Andrew Parker, the American consul in Israel,
met with Foreign Ministry officials recently and noted that over the past 12 months the number of Israelis applying for US visas has dropped by 26%.
The drop represents a loss of about $5-$6 million. Parker said the main reason for the decrease in applications is the financial crisis.
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Also, the number of visa applications the US Embassy declined has risen from 3% to 5.1%, which may have a negative impact on Israel's attempts to be included in the US "visa free" program, which currently includes 35 countries.
The program stipulates that any country wishing to be eligible for the program must have a visa refusal rate of under 3%.
The US Embassy refuses visa applications when the consul has reason to believe the applicant may try and stay in the US illegally.
The reason the number of visa refusals has gone up dramatically over the past year is a combination of the increasing number of young Israelis trying to enter the States to work illegally and visa policy changes.
"Many companies are trying to tempt young people to travel to the US and work in sales. The Americans are aware of this scheme and are refusing more and more visa applications," said Yigal Tzarfati, head of the Foreign Ministry's consular division.
The phenomenon is concerning, he added, since it may affect Israel's chances to be included in the visa free program.
"We are making every possible effort to be included in the program and I would like to believe that, barring any unexpected surprises, we will be included in it by 2010, assuming we will be able to complete the biometric passport program
by then – which we can do."
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