Under the U.S. VWP, eligible individuals of selected countries can apply for travel authorization to the United States through ESTA, an online portal. Successful ESTA applications allow individuals to attempt entry into the U.S. for tourism or business purposes for up to 90 days without obtaining a U.S. visa foil in their passport. Ultimately, an ESTA authorization does not guarantee admissibility into the U.S. as this discretion remains under the purview of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers. ESTA applications are only available in English but will expand to other languages before November 1, 2023.
The traveler’s activities must be limited to those allowed under the B-1 category such as tourism or acceptable business activities like attending a conference or meeting with colleagues.
Interested Israeli individuals should be mindful that ESTA applications may take up to 72 hours to process.2 Israeli citizens and nationals that currently possess a valid B1/B2 visa may still seek entry for tourism or business visitor purposes using their existing visa in their passport.