Advice for Visa Applicants Who Work in Scientific or Technology Fields

Do you work or study in a sensitive scientific or technical field? If so, your visa may be subject to additional processing.

The processing, on average, takes approximately four weeks to complete. Per U.S. visa laws and regulations the validity of your visa may also be limited, depending upon the visa category.

Want to help us process your case faster? Come to your interview prepared!

Applicants who present detailed information at the interview can help us begin processing those cases right away. Otherwise, we have to wait until the necessary information is submitted—additional processing cannot begin until we receive that information. Non-refundable flight reservations or other travel plans should not be finalized until after you have received your visa.  This process cannot be expedited.

Information that the consular officer will need varies, and we suggest applicants come prepared to present the following information, in writing, at the interview:

• A detailed description of your current business, research or study program interests.
• Information about your current position and location of current work (including address and phone number).
• Complete CV/resume.
• International travel history for the past 10 years (names of countries and years visited).
• Travel itinerary for current trip.
• Letter of invitation, including the address, website, and contact information of the company and/or institution that you intend to visit in the United States.
• The point of contact at the company and/or institution.
• Details about the business, research or studies you plan to conduct in the United States.
• Details about the source of funding for the trip.
• Location and manner in which you will use the goods or knowledge acquired in the United States.
• List of your publications, if any.
• Letter of invitation from U.S. sponsor (if applicable).
• Details about the conference you plan to attend.
• Conference registration confirmation (if available)
• Export license numbers covering the activity, if relevant.

Is Your Visa Application Subject to Additional Processing? Now You Can Check Your Status Online!

To provide better service to visa applicants subject to additional processing, U.S. Embassy Tel Aviv is now offering online notification to applicants whose visas are ready to be issued.  Instead of emailing us to check the status of your case, you can now check it on our website.

To see if your visa is ready to be issued, visit the Embassy's "Check Status" page at http://israel.usembassy.gov/consular/niv/checkstatus.html.

·         If the confirmation number (barcode number) from your DS-160 application appears on this list, your visa is ready to be issued. Please send your passport to the Embassy through the post office courier. 

·         If your confirmation number does not appear on the list, your case is still pending administrative processing.  Please do not contact the Embassy to inquire further; inquiries on visa status will not be answered. This process cannot be expedited.

The list of approved visas is updated daily. Since administrative processing generally takes four weeks, we recommend applicants wait at least 30 days after their interview date to check their status online.

For any other questions about administrative processing, you may send an email to TLVSpecials@state.gov.

This post only applies to applicants whose visas are subject to administrative processing.

Ask the Consul: Where is My Passport?

Question: I came to the Embassy for my interview and my visa was approved. How do I find out the delivery status of my passport?

Answer: Thank you for your question. All passports are delivered via the “Doar Shlichim”   ) (דואר שליחים  courier service of the Israel Post Office.  After your visa is approved at U.S. Embassy Tel Aviv, it generally takes seven business days to receive your passport with the visa. You may begin tracking the delivery status of your passport two business days after your visa interview.

To track your passport, there are two options:

1)      You can call Israel Post via the “171” telephone code.

2)      You can track your passport online at http://www.israelpost.co.il/itemtrace.nsf/mainsearch?openform  using the barcode on the purple post office receipt that you received after your visa interview.

The Israel Post will call you prior to delivery. Keep in mind that if you forgot to write your telephone number on the delivery slip, the delivery of your passport may be delayed.

If it has been more than seven business days since your visa interview and the Israel Post Office does not have a record of your passport in their system, you may send the U.S. Embassy an email at NIVTelAviv@state.gov to inquire about the status of your passport.

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Ask the Consul is a regular feature on the Consular Round Up blog. Every few weeks, one of the Embassy's Consular Officers answers an interesting consular question we've received from one of our readers. Think you can stump us? To submit a question, leave a comment, post one on our Facebook wall or send us an email at NIVTelAviv@state.gov. We look forward to hearing from you!

Soldiers, Watch out! Some People Lie About U.S. Visa Laws!

Consular staff answer questions at
IDF Kenes, July 2011.

As part of U.S. Embassy Tel Aviv's outreach efforts, consular staff attended the IDF Conference “Kenes Mistechrerim” on July 6, 7 and 10, 2011.  More than 3,000 Israeli soldiers, excited about their upcoming release, attend this mandatory exit seminar.

Consular staff members spoke with Israeli soldiers about the proper use of tourist visas, answered visa questions, and discussed the consequences of working illegally in the United States. The goal of the outreach was to provide Israeli soldiers with accurate information regarding U.S. visa laws—reminding soldiers that the U.S. Embassy and U.S. State Department are the only sources for official information about visas and how to work legally in the United States. Soldiers were reminded to always check what job recruiters say.  They may be inaccurate and not have soldiers' best interests at heart  

Consular staff provided soldiers with several useful U.S. Embassy resources.  Visit these websites to see for yourself!



