Israel campaigns for inclusion in US visa waiver program
Israel is willing to enable Palestinian Americans to transit its territory on the way to the West Bank, in order to allow its citizens to travel to the US without obtaining a visa in advance.
Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked expressed optimism Jan. 4 that the US will accept Israel into its visa waiver program. Several European countries already enjoy this program, which enables their citizens to arrive in the US and get a tourist visa upon arrival, instead of the long and complicated process of asking for a visa in advance.
Shaked said her ministry had finished answering 250 questions from American authorities regarding Israeli regulations and data. The next step is for a US Homeland Security Office delegation to discuss the issue further. Such a delegation is expected in Israel by the end of the month, though no specific date was mentioned.
The minister told journalists, "We will have to decide on the way we will receive data and transfer it to the Americans. We will have to set up an automated digital system that would enable American immigration to submit queries over Israeli criminal records. The last step from our side would be reducing the percentage of (visa requests) refusal to 3 percent."
That refusal rate is one of the main conditions set by Washington for adding Israel to the program. According to some publications, many of the Israelis refused are youngsters discharged from the army who seek to travel in the US before enrolling in university. Apparently, American authorities often suspect that these youngsters intend to settle illegally in the US. Shaked denied that this was the case.
