U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem Suspends Standard Visa Services for Israelis

(ISRAEL) — Israeli citizens can travel to the United States without a traditional visitor visa under the U.S. Visa Waiver Program, a change that took effect after Washington admitted Israel to the program in late 2023 and left the streamlined Electronic System for Travel Authorization as the required pre-travel approval for short business and tourism visits.

The Department of Homeland Security designated Israel as the 41st country in the Visa Waiver Program on September 27, 2023. Eligible Israeli citizens began filing ESTA applications on October 19, 2023, and the program became fully operational for travel on November 30, 2023.

As of June 2026, the program remains active. Israeli tourists and business travelers can seek visa-free entry after obtaining ESTA approval, rather than applying for a B-1/B-2 visitor visa stamp.

Travel under the program is limited to short stays. Israeli nationals may enter for tourism or business for up to 90 days on each visit.

That status is narrow by design. It cannot be extended, does not authorize work in the United States, and does not provide a path to permanent residency.

Israeli travelers using the U.S. Visa Waiver Program must secure ESTA approval before boarding. Approved authorization is generally valid for two years or until the traveler’s passport expires.

DHS said ESTA applications are typically adjudicated within 72 hours. The application is in English.

Passport rules are strict. Travelers must carry a full-validity, biometrically enabled passport book, while non-biometric, temporary, or emergency travel documents are not eligible for the Visa Waiver Program.

The change removed a standard visa step for many leisure and business trips, but it did not guarantee admission. U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the port of entry still decide whether a traveler may enter the country and can deny entry even when ESTA has been approved.

Washington also tied Israel’s admission to continuing compliance with program conditions. U.S. authorities continue to monitor whether Israel meets those requirements and retain the power to suspend or terminate its membership.

That monitoring has a political and practical dimension. Israel entered the program after meeting conditions that included easing restrictions on U.S. citizens, specifically Palestinian Americans, traveling to the West Bank and Gaza.

The visa waiver arrangement covers a defined slice of travel and leaves other categories untouched. Anyone who does not qualify for visa-free travel, or who needs permission for purposes such as work or study, still needs a visa and must use the standard consular process when services are available.

That process has been disrupted in Israel. The U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem has paused immigrant and nonimmigrant visa services, including for applicants who fall outside the Visa Waiver Program or need a visa category that ESTA does not cover.

The embassy has stopped issuing new visas and may cancel pending interview appointments until services resume. Applicants who require visas outside the program have been encouraged to reapply in a safe third country.

Emergency consular support remains available to U.S. citizens and their accompanying spouses and children. Routine visa issuance does not.

The distinction matters in practice because the U.S. Visa Waiver Program does not replace the broader immigration and nonimmigrant visa system. It gives qualifying Israeli citizens and nationals a faster route for a narrow purpose, short-term tourism or business, while leaving employment, study, immigration, and longer stays inside the regular visa structure.

Israeli travelers using the Electronic System for Travel Authorization face a process built for speed, but also one with fewer avenues once a trip begins. The 90-day period cannot be prolonged inside the United States, and the same trip cannot be converted into an authorized work stay or permanent move.

That makes the passport and pre-clearance requirements more than a technicality. A traveler without a biometric passport, or one relying on a temporary or emergency document, cannot use the Visa Waiver Program at all and must pursue a visa through consular channels that remain constrained in Jerusalem.

The arrangement also shifted the point of decision-making. Under the previous visitor visa model, applicants typically secured approval through an interview and visa stamp before travel; under ESTA, screening happens online before departure, followed by inspection on arrival by CBP officers.

In that sense, the suspension of visa restrictions for Israeli tourists means the end of the mandatory visitor visa requirement for eligible short-term travelers, not the end of U.S. entry controls. Screening remains in place, the trip purpose remains limited to business or tourism, and final admission still rests with border officers.

Since Israel joined as the 41st country in the program, the policy has aligned Israeli short-term travel with the rules applied to other participating countries: electronic authorization in advance, travel without a traditional visitor visa, and admission for no more than 90 days at a time.

Membership itself is not permanent. U.S. authorities continue to watch compliance, including the reciprocity commitments tied to Israel’s entry, with the option to suspend or terminate participation if those standards are not met.

For now, the system in place since late 2023 remains the operative one. Israeli citizens and nationals who qualify can travel for short business and tourism visits through ESTA, while those seeking to work, study, immigrate, or travel on ineligible documents still face a separate visa process that the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem has paused.