US visa waiver delay looms for Israel amid elections

Despite hopes that Israel would be welcomed into the US Visa Waiver Program (VWP) by mid-2022, the Middle Eastern nation’s election could further delay its acceptance into the scheme. Legislation in Israel is still making its way through the Knesset to allow compliance with VWP rules.

VWP regulations require Israel to disclose criminal or security information on Israelis aboard flights bound for the US. US Ambassador to Israel, Tom Nides, said that the Israeli government will only push through compliance if it is in the national interest.

However, the pending dissolution of the Knesset and the upcoming elections could scupper Israel’s admission into the VWP. Acceptance into the VWP would exempt Israeli tourists from needing a US tourist visa to travel to America for up to 90 days.

Legislation suspended

With legislation to join the VWP not yet passed, and amid the looming elections in Israel, the legislation faces being suspended. Completing the necessary legislation is ‘up to the Knesset’ said Nides.

“Israel has made great strides towards compliance with the program in the past six or seven months including on the disclosure of information that could raise red flags. But the process cannot be completed without legislative steps by the Knesset in order to comply with the demands of US Homeland Security,” Nides said.

Nides added: “There are some pieces of legislation that are in the Knesset that are in various stages of being introduced or being read, and it’ll be up to the caretaker government to determine whether those pieces of legislation are important enough for national interest to continue to advance, or if they need to wait for the fall.”

In a recent post on Twitter, Nides posted: “Working hard with Minister Ayelet Shaked – can’t lose momentum on Visa Waiver Program!”

Reduce US visa rejection rate

Another requirement for Israel to be welcomed into the US Visa Waiver Program is to lower its US visa rejection rate to less than 3% among Israeli nationals. The US does not yet have data on the rejection rate for Israel for the current fiscal year – this is expected in early 2023.

If the data shows that Israel has failed to get its US visa rejection rate below 3%, it will have to wait another year before applying for inclusion in the VWP. 

Israeli Interior Minister, Ayelet Shaked, recently predicted that Israel would now be included in the US VWP by mid-2023. However, even if the Knesset does manage to meet the requirements in time to make this year’s list, it seems the soonest that any plan would come into action is the middle or end of 2023.

Nides said that most US visa rejections for Israeli nationals are for minor administrative issues such as invalid passport pictures or errors in registration. While the Israeli government’s public campaign, which urges citizens to carefully fill out US visa application forms, has yielded results, it’s still too early to tell if Israel’s US visa rejection rate has fallen below 3%.

Meanwhile, the US Embassy in Israel is currently working through a backlog of Israelis looking to attend a visa interview appointment, which is mandatory for a US entry visa to be issued. 

Nides said: “While the pandemic has played a role in visa interview delays, the holdback is largely due to the fact that many Israelis seek interviews even though they could complete the process online and receive the visa via email.”

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