At 6 a.m. local time, Jonathan Pollard is expected to begin the process of being released from his South Carolina prison, after an unprecedented 30 years in jail on charges of spying for Israel, an ally nation of the US.

Outside of the prison his wife Esther and several close confidantes will wait for his release, and from there they will set off for New York to begin their lives anew.

There in New York, a probation officer will be assigned to Pollard by the US Department of Justice, and will inspect to make sure the 61-year-old stays within all of the limitations placed on him.

Any excursion beyond the immediate area of his residence will require the approval of the probation officer.

He will likewise be forbidden from flying to Israel – and will even be forbidden from checking the internet.

Israel has been pressing US President Barack Obama to reconsider and allow Pollard to go to Israel, and after initially rejecting the request Obama reportedly is “weighing” the option.

Several Democratic Congressmen have called to allow him to make aliyah and immigrate to Israel in exchange for giving up his American citizenship, citing previous precedent of such cases.

Pollard was handed a now commuted life-sentence, unlike spies from other allied or even enemy nations that got off with a tiny fraction of his sentence.

In a previous parole hearing held in July 2014 his release was rejected on the basis of a now declassified document, that critics say revealed the largely trumped up charges against Pollard, who passed information on regional threats to Israel.