Starting in the morning: Israelis are reporting that they received a cancellation of their visa to the USA

Starting in the morning, quite a few Israelis began to report that they had received a cancellation of their ESTA visa, in preparation for a flight to the USA, after they had already received approval for it. The reasons for this have not yet been clarified.

For example, Ilanit, a resident of Ashkelon, is scheduled to fly to the USA in about a week with her two children. Two days ago she received an email announcing the digital entry permit, which constitutes entry to the USA without the need for a visa. But this morning, she received a new email stating that her trip is not approved and she is not allowed to enter the US, along with her two daughters. “I called the embassy and realized that other Israelis received this message and it is still not clear what it is about and why. I am still waiting for answers along with other people who are stressed due to the upcoming flight and at the moment it is not known what we should do.”

Dvir Abu, Director of Visas and Permits at Amsalem Tourism and Recreation, said: “In recent hours, we have detected an unusual national phenomenon of sudden ESTA cancellations, including in the cases of passengers who are already in the process of boarding the plane. As a result, we started a proactive check against our lists of passengers expected to fly to the USA in the coming days, with the aim of updating the customers in real time and checking together with them the status of the electronic visa to the USA.

“At the same time, we are waiting for an update from officials, when at this stage it is not yet clear whether this is a global technical fault or an event of another kind. Our recommendation to every traveler to the United States is to check the ESTA status on the official website as soon as possible, not to rely only on a previous approval received.”

As you remember, starting from October 2023 Israel has entered the visa waiver program for the United States, and Israeli citizens with a 10-year biometric passport are eligible to apply for a digital entry visa, the ESTA.

Filling out the ESTA application is a fairly quick process, which takes about 20 minutes. Citizens of countries included in the visa exemption program (including from Israel) are required to fill it out. The form must be filled out onlineon the United States Border Patrol website. When filling out the form, passengers are asked to attach personal details, such as names as they appear in passports, information about the visit to the United States, answers to questions related to security, medical condition, and more.

The answer to the visa is received up to 72 hours from the moment of submission, but it usually takes a short time of up to an hour. Until now, as mentioned, most of the submitters have received the quick and long-awaited approval.