Publisher’s Note: The White House announced on October 15 that travel restrictions on fully vaccinated international travelers would be lifted from November 8. The move will allow vaccinated travelers from most countries to visit the US for the first time in more than 18 months.
The Biden government plans to lift the COVID-19 travel bans imposed in 2020 and replace them with vaccination and testing requirements for entry to the United States from November.
Claire Nilson, head of the global mobility and immigration team at Faegre Drinker’s London office, said that travelers who have been in Brazil, China, European Schengen countries, India, Iran, Ireland, South Africa and the United Kingdom since the start of the pandemic During the previous 14 days, flying direct to the United States was prohibited unless they were either US citizens or green card holders, or they applied for and received an exemption.
The countries of the Schengen area that fall under the COVID-19 ban include Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.
Biden Government COVID-19 Response Coordinator Jeff Zients said that fully vaccinated travelers must have pre-departure testing within three days of their departure to the United States, but they do not need to be quarantined upon arrival.
He said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are setting the definition of “fully vaccinated” and which vaccines are eligible for the directive.
“So far, the US government has not clarified what a suitable vaccination certificate is and which COVID-19 vaccines are recognized beyond the three already approved in the USA.” [Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson]”Said Nilson.
Notably, hundreds of millions of people worldwide have received the AstraZeneca vaccine, recognized by the World Health Organization but not approved by US regulators.
The CDC will also issue a contact tracing mandate that will require airlines to collect contact information from every traveler traveling to the United States. “This will allow the CDC and state and local health officials to track incoming travelers and their surroundings when someone may have been exposed to COVID-19,” Zients said.
Alka Bahal, a partner in Fox Rothschild’s Morristown, NJ office, said not only leisure travelers are happy with the Biden administration’s announcement; the move will have a significant positive impact on US corporate immigration.
“Many foreign nationals in the US on work visas were restricted to the US because of the travel bans because they were unable to visit their homes for fear of returning,” said Bahal. “Hopefully the lifting of the bans will soon be followed by the resumption of normal visa processing at US consulates and embassies around the world. This will further increase visa processing by allowing foreigners who were unable to obtain their first US work visa to obtain their first US work visa now . ” them and come to the US to work. “
For the past 18 months, virtually all visitors from the banned countries have been banned from entering the United States directly. Some resorted to workarounds, such as spending two weeks in an intermediate country like Mexico or the Dominican Republic before getting a negative coronavirus test and then traveling to the United States
For foreigners who are not currently subject to any of the existing travel bans, the upcoming directive provides an additional requirement for international travel – these people must present proof of vaccination in addition to the COVID-19 tests.
“All of this information is subject to change between now and November as the White House only announced its plans to lift travel bans and has not yet done so,” said Matthew Gunn, a partner in Louisville, Kentucky. Dinsmore Office. “No specific date was announced in November for the lifting of the bans, nor do we have detailed information on how the new guidelines will be implemented.”
Expect delays
The new policy is expected to make travel easier, but backlog processing at US consulates is likely to increase, delaying travel for those in need of a US visa.
“The fact that the travel bans are lifted does not mean that visa issuance will suddenly revert to pre-travel processing rates,” Gunn said.
“US consulates around the world are currently operating on reduced staff, under strict COVID-19 restrictions, and with growing backlogs on cases while following State Department guidelines on prioritization.” [green card] Visa applications over [temporary work visas]. The consulates will struggle for a long time, which means there will continue to be significant delays in visa scheduling. “
Gunn recommended that anyone who needs a visa for the US make a consular appointment as soon as possible. “Although they will likely not be able to make an urgent application until after the bans are lifted, they will at least have an appointment to make an urgent application if possible,” he said.
“Even if the urgent application is ultimately rejected, these applicants still have an appointment that is much earlier than if they had waited until November to make an appointment. In November, many will for the first time realize that travel bans are no longer in place, and if you make an appointment now, you should face the deluge of appointment requests that the consulates will see. “
