Biden Administration Lifts COVID-19 US Travel and Visa Bans Starting November 8

The Biden Administration has just announced details about the anticipated rescission of the per-country travel restrictions on international travelers coming into the United States from certain countries. The travel and visa bans for all affected countries are being lifted starting November 8, 2021.

The bans are replaced by more stringent vaccination and testing U.S. entry requirements – non-citizen, non-immigrant air travelers to the U.S. will be required to be fully vaccinated and to provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination status prior to boarding an airplane to fly to the U.S., (with only limited exceptions).

Requirements for U.S. Entry

Starting on November 8, non-citizen, non-immigrant air travelers to the United States will be required to be fully vaccinated and to provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination status prior to boarding an airplane to fly to the U.S., with only limited exceptions. Unvaccinated travelers – whether U.S. Citizens, lawful permanent residents (LPRs), or the small number of excepted unvaccinated foreign nationals – will now need to test within one day of departure.

Vaccination Requirement for Foreign National

For foreign nationals, proof of vaccination will be required – with very limited exceptions – to board the plane. Passenger will need to show to the airlines evidence of vaccination which would include matching name and date of birth, that it is issued by an official source from the country where the vaccine was given, and confirm that the vaccine meets the requirements (full vaccination cycle, vaccine product, dates of administration, etc.). Accepted vaccines are FDA approved or authorized and World Health Organization (WHO) emergency use listed (EUL) vaccines. More guidance is available by CDC.

Testing Requirements

Previously, travelers were required to provide a negative test result within three days of travel to the U.S. with both nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs), such as a PCR test, and antigen tests being accepted. The new requirements are more stringent:

Vaccinated non-US nationals: current rule remains — produce a negative test result within three days of travel.

Unvaccinated U.S. lawful permanent residents (LPR), U.S. citizens or non-US national travelers with vaccine exemption: a negative test taken within one day of traveling.

Vaccinated US LPR and US Citizens: current rule remains — produce a negative test result within three days of travel.

Requirements for Children

Children under 18 are excepted from the vaccination requirement for foreign national travelers, given both the ineligibility of some younger children for vaccination, as well as the global variability in access to vaccination for older children who are eligible to be vaccinated.

Children between the ages of 2 and 17 are required to take a pre-departure test consistent with the testing requirements outlined above. If traveling with a fully vaccinated adult, an unvaccinated child can test three days prior to departure (consistent with the timeline for fully vaccinated adults). If an unvaccinated child is traveling alone or with unvaccinated adults, they will have to test within one day of departure.

Limited Exceptions

There are a very limited set of exceptions from the vaccination requirement for foreign nationals. These include exceptions for children under 18, certain COVID-19 vaccine clinical trial participants, those with medical contraindications to the vaccines, those who need to travel for emergency or humanitarian reasons (with a US government-issued letter affirming the urgent need to travel), those who are traveling on non-tourist visas from countries with low-vaccine availability (as determined by the CDC), and other very narrow categories.

Those who receive an exception will generally be required to attest they will comply with applicable public health requirements, including, with very limited exceptions, a requirement that they be vaccinated in the U.S. if they intend to stay here for more than 60 days.

Visa Issuance Continues in Affected Countries; Significant Visa Application Delays Anticipated

Once the bans are lifted on November 8, 2021, U.S. Consulates in countries which were subject to the COVID-19 travel ban will resume “normal” visa processing without the need for a National Interest Exception (NIE) Waiver.

We also caution our clients and readers who are affected by the current bans to recognize that there are likely going to be significant delays in visa scheduling and processing as a result of the lifting of these long-standing travel bans. Many travelers have been waiting for the lifting of the ban in order to travel and to apply for a U.S. visa; as a result, we urge planning early and carefully for international travels and applying for U.S. visas at consulates abroad.

Conclusion

The rescission of the COVID-19 visa and travel bans for certain countries are welcome news – but we caution travelers to continue to carefully review and comply with any travel rules, including the vaccination and testing requirements for US entry. We also urge very early and careful planning for anyone who is planning to apply for a U.S. visa at a US consulate abroad especially in countries which were previously subject to the COVID-19 bans and which may experience significantly higher visa application volumes.

Our office will continue to monitor and report developments on this and related topics. Please do not hesitate to contact us or consider our consultation options.  Also, please subscribe to our free weekly newsletter to ensure that you obtain this and related immigration-related news and announcements.