Pelican State News

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), Rick Scott (R-FL), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), and 60 of their colleagues urged the Biden administration to include Israel in the Visa Waiver Program (VWP). The senators are also encouraging both the Department of State and the Department of Homeland Security to prioritize finalizing Israel’s accession into this program this year. The VWP enables most citizens or nationals of participating countries to travel to the United States for tourism or business for stays of 90 days or less without obtaining a visa.

“We write to express our support for efforts to include Israel in the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) and to encourage both the Department of State and the Department of Homeland Security to prioritize finalizing Israel’s accession this year,” wrote the senators.

“We recognize that there are still outstanding issues that must be addressed before Israel’s participation in the program can be finalized, and we urge both sides to continue working toward addressing these issues – including the reciprocal treatment of U.S. citizens - to ensure Israel’s compliance with all program requirements before the deadline of September 30, 2023,” continued the senators.

Cassidy, Scott, and Rosen were joined by U.S. Senators John Thune (R-SD), Patty Murray (D-WA), James Risch (R-ID), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Roger Wicker (R-MS), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Mike Braun (R-IN), Joe Manchin (D-WV), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Roger Marshall (R-KS), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Chris Coons (D-DE), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Jerry Moran (R-KS), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), John Hoeven (R-ND), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), John Fetterman (D-PA), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ), John Boozman (R-AR), Jon Tester (D-MT), Ted Budd (R-NC), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Todd Young (R-IN), Bob Casey (D-PA), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Cory Booker (D-NJ), John Kennedy (R-LA), Mark Warner (D-VA), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Katie Britt (R-AL), Gary Peters (D-MI), Steve Daines (R-MT), Angus King (I-ME), Bill Hagerty (R-TN), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Pete Ricketts (R-NE), Tim Scott (R-SC), Mike Lee (R-UT), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), JD Vance (R-OH), James Lankford (R-OK), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Eric Schmitt (R-MO), Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), John Cornyn (R-TX), Susan Collins (R-ME), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), and Mitt Romney (R-UT) in signing the letter.

Read the full letter here or below. 

Dear Secretaries Blinken and Mayorkas: 

We write to express our support for efforts to include Israel in the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) and to encourage both the Department of State and the Department of Homeland Security to prioritize finalizing Israel’s accession this year.

Approximately 450,000 Israelis travel annually to the U.S., and that number has been increasing each year. With 93 weekly direct flights from Israel to U.S. airports, there is already significant demand for travel. As such, Israel’s participation in VWP would significantly increase the potential for both tourism and business travel.

In pursuit of these benefits for both countries, the Department of State and the Department of Homeland Security – particularly Ambassador Nides and the entire staff at the U.S. Embassy in Israel – and the Government of Israel have all worked diligently to enable Israel’s eligibility for VWP. In January, Israel’s non-immigrant visa refusal rate fell below 3%, satisfying one key requirement of eligibility for the program, and since that time the Government of Israel has been working to implement the necessary technical requirements for inclusion. Finally, Israel’s parliament has passed all of the legislation to facilitate requisite data sharing, which underscores Israel’s commitment to meeting the necessary benchmarks and gaining admission into VWP.

We recognize that there are still outstanding issues that must be addressed before Israel’s participation in the program can be finalized, and we urge both sides to continue working toward addressing these issues – including the reciprocal treatment of U.S. citizens - to ensure Israel’s compliance with all program requirements before the deadline of September 30, 2023.

We hope that the Department of State and the Department of Homeland Security will continue efforts to ensure that the momentum that has yielded the aforementioned progress is not lost, and that Israel’s accession to VWP is finalized this year.

Original source can be found here