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At a glance
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will continue to implement the Trump Administration’s ban on “non-essential” travel across U.S. land borders and ferry travel with Canada and Mexico through March 21, 2021, according to a set of notifications to be published in the Federal Register. The restrictions were due to expire on February 21.
The initial ban on non-essential travel across the northern and southern borders began on March 21, 2020 in response to the COVID-19 outbreak; it was originally scheduled to expire on April 20, 2020 and has been extended several times in one-month increments. The policy will likely again be reviewed for possible extension in March depending on the status of the COVID emergency. The restrictions do not affect air travel.
CBP defines “non-essential” travel as travel that is considered tourism or recreational in nature, which includes sightseeing, gambling and attending cultural events.
“Essential” travel that may continue across the borders under the new restrictions includes, but is not limited to:
The Administration has also stated in communications that trade and business travel will be subject to additional screening. In practice, there has been some inconsistent treatment of business travelers since the border restrictions began.
Under existing guidance, U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident and foreign national business travel should continue across the Canadian and Mexican land borders for the duration of the border restrictions. However, because CBP officers have wide discretion to inspect entrants, foreign nationals should expect detailed questioning about their employment or business activities in the United States.
Fragomen is closely monitoring the Canada and Mexico border restrictions and will issue follow-up alerts as developments occur. For the latest information related to the coronavirus’ impact on immigration-related matters worldwide, please visit Fragomen’s dedicated COVID-19 website.
This alert is for informational purposes only. If you have any questions, please contact the immigration professional with whom you work at Fragomen.