Jewish Agency for Israel Visits Embassy Tel Aviv

The visa section invited staff from the Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI) to visit Embassy Tel Aviv in May 2010. Several consular officers met with Ilan Wagner, the Director of Market Engagement for North America, and other staff from the agency’s Education Department.

Visa staff learned about JAFI’s cultural exchange programs, specifically the summer shlichim program, which sends thousands of Israeli youth to summer camps across America each year as camp counselors.

JAFI’s exchange programs comprise a significant number of the exchange visitor visas the Embassy adjudicates each year.

Did you Know?
More than 8,000 youths apply for the shlichim program each year. Only 1,000-1,200 are accepted. 

Embassy Hosts Voting Workshops for American Citizens

American Citizen Services hosted several voting workshops for American citizens on May 17, 2010. More than 100 attendees learned how to register and vote via absentee ballot.

The 2010 U.S. mid-term elections will be held Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2010. All 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives and 36 out of 100 seats in the U.S. Senate will be contested this year.

For more information on voting, visit the Federal Voting Assistance Program at www.fvap.gov.

Consul General Holds Live Web Chat at Tapuz Headquarters

On May 17, 2010, Consul General Andrew Parker held a consular-related web chat on a popular online portal, Tapuz.co.il.

Tapuz, one of Israel’s most visited websites, hosted the Consul General on its popular “Traveling to the U.S.” forum.

Along with Embassy press and consular staff, the Consul General responded to questions on topics ranging from visas and travel to the United States, to post-doctoral study, same-sex marriage and its implications for family travel, and post-army Israelis’ requests for tourist visas.

Check out the conversation at: http://www.tapuz.co.il/Forums2008/ViewMsg.aspx?ForumId=456&MessageId=141485153&r=1.

Consular Section Stresses ‘J’ Visa Compliance

One of the Embassy's Vice Consuls spoke to more than 200 exchange visitor (J) visa applicants at the American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise’s (AICE) annual seminar on May 16. AICE sponsors hundreds of Israeli youth who participate in cultural exchanges to the United States as summer camp counselors.

The Vice Consul spoke about exchange visitor visa requirements, answered questions about the application process and stressed the importance of abiding by the terms of all U.S. visas.

Visa abuse, such as working at American mall kiosks on a tourist visa, or after the J visa program’s expiration, may result in the visa’s revocation and the visa holder being barred from entering the United States for a number of years.

Learn more about exchange visas at: http://travel.state.gov/visa/temp/types/types_1267.html.

Ambassador Cunningham Meets with Embassy Wardens

Ambassador James Cunningham met with 28 American wardens from across Israel at U.S. Embassy Tel Aviv on April 14. He spoke about U.S.-Israel relations, the peace process, the situation in Gaza and U.S foreign policy on Iraq and Iran.

The wardens, all volunteers, were updated on American Citizen Services by the Consul General and the American Citizen Ser-vices Chief. In addition, the Regional Security Officer and the Assistant Army Attaché described their experiences in crisis situations and gave tips on how to be prepared for an emergency.

“Wardens are an integral part of our Embassy community,” the American Citizen Services Chief said. “They assist the Consular Section in disaster prepar-edness by alerting U.S. citizens to emergency situations. We’re lucky to have such a great team supporting our work.”

The term “warden” originated in World War II when air raid wardens alerted the public to danger.