We do not recommend that individuals who fall into one or more of the following categories apply to travel under the Visa Waiver Program.

Those who:

• have been arrested, even if the arrest did not result in a criminal conviction
• have a criminal record
• have certain serious communicable illness
• have been refused admission into, or have been deported from, the United States
• have previously overstayed their allowed stay in the United States

Any conviction, regardless of how long ago it occurred, will have a bearing on a traveler’s eligibility for admission into the United States.  An individual whose conviction was voided or who was pardoned under Israeli law is still considered to have a conviction for the purposes of their application for the Visa Waiver Program.

Traffic offenses

If you have a minor traffic offense which did not result in an arrest and/or conviction you may travel visa free under the Visa Waiver Program, provided you are otherwise qualified. If you are not sure whether or not you are eligible to travel visa free, the only way to resolve this question is to apply for a visa.

If the traffic offense occurred in the United States, and there is an outstanding fine against you, or you did not attend your court hearing, it is possible there may be a warrant out for your arrest, and you will experience problems when applying for admission into the United States.  Therefore, you should resolve the issue before traveling by contacting the court where you were to appear. If you do not know the address of the court, the information is available from the Internet at www.uscourts.gov/links.html.