Some Israelis desperate to flee to the United States in the wake of the Hamas terror attack are struggling to get visas because a new system to facilitate easy visa-free travel between the U.S. and Israel is not scheduled to go into effect until Nov. 30.
The new visa waiver status for Israel was announced by the Department of Homeland Security in late September, and officials tell NBC News they don’t plan to speed up the launch of the program.
Adi Rosenbaum, 35, spoke from the Tel Aviv apartment she shares with her husband and her two young daughters.
They want to go to Manhattan to stay with her sister, but her 1-year-old doesn’t have a U.S visa.
Her husband went to the U.S. Embassy branch office in Tel Aviv this week to apply for a visa for the baby, but said it was closed. She said the family has called and emailed without success.
Rosenbaum broke down in tears, confused by the U.S. government’s failure to move up the start date for the visa waiver program.
“If there is anyway the U.S. government can help Jewish people so we won’t get slaughtered, please help,” she said. “We are just lost. We have no idea how to make it happen.”
“The videos won’t leave my mind. I don’t want my kids to see my crying.”
“I hope things don’t escalate,” she said. “We are just trying to make it here until the end of November. We are trying to be strong to my girls. We are praying for this to end.”
A State Department spokesperson said that the embassy branches in Israel are prioritizing helping U.S. citizens:
Some Israelis who want to flee to the U.S. ask why new visa-free travel system won’t start until Nov. 30
- Advertisment - 