The White House recently announced the lifting of the travel ban, which has barred tens of thousands of foreign travelers from entering the U.S. Instead, the U.S. will require foreign travelers to provide proof of vaccination prior to departure.
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Further details of the new travel policy have been outlined in a Presidential Proclamation, issued by President Biden on October 25, 2021. The proclamation relies on information from the CDC which states that the best way to slow the spread of COVID-19, including the Delta variant, is for individuals to get vaccinated. It is claimed that vaccinated individuals are 5 times less likely to be infected and 10 times less likely to be hospitalized or die when compared with individuals who have not been vaccinated.
As a result, the administration has decided to move away from country-specific travel bans and will adopt an air travel policy that permits only vaccinated foreign travelers to enter the U.S.
The proclamation revokes the prior travel bans for 33 countries and suspends the entry of unvaccinated non-immigrants into the U.S., except under limited circumstances.
Effective November 8, 2021, non-immigrants traveling to the U.S. by air will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and must provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination status. Acceptable vaccines include those that have received FDA approval or authorization and World Health Organization (WHO) emergency use listed (EUL) vaccines.
Vaccinated travelers will need to provide a negative test 3 days before boarding their flight. Children under 18 are not required to be vaccinated. However, children between the ages of 2 and 17 will be required to take a pre-departure test. Children traveling with a fully vaccinated adult are allowed to test 3 days prior to departure.
This new travel policy is intended to allow fully vaccinated individuals to resume regular international travel. Although the new policy provides for some limited exceptions, those permitted to enter without being vaccinated will generally have to be vaccinated within 60 days after their entry into the U.S. There is also no exception to the vaccination requirement based on religious grounds.
Based on a prior announcement vaccinated nonimmigrants will also be able to travel across the Northern and Southwest land borders for non-essential reasons, such as tourism, effective November 8, 2021.
For any questions related to the new travel policy or any other immigration-related questions please contact PLG Partner Chris Prescott at cprescott@patellegal.com