IDF Kenes Mistechrerim, July 2011.



For information about B1/B2 visas and other visa types, visit our website.

Soldiers can ask questions on Embassy Tel Aviv's Consular Section Facebook page. 

Please also watch our newest Youtube video about the consequences of illegal work in the United States.

State Department Retires "Warden Message" Title for Emergency Communications

The U.S. State Department has announced the retirement of the title "Warden Message" for its emergency communications with American Citizens overseas.

Embassies will continue to employ wardens as local contacts and spot reporters in times of crisis. However, due to changes in technology, Embassies now communicate directly with members of the local U.S. citizen community without using wardens as intermediaries.

Future messages to American Citizens will be divided into two categories:

1) "Message for U.S. Citizens" will be the label for routine but important messages such as voting news, outreach trip information, or newsletters.

2) "Emergency Message for U.S. Citizens" will be the label for breaking news messages containing advice for the resident community, such as those alerting U.S. citizens to demonstrations, a political crisis, a natural disaster, or a terrorist attack.

To receive both "Messages" and "Emergency Messages" from U.S. Embassy Tel Aviv, subscribe to our email list-serv at the following link: http://israel.usembassy.gov/service/subscribe2.html. These will also be posted on our Consular Round Up blog and Facebook page.

Consular Section Answers Visa Questions in Modiin

Hip-hop music and break dancers highlighted the U.S. Embassy's July 6 "America Day" in Modiin, held in conjunction with the city's local Street Art Festival.

The Public Diplomacy Section brought three internationally-recognized American break dancers as judges for Israel's 7th annual "Battle of the Year," a competition of Israel's top individual dancers and crews. An estimated 4,000 people came for the battle itself and the events beforehand, including skating, rapping, biking, and parkour.

Throughout the event, Consular Section staff answered questions about studying in the United States, visas and American Citizen Services. The most common question was: "How do I apply for a visa?" For the answer, visit our website at http://israel.usembassy.gov/consular/niv/apply2.html.

How to Record Departure from the United States, After the Fact

If you returned home with your Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Form I-94 (white), Arrival and Departure Record, or Form I-94-W (green), Visa Waiver Nonimmigrant Arrival/Departure Record, in your passport, it means that your departure was not recorded properly. 

It is your responsibility to correct this record.  You must provide the DHS CBP sufficient information so we can record your timely departure from the United States.  This will close out your earlier record of arrival to this country.

If you do not validate a timely departure from the United States or if you cannot reasonably prove otherwise when you next apply for admission to the United States, DHS CBP may conclude you remained in the United States beyond your authorized stay.  If this happens, the next time you apply to enter the United States, your visa may be subject to cancellation or you may be returned immediately to your foreign point of origin.

In particular, visitors who remain beyond their permitted stay in the United States under the Visa Waiver Program cannot reenter the United States in the future without obtaining a visa from a U.S. Consulate.  If this occurs and you arrive at a U.S. port-of-entry (POE) seeking admission under the Visa Waiver Program without a visa, CBP officers may order your immediate return to a foreign point of origin.

To validate departure, the DHS CBP will consider a variety of information, including, but not limited to:

·         Original boarding passes you used to depart the United States

·          Photocopies of entry or departure stamps in your passport indicating entry to another country after you departed the United States (you should copy all passport pages that are not completely blank, and include the biographical page containing your photograph.)

·         Photocopies of other supporting evidence, such as:

·          Dated pay slips or vouchers from your employer to indicate you worked in another country after you departed the United States

·         Dated bank records showing transactions to indicate you were in another country after you left the United States

·         School records showing attendance at a school outside the United States to indicate you were in another country after you left the United States

·         Dated credit card receipts, showing your name, but the credit card number deleted, for purchases made after you left the United States to indicate you were in another country after leaving the United States

Your statement will not be acceptable without supporting evidence such as noted above.

You must mail legible copies or original materials where possible.  If you send original materials, you should retain a copy.  DHS CBP cannot return original materials after processing.  To help us understand the situation and correct your records quickly, please include an explanation letter in English.

You must send your letter and enclosed information to the following address only:

DHS – CBP ACS INC.
1084 South Laurel Road London, KY 40744
USA

Do not mail your departure Form I-94 or supporting information to any Consulate or Embassy, to any other DHS CBP office in the United States, or to any address other than the one above.  Only at this location are we able to make the necessary corrections to DHS CBP records to prevent inconvenience to you in the future.

Thank you.