Voter Survey for American Citizens

Attention U.S. citizen voters! The Department of State and Federal Voting Assistance Program need your help to make overseas voting easier. 

Click the link below to take a survey about your voting experience. The details you provide will help the State Department improve future voting experiences for U.S. citizens.

Website: http://www.travel.state.gov/travel/living/overseas_voting/overseas_voting_4754.html.

Consular Section’s Facebook Page Reaches 1,000 Fans!

The Consular Section says a big todah raba to everyone who has liked our Facebook page this year. Thanks to you, our fanbase has increased by 500 percent, and we have reached our goal of more than 1,000 fans!

In 2010, we responded to hundreds of questions on our Facebook page and we look forward to interacting with you in 2011. Become a fan today at: www.facebook.com/ConsularSectionUSEmbassyTelAviv.

Consular Section to Close Temporarily in February for Renovations

The Consular Section will close temporarily for renovations in February 2011. Dates for the renovations are still to be determined and it will likely occur over a period of several weeks from mid-February to early March. Specific closure dates will be released to the public in the coming weeks.

No interviews for visas, passports, notarials, or Consular Reports of Birth Abroad will be conducted during this time. Applicants are strongly encouraged to apply well in advance of travel plans. Current wait time for appointments is only a few days.

“We encourage Israelis and Americans who want to travel to the United States for Passover to apply as early as possible,” said Andrew Parker, Consul General. “To accommodate our customers, we’re opening up additional interview appointments in early February.”

To make an appointment for a visa interview, visit https://visainfo.us-visaservices.com. For American Citizen Services, visit: http://israel.usembassy.gov/consular/acs/appointments.html.

To make an appointment for a visa interview, visit https://visainfo.us-visaservices.com. For American Citizen Services, visit:  http://israel.usembassy.gov/consular/acs/appointments.html.

Happy New Year and Best Wishes for 2011!

The staff of the Consular Section of the U.S. Embassy are happy to extend to all our Israeli and American friends and customers our best wishes for a peaceful and prosperous new year!

We look forward to serving you in the year ahead and welcome your feedback so we can do better.

Consular Report of Birth Abroad (CRBA) Improvements

American Citizen Parents: Will your child be born overseas? If so, see the link below for new details about the redesigned Consular Report of Birth Abroad (CRBA), the official record confirming that a child born abroad acquired U.S. citizenship at birth.

More info about how to apply for a CRBA at Embassy Tel Aviv is available on our website at: http://israel.usembassy.gov/consular/acs/crbahowtoapply.html.

Travel Warnings for U.S. Citizens

American citizens in Israel should regularly monitor the Embassy’s website http://israel.usembassy.gov/, and the Department of State’s website www.travel.state.gov, where travel warnings and country specific information may be found. Travel warnings are issued when long-term, protracted conditions that make a country dangerous or unstable lead the State Department to recommend that Americans avoid or consider the risk of travel to that country.

To subscribe to warden messages from the U.S. Embassy, go to the following link and enter your email address: http://israel.usembassy.gov/service/subscribe2.html. To read recent Warden Messages, visit http://israel.usembassy.gov/warden_message.html.

Consular Section Visits Kfar Chabad

Consular Section staff visit the “770”
replica of the Lubvavitch headquarters.

Staff from the Embassy’s Consular Section visited Kfar Chabad on Dec. 3, 2010, to learn more about the Chabad-Lubavitch movement. Each year, the Consular Section issues visas to thousands of Israelis traveling to visit or study at the Lubavitch World Headquarters in Brooklyn, New York.

The Consular Section visited the replica of the Lubavitch headquarters “770,” where staff learned about the life of Rebbe Lubavitch. Next, staff visited the Roeber Company for a demonstration of the binding and imprinting of leather torah covers. Staff also learned about the agricultural side of Kfar Chabad by touring the town’s etrog orchards.

The visit concluded with a tour of Ohr Simcha, a home for at-risk children, where staff enjoyed a kosher lunch and discussed the origins and philosophies of chabad with the hosts of the visit, Rabbi Benjamin Lifshitz, mayor of Kfar Chabad, and Rabbi Slavin, director of Ohr Simcha.

To see more photos from the visit, check out our Facebook album.