Governments change, ambassadors come and go, ministers are declared and forgotten, and this is one problem that isn't getting solved. For at least 20 years, American and Israeli representatives have been declaring that Israel is about to be awarded a visa waiver. As usual, promises are one thing, reality is another.
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Last week, it was at the highest level. According to a message from the White House, US President Joe Biden had stressed in his conversation with Prime Minister Bennett that his administration would strengthen bilateral cooperation with Israel, including working together to include Israel in the visa waiver program. In other words, Biden intends to respond Israel's years-long request. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also agreed with Bennett that he would take steps to secure a visa waiver for Israel. Will it really happen this time?
If and when the two countries agree on a waiver, many Israelis will breathe a sigh of relief. Millions of Israeli have family and business ties in the US. Of course, it's an ultra-popular tourist destination.
But the process of getting a visa to the US is exhausting. You need to spend hours online filling out a DS160 form, pay hundreds of shekels, make an appointment for an interview, then there's the invasive interview itself, you hand over your passport, collect it, and do it all a few times when it's a family trip – all with the fear of being turned down hanging over you. Anyone who has been through the process knows how exhausting it is. And once every five or 10 years, if you want your visa to remain valid, you need to repeat it. About a decade ago, the service improved a lot thanks to a website and a Facebook page that made all the information available in Hebrew. But in the past year and a half, COVID arrived and made the process a nightmare that knocked a lot of people out.
Because of the pile-up, anyone who wants a visa interview today will be given an appointment for a year from now. What's more, the consulates in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv are cancelling interviews for reasons that are unclear.
No reciprocity
The vacuum and the frustrations created by it have been filled by "machers" who promise to handle the issue swiftly, for payment. The American Consulate's Facebook page is full of warnings not to apply to external services that only take people's money and do not shorten the process. But pressure works, and many are looking for shortcuts. It's important to note that US citizens who want to enter Israel don't need a visa – meaning there is no equality or reciprocity here, something unusual in diplomatic relations.
In short, Israel and Israelis have all the reasons to long for a visa waiver, and for years have worked for one. Dr. Michael Oren, Israel's ambassador to Washington last decade, told Israel Hayom: "I would joke with my team that if we could solve the problem, they'd put up statues of us in Dizengoff Square."
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Speaking more seriously, Oren explains: "There are three obstacles. The Americans demanded that we start using biometric passports, which has already happened. Secondly, according to American law, a country can receive a visa waiver only if fewer than 3% of visa requests are rejected – a standard we are far from. Third, the Americans demanded that Palestinian-Americans be allowed to enter Israel like any other US citizen, in other words, to land at Ben-Gurion, in contrast to the existing law, which mandates that Palestinian-Americans enter Israel or the PA through Jordan only. This is an extremely difficult issue.
"Because as far as the Americans are concerned, diverting these Americans to Jordan is discrimination against their citizens. On the other hand, if we allow this group to land at Ben-Gurion, our High Court could rule that Palestinian residents of the PA also be allowed to fly through Ben-Gurion, something that would have enormous ramifications for national security. This is the most difficult challenge," Oren says.
Young people won't overstay their visas
There is another issue that has been brought up for years. Any country seeking a visa waiver from the US must share its criminal database with the US. That is the standard American position, and the 40 countries that have received waivers for their citizens have complied, including EU member states. Israel, on the other hand, was alarmed. Justice Ministry officials saw sharing criminal information about Israeli citizens as a violation of their privacy and a privacy risk.
The discourse has come up with a few ideas about how to bridge the various gaps. Foreign Ministry officials think it's possible. Optimism perked up even before Biden's declaration, mostly because of two officials who took office last winter: Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Majorca, who is a Jew who loves Israel and has instructed his office to move ahead with the idea; and Israeli Ambassador to the US Gilad Erdan, who has made the matter a top priority. Work teams from both countries have started a dialogue that aims to overcome the problems. For example, Israelis have explained to the Americans that 21-year-olds who request visas for the US aren't going there to live permanently, but rather to travel after the army, and the Americans don't need to worry that they will live there illegally.
The Israelis have also explained that there are very few young Israeli travelers who overstay their visas, and no justification for the American Consulate to reject so many requests from people in this age group.
The American side is sending messages that there is a will to solve the problem. So there is optimism, there is political will, and all that remains is a long, in-depth conversation to find solutions.
The first stage will require agreement on all the issues under dispute – and every issue is a world unto itself. It will take a lot of work, both bureaucratic and legal, that on the Israeli wide will include the justice and foreign ministries, the Shin Bet security agency, and the Interior Ministry's Population Administration. Only after that will decisions about how to solve the issues be made, and then there is the stage of implementation.
According to one official on the Israeli side, "Let's say we put together an arrangement acceptable to both sides for sharing criminal information – there might be a need to change laws to allow the deal. That requires political backing. If we can't pass it, it will be necessary to move the agreement to the practical stage and set up a joint database for both countries. These aren't things that happen overnight."
And what's more, Americans and Israelis don't work at the same pace. Figures about the numbers of Israeli visa applications rejected are published only once a year, so even if the Americans accept Israel's position and allow more young people in, we'll see that reflected in statistics only a year and a half from now. And all this doesn't account for COVID, which is complicating everything. Things are moving in a positive direction, but it will take years for Israel to receive a visa waiver from the US, and the process will be longer and more exhausting thaמ the individual visa process already is.
