Since late January 2020, the U.S. has taken increasing measures to combat the spread of coronavirus and protect the U.S. labor market. Now, the removal of the ban on entry into the United States has been announced for November 8, 2021. Read below to see the implications for travelers, visa applicants*, and visa holders.
On October 25, President Biden announced a Presidential Proclamation entitled "A Proclamation on Advancing the Safe Resumption of Global Travel During the COVID-19 Pandemic." This proclamation, which takes effect at 00:01 a.m. Eastern Standard Time on November 8, 2021, repeals the travel restrictions of Presidential Proclamations (P.P. ) 9984, 9992, 10143, and 10199, relating to the suspension of entry into the United States for persons residing in Brazil, China, India, Iran, Ireland, the Schengen Area, Südafrica, and the United Kingdom, respectively, are lifted.
In lieu of these restrictions, the President announced a global vaccination requirement for all adult foreign travelers. This proclamation applies to individuals who plan to enter the United States on a flight after 12:01 a.m. öst standard time on Nov. 8, 2021.
For more information on this global vaccination requirement, including details on exemptions and waivers based on humanitarian considerations, see Non-U.S. citizen, Non-U.S. immigrants: Air Travel to the United States | CDC.
According to President Biden's proclamation, the Department may process visa applications for individuals physically present in the affected countries beginning Nov. 8. Please note that the lifting of these P.P.'s does not necessarily mean that your ört U.S. Embassy or Consulate will be able to immediately schedule all affected applicants for a visa interview.
After November 8, 2021, all foreign nationals who travel to the United States by land or air and can demonstrate that they are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 will be allowed to re-enter the United States. This also applies to travelers from Brazil, China, India, Iran, Ireland, the Schengen Area, South Africa and the United Kingdom (= Travel Ban countries). This will make tourist travel, family visits, etc. with a visa or ESTA possible again as of November 8, 2021.
At the same time, entry into the U.S. for unvaccinated travelers from countries not named in the Presidential Proclamation, which were previously not subject to restrictions, will become more difficult starting November 8, 2021. This will affect, for example, foreign unvaccinated travelers from Japan or Canada.
In addition, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will issue a new order requiring airlines to collect contact information from U.S. travelers to enable contact tracing. It is likely that the so-called contact-tracing system will be implemented for all travelers regardless of vaccination status.
Which vaccines are accepted by U.S. regulators has now been described in a bit more detail by the U.S. Public Health Service (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC).
After Nov. 8, 2021, vaccines approved or authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, and vaccines listed in the emergency use list of the World Health Organization, or WHO, will be permitted in all cases (= WHO Emergency Use Listing, or EUL). These include the following vaccines:
Here is the list of WHO-approved vaccines.
Otherwise, individuals are considered...
...as fully vaccinated.
Participants in studies for vaccines that are still in the clinical approval phase in the U.S. (e.g. Novavax) may also enter the U.S. as fully vaccinated under certain conditions.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), individuals with cross-vaccinations can be considered fully vaccinated two weeks after receiving their last dose if they
Proof üof vaccination is provided by:
If you have recently recovered from COVID-19, you may instead travel with proof üof recovery from COVID-19 (ie. Your positive COVID-19 viral test result from a specimen taken no more than 90 days prior to departure from a foreign country, and a letter from a licensed health care provider or öpublic health official stating that you are cleared to travel).
The mandatory testing that has been in place since Jan. 26, 2021, for airline passengers worldwide entering the U.S. from abroad remains in place.
To continue to contain the spread of new variants of SARS-CoV-2, travelers – including fully vaccinated individuals – either within 3 days (vaccinated persons)/1 day (unvaccinated persons)be subjected to mandatory COVID-19 testing prior to departure for the United States and provide a negative test result or provide evidence üof recovery from COVID-19.
Whether visa appointments will be released for additional categories, and if so, to what extent, also remains to be seen. We suspect that, for example, B-1 / B-2 interview appointments could be re-released with the elimination of the travel ban (likely associated with long wait times).
