Ambassador to the United States and the United Nations Gilad Erdan spoke to U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas by phone on Tuesday and exchanged views on steps Israel is taking to meet the eligibility requirements of the U.S. Visa Waiver Program.
In recent years, Israeli and U.S. officials have been discussing the Jewish state's integration into the program that exempts the citizens of 39 countries from acquiring a visa before traveling to the country.
To date, Israel has not met the criteria for admission to the program, in part due to a high rejection rate of its citizens which stood at more than 3%.