Citizens of Israel keep on calling the authorities of the United States to lift the visa requirements for them, saying that they are tired of long waiting times.
While 97 percent of Israelis who apply for a US Visa receive the document, some applicants have also complained of unexplained rejections. Thus, they have urged the authorities to take measures to facilitate travel to the US, VisaGuide.World reports.
As Jerusalem Post explains, Bar Shelly is one of the many applicants who got refused a US visa three times. Shelly applied for a US visa for the first time in 2019 following his release from the Israeli military, and he tried again in 2021 and 2022 but was refused the visa each time.
“I brought all the documents, and they didn’t even want to look at them,” Shelly said, complaining of the long process and unexplained rejections.
Tens of other applicants have complained about the same issues and have required that the authorities do everything that is needed to achieve visa-free travel to the US as soon as possible.
While nationals of 40 countries are permitted to enter the US without the need to apply for a visa, citizens of Israel continue to be subject to the requirement as the country has not yet joined the US Visa Waiver Program.
Taking into account the difficulties that Israelis have been facing when planning to reach the US, 65 US senators have just recently pushed for Israel’s inclusion in the Visa Waiver Program by September.
The senators called on the Biden administration to conclude the efforts for Israel’s inclusion in the program by the end of September.
Through a letter directed to the State Secretary and Security Secretary, the senators emphasized that they recognize the issues that must be addressed. However, according to them, both sides must work together to address the issues and meet the deadline.
“We urge both sides to continue working toward addressing these issues – including the reciprocal treatment of US citizens — to ensure Israel’s compliance with all program requirements before the deadline of September 30, 2023,” a part of the letter reads.
When applying for a US Visa, Israelis are subject to several requirements. They need to fill out the application form with the correct information, pay the fee, and show up at the embassy for the interview.
In general, once the application is submitted and the interview is completed, it takes a couple of weeks; however, this depends on the type of visa that one is applying for.
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