U.S. Entry Ban Won’t Apply to Israelis From Muslim Countries

Uncertainty over whether the temporary U.S. entry ban on people from seven mostly Muslim countries applies to Israeli citizens born in those countries was resolved on Tuesday when the U.S. embassy said they will not be affected by the ban.

“If you have a currently valid U.S. visa in your Israeli passport and were born in Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria or Yemen, and do not have a valid passport from one of these countries, your visa was not cancelled and remains valid,” the embassy said.

“Similarly, we continue to process visa applications for applicants born in those countries, so long as they do not have a valid passport from one of those countries and have not otherwise declared themselves to be a national of one of those countries,” the embassy says.

However, the embassy cautioned that “authorization to enter the United States is always determined at the port of entry.”

Tens of thousands of Israelis, including several former defense ministers, were born in those countries.