Israel has met another requirement for visa-free travel to the United States for tourism and business purposes, though more work has to be done in order to meet the remaining criteria.
On Monday, January 1, the US Embassy in Israel has announced that the country has met a very important condition for visa-free travel with US, that of having a rejection rate lower than three percent of non-immigrant visas, VisaGuide.World reports.
However, the Embassy has pointed out that this is only one of the many steps that Israel must undertake to join the Visa Waiver Program, pointing out that the latter is “a complex and laborious process.”
“First, the Knesset is going to have to act. There are three laws that will need to be passed for Israel to qualify for the Visa Waiver Program,” the Embassy points out in a press release announcing the milestone.
In addition, in order to meet the remaining criteria, the Israeli government must work to meet several technical requirements specific to data sharing and traveler screening, including here new information systems that need to be developed.
In order for Israel to be able to reach a visa-free travel arrangement with the US by the end of this year, all of these measures should be implemented before September 2023.
The final measure is that of reciprocity for all American passport holders, including those with Palestinian origin, traveling to and out of the West Bank through Ben Gurion Airport.
A statement welcoming the meeting of the requirement has also been issued by Homeland Security, according to which Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas called the step important towards visa-free travel to US for Israelis, pointing out that Israel shall provide equal treatment for all US citizens, including here Palestinian-Americans.
“We will continue to work with the Government of Israel as it works to fulfill all the remaining program requirements, one of which is for Israel to provide equal treatment and freedom of travel for all U.S. citizens regardless of national origin, religion, or ethnicity – for example, Arab-Americans, including Palestinian-Americans – seeking to enter or transit through Israel,” Secretary Mayorkas said.
Last November, 20 Democrat Members of the US Congress, had sent a letter to Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, asking him to refrain from adding Israel to the VWP, due to the restrictions that US citizens have to face when travelling to Israel, while many of them who have dual citizenship of US and one of the other five Arab countries, are banned from entering Israel altogether.
The Visa Waiver Program allows travelers from 40 world countries to travel to the US without a visa, for tourism and business purposes for up to 90 days, including here travelers from Schengen Area countries, the UK, Brunei, Chile, Taiwan, etc.
Travelers from visa-free countries, however, need to apply for an online ESTA (Electronic System for Travel Authorization), which is an electronic system for screening passengers before they begin their trip to the US, designated only from travelers that do not need a visa to enter.
The post Israel Meets Another Requirement for Visa-Free Travel Arrangement With US appeared first on VisaGuide.World.
