US Annouces That Israel Can Join Visa Waiver Program After Rejection Rate Drops Below 3%

JERUSALEM (VINnews) — Israel has cleared a major hurdle in its bid to achieve visa-free travel to the US.

A statement from the US Embassy in Israel said Monday that the annual rejection rate of Israeli visa applications during the 2022 fiscal year (October 1, 2021-September 30, 2022) dropped below the three percent benchmark for the first time — a key requirement for any country seeking to enter the US Visa Waiver Program (VWP).

However this is the first step in a laborious process, which will require Israel to pass three more legislative steps as well as ensuring the entry rights of all American citizens to Israel, including Palestinian-Americans. This legislation must be passed by the deadline of September 30, 2023.

In recent years the US has complained that Arab and Palestinian Americans have received discriminatory treatment when attempting to enter Israel, including long waits and occasional deportations.

Israel in the past has expressed security concerns about Palestinian Americans wishing to visit the West Bank and Gaza, but if the VWP is to be authorized for Israel, it will have to allow freedom of access for all US citizens, according to the US embassy.

“We seek equal treatment and freedom of travel for all US citizens regardless of national origin, religion, or ethnicity, including Palestinian Americans, seeking to enter or transit through Israel,” the embassy said. “This means that any person who has US citizenship and holds an American passport will be able to fly to Israel on short term visits of less than 90 days, including travel to and out of the West Bank through Ben Gurion Airport.”

US embassy officials warned of a short timeline for Israel to fulfill all of the necessary requirements related to data sharing and information systems across various government bodies, which must be developed, implemented and tested ahead of the deadline.

If all the requirements are met within the deadline, Israelis will be able to begin traveling to the US without a visa for tourism or business trips shorter than 90 days beginning on October 1, 2023.

Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said that he believes that Israelis will be able to visit the US without a visa by the end of this year, and thanked US President Joe Biden for supporting the visa waiver process.

Currently Israelis must apply for a visa which often takes months to process as it requires an interview at the US embassy to ascertain the goals of the visit and that travelers are not looking to stay indefinitely in the US. After the interview the permit procedure can still take several weeks more until it is received.

The legislation needed now includes two new bills and an amendment to an existing Basic Law, which will grant the US limited access to information on incoming travelers and enshrine the so-called “reciprocity” requirement, as all VWP members have done.

If Israel is accepted into the VWP, Israelis will be required to fill out the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESPA) form online, giving brief details about their planned travel. It costs $21 and is valid for two years. The VWP will only be open to Israeli passport holders, though, not to those holding Palestinian IDs.

Officials from the US Department of Homeland Security will be tasked with monitoring Israel’s ability to continue meeting VWP requirements, including through regular trips to the region. “We are going to take at face value the Israeli government’s commitment to reciprocity,” a senior US Embassy official said.

The official cautioned the Israeli government against waiting until just before the deadline to pass the necessary legislation — as is sometimes the custom in the Knesset — explaining that subsequent steps must be taken by US officials in Washington that require significant time to complete before VWP entry can be granted.