To this end, the U.S. Department of Labor advises: Please note that the lifting of these P.P.'s does not necessarily mean that your ört U.S. Embassy or Consulate will be able to immediately schedule all affected applicants for a visa interview. Please check the embassy/consulate website for information on what services they currently provide and how to apply for a nonimmigrant visa.
Taken from: US Visa Service - 10/18/2021 - 12:20
White House press release: Press Briefing by Press Secretary Jen Psaki, September 20, 2021
TRAVEL STATE GOV press Release: Update on U.S. Travel Policy Requiring COVID-19 Vaccination
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention press release: Requirement for Proof of Negative COVID-19 Test or Recovery from COVID-19 for All Air Passengers Arriving in the United States
TRAVEL STATE GOV press release (25.10.2021): Safely Resuming Travel by Vaccine Requirement and Rescission of Travel Restrictions on Brazil, China, India, Iran, Ireland, the Schengen Area, South Africa, and the United Kingdom
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention press release (25.10.2021): Non-U.S. citizen, Non-U.S. immigrants: Air Travel to the United States
Effective September 7, foreign nationals who qualify for the fully vaccinated traveller exemption can enter Canada for discretionary travel.
Canadian citizens (including dual citizens), people registered under the Indian Act, permanent residents of Canada, or protected persons (refugee status) are allowed to enter Canada.
Fully vaccinated foreign nationals will be allowed to enter Canada for discretionary travel on specific dates:
If you qualify for the fully vaccinated traveller exemption you are exempt from:
If you provide essential services or already qualify for other exemptions from quarantine and Day-8 testing, you don’t need the fully vaccinated traveller exemption. If you think you qualify for other exemptions: find out if your travel is exempt.
The list of accepted vaccines may expand in the future.
If you received your vaccines outside Canada, it’s still accepted but proof of vaccination must be uploaded digitally in ArriveCAN and must only be in French or English, or certified translation into French or English.
If you have recovered from COVID-19, you still need a full series of an accepted COVID-19 vaccine or combination of accepted vaccines. If you’ve only had one dose of an accepted vaccine other than Janssen (Johnson & Johnson), you don’t qualify for the fully vaccinated traveller exemption.
At this time, there are no exemptions from testing or quarantine for travellers who haven't received the full series of a vaccine or a combination of vaccines accepted by the Government of Canada.
Monitor for symptoms for at least 14 days after your arrival. If you start having COVID-19 symptoms you must immediately:
You must provide proof of your test results, if asked, to any federal, provincial, territorial or municipal government official.
Extension of validity for National Interest Exceptions (NIEs) for Travelers from China, Iran, Brazil, South Africa, the Schengen Area, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and India
On June 29, 2021, the Department of State extended the validity of National Interest Exceptions (NIE) for travelers subject to restrictions under Presidential Proclamations (PPs) 9984, 9992, 10143, 10199, and similar subsequent PPs related to the spread of COVID-19. Unless otherwise indicated, existing NIEs will be valid for 12 months from the date of approval and for multiple entries, as long as they are used for the purpose under which they were granted. This extension applies to travelers subject to these proclamations due to their presence in China, Iran, Brazil, South Africa, the Schengen area, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and India who currently have approved NIEs or who were granted NIEs in conjunction with a visa application. Among the qualifications for NIEs are those traveling to provide vital support or executive direction to critical infrastructure; those traveling to provide vital support or executive direction for significant economic activity in the United States; journalists; travel due to extraordinary humanitarian circumstances; or travel in support of national security or public health. Students holding F or M visas and travelers with immigrant or fiancé visas have been granted NIEs and do not need to obtain NIEs in advance from a consular section. NIE eligibility for students who have been present in Brazil, China, India, Iran or South Africa applies to programs that begin on or after August 1, 2021. Additional information is available here. Travelers should contact the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate before traveling if they have not previously been approved for a NIE and have a valid visa in the appropriate class or have a valid ESTA authorization for travel under the Visa Waiver Program and seek to travel for purposes consistent with ESTA authorization. If an NIE is approved, they may travel on either a valid visa or ESTA authorization, as appropriate. Each approved NIE is valid for 12 months from the date of approval and may be used to travel to the United States multiple times for the purpose indicated in the approved NIE.