Israel and U.S. tussle over tourist visas

By Donald H. Harrison

SAN DIEGO—Anyone who has flown to Israel has experienced the tough, pointed questioning that Israeli security officers will ask tourists about why they are going to Israel, who they are going to see, what their business is, and so forth.  The questioning is intense, blunt, and intended to screen out anyone who may have a grudge against the Jewish state.

As difficult as this questioning is, according to U.S. State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki, the treatment received at Israel’s borders by Arab-Americans, and Musli-Americans, often is worse, even discriminatory.

Israel may feel that it is simply protecting itself against a possible terrorist threat, but the United States believes that all Americans, every one of us, must be treated the same, Psaki has stressed at several news conferences, including one on Tuesday, April 22.

What Psaki describes as the “lack of reciprocity”—Israel, unlike the United States, treating people from the same country differentially, based on their ethnic or religious background – has become one of the sticking points in the tussle between the U.S. government and Israel’s supporters over whether the Jewish state should be admitted into the U.S. Visa Waiver Program.

Citizens of the 38 countries that are within the Visa Waiver Program may travel to the United States with an electronically verifiable passport, and may stay in the U.S. for up to 90 days, without needing a visa.  Citizens of other countries—and those include Israel and all of its neighbors in the Middle East – are required to go through the individual visa process.

In addition to the issue of reciprocity, another sticking point for Israel is the high number of people in their 20’s who overstay their visas, apparently hoping to remain indefinitely in the United States.  To guard against such illegal immigration, the U.S. asks tough questions of its own to visa applicants.

Psaki said Israel is not alone in having people between the ages of 21 and 26 rejected for visas.  “The disparity is typical worldwide because younger applicants are less likely than their elders to be able to demonstrate the strong ties needed to qualify for nonimmigrant status under U.S. immigration law,” she said.

Put another way, that means, twenty-somethings are more likely to remain in the United States than older tourists, who have businesses and other reasons for returning to their countries.

Psaki said that “visas are obviously adjudicated on a case-by-case basis, and applicants in that process are required to tell the truth on their application and during their interview about the purpose of their travel as well as their length of stay.  So if embassies and consulates begin to notice that applicants are violating the terms of their visa, they will more closely scrutinize all applicants to ensure that the applicants are qualified for the visa under U.S. law.”

Refusals of visas not only impact the individual traveler but also are a factor, under U.S. law, in determining eligibility for the Visa Waiver Program.  To qualify for the program, a country must have no more than 3 percent of its applicants rejected.

In Israel’s case, said Psaki, the refusal rate in Fiscal Year 2013 for business and tourism visas to the United States was 9.7 percent.  It was 5.4 percent in Fiscal Year 2012, and 6.9 percent in 2011.  “It’s natural that there are fluctuations, and obviously, every individual application is evaluated differently,” the State Department spokesperson said.

Overall she said, “over 90 percent of Israeli applicants for tourist visas to the United States are approved.  For young Israelis, over 80 percent of visa applicants are approved for a visa…..  I would note that the 90 percent approval of Israeli applicants is very high comparatively to a number of countries.”

High, perhaps, but not high enough for Israeli travelers to receive the same kind of visa waiver that is extended to the citizens of Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, Chile, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, and the United Kingdom.

U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-California) has been in the process of consulting with Israel, the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security, among other parties, to see whether what changes might be necessary to the U.S.-Israel Strategic Partnership bill she introduced in 2013 with Republican Senator Roy Blunt of Missouri. In addition to providing Israel with a visa waiver, that proposed legislation seeks to strengthen bilateral cooperation in such areas as energy, defense, security and water.  Additionally, the State Department has received inquiries from individual members of Congress, including Democrat Nita Lowey, about whether Israeli travelers are being unfairly treated.

For the State Department, the issue requires walking a tightrope.  If legislation or negotiations will make it easier for Israeli travelers, Psaki was asked, why not for travelers of other countries?

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Donald H. Harrison is editor of San Diego Jewish World, which seeks sponsorships to be placed, as this notice is, just below articles that appear on our site.  To inquire, call him at (619) 265-0808 or contact him via donald.harrison@sdjewishworld.com