For the past 18 months, COVID-19 had wreaked havoc all over the world and has limited the entry of certain travelers into the U.S. With Consulate closures and travel bans, entering the U.S. has been particularly difficult for non-immigrants, especially those who require visa stamping.
With limited appointments available and often the need to apply for a National Interest Exemption the doors to the U.S. have been closed to many.
However, the Biden administration recently announced that starting in November, they will allow vaccinated travelers into the U.S. and will rescind all the travel bans that have been in place for countries like India, Brazil, the Schengen Area, etc.
In order to enter the U.S., all international travelers will be required to prove that they have been fully vaccinated and will also need to provide proof of a negative COVID test, within 3 days of coming to the U.S.
The CDC has confirmed that the following vaccines will be accepted for those seeking to enter the U.S.:
- FDA Authorized/Approved: Moderna, Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer-BioNTech
- WHO Approved: Moderna, Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer-BioNTech, Oxford-AstraZeneca/Covishield, Sinopharm, and Sinovac.
At the time of writing, this article full details of the new travel requirements have not been released. However, we will provide a further update when more information is available.
In other news, a Federal Court has ruled against the Department of State (DOS), holding that their practice of not issuing visas during the travel ban was unlawful. Had individuals been permitted to obtain visas during the travel ban they would have had the option to travel to another country for 14 days and then enter the U.S. using the newly issued visa. By not issuing visas the DOS deprived many individuals of this opportunity.
For any immigration-related queries please contact PLG partner, Chris Prescott at cprescott@patellegal.com.