international diplomatic relationships, create jobs, stimulate the economy and strengthen national security. It’s time to expand outdated travel standards to include our proven allies.” VWP travelers spent more than 51 billion dollars in the U.S. That spending generated 512,000 jobs, 13 billion dollars in payroll and 7.8 billion dollars in taxes for the American economy.

Obama promised to sign both bills if they pass through their respective committees. “I am going to make this a priority,” Obama said, sitting alongside Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski. “I want to solve this issue before very long. My expectation is, is that this problem will be solved during my presidency. I am well aware that this is a source of irritation between two great friends and allies, and we should resolve it.”

The USA raised the standards of visitation in the post 9-11 world, and, with more than ten-percent of Poles being denied entry for suspicion they may overstay their Visa, they become disqualified from the VWP.

Grzegorz Kostrzewa-Zorbas, a former member of the Polish foreign affairs ministry, said, “Poland feels discriminated against,” Kostrzewa-Zorbas said, “differentiated from other allies of the United States around the world.”

“Will al-Qaeda penetrate America disguised as Polish peasants? Will the job market be flooded by unqualified, culturally alien workers from Poland? Of course not,” Kostrzewa-Zorbas said.

Contact members of your state’s Committee of the Judiciary to support the bill or become co-sponsor if they are not in the committee the bill was referred to, or sign the VISA Waiver Petition.

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J.J. Abrams, producer of many shows and movies like Lost, Cloverfield, Mission Impossible III, and Star Trek, has been working on his latest project, Super 8, for a while now. Now since it’s release people have been asking, “What about Star Trek 2?” J.J. Abrams and the writers Damon Lindelof, Roberto Orci, and Alex Kurtzman have been keeping their mouths shut about the movie. There is not a lot known about the project, except that the movie might not meet its release date on June 29, 2012.

The main reason behind such a delay is that the creators do not want to send out an inferior product. They want to take their time with the script, and with shooting it, in order to make it the best it can be. In an interview with CNN, Abrams said, “We’re working on the script and story and doing everything we can to make it well. I would just so much rather make a movie that’s worth people’s time than make a movie that’s on time.”

Alex Orci also stated that having no set deadlines is a problem. So far, dates for the shoot, or when they will begin pre-production, have not been given yet. He stated for TrekMovie.com, “let’s find out when we are really going to go and then we will really get to work.” As well as the dates not set in stone, JJ Abrams being the director is not either. He has helped tremendously with the project and talking regularly with the writers, so it’s extremely likely he will direct the movie, but it is not official yet.

This is not the first time this problem happened with JJ’s Trek films. The first movie was to be released in December of 2008, but the creators wanted to take their time with it, resulting in the later release date, summer 2009. This can only parallel and infer what the standard is going to be like for Star Trek 2. The writers know people are upset with the delayed release. Damon Lindelof, in an interview with TrekMovie.com, had said, “As fanboys ourselves, if the shoe was on the other foot we would be saying ‘get on with it already, when is the movie going to come out?’ And we are fully aware of that.”

So far, the writers have written a seventy-page outline of the movie but no definite answers were given out on who the villain is and what the mission will be about. Badassdigest.com got a whiff of what’s to come when a source of theirs said that the villain would be from the original season of Star Trek. What is fascinating is that Khan will not be the main villain in the movie. The villains that can show up are the Horta, Harry Mudd, the Talosians, Trelane, and Gary Mitchell.

As the movie process slowly turns its gears, TrekMovie.com asked the writers if they are strictly sticking to a set amount of classic material or not. Orci had this to say, “…we [are] not making any rules about whether or not you have to include a certain amount of classic stuff or any at all, or whether it has to be all something you have never seen. Obviously some of the familiarity is going to be part of the fun.”

People are getting antsy to see Star Trek 2. With J.J. Abrams always busy, nobody knows when it will officially release. If there is one thing that will be certain, it is that the creators are trying their best to create an enjoyable film. However, with this delay, there are many questions that spring up, like whom the U.S.S Enterprise’s crew face in the next movie? Every Star Trek fan has been racking their brains in order to find out, but with the writers keeping their tongues taught there is no way to find out for sure. Hopefully it will come out sooner rather than later, but fans will all have to keep their eyes and ears attentive for any new details about the movie.

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