United States: U.S. Land Border Restrictions on Travel From Canada and Mexico Extended Through September 21
August 20, 2021
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At a glance
- CBP border restrictions permitting only essential travel to the United States across Canadian and Mexican land borders will be extended through September 21, 2021. The restrictions do not affect air travel.
- Essential travel includes travel by U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, and foreign nationals traveling to work in the United States, among others.
- Visa Waiver and other business travelers may face additional scrutiny at the border.
- “Non-essential travel” at land borders is not permitted, which includes travel that is considered tourism or recreational in nature.
- The Canadian government is currently permitting non-essential travel from the United States to Canada for fully vaccinated U.S. nationals and permanent residents who reside in the United States.
The issue
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will continue to implement the ban on “non-essential” travel across U.S. land borders and ferry travel with Canada and Mexico through September 21, 2021, according to a set of notifications to be published in the Federal Register. The restrictions were due to expire tomorrow, August 21.
The Canadian government recently lifted non-essential travel restrictions from the United States to Canada to allow entry to fully vaccinated U.S. nationals and permanent residents who reside in the United States; these travelers are also exempt from quarantine in Canada.
Also, beginning September 7, fully vaccinated travelers from all other countries will be able to enter Canada without quarantine as long as the status of the COVID situation in Canada remains favorable, according to the Canadian government. The United States has not announced a similar relaxation of its border policy. U.S. restrictions will continue to be reviewed based on the status of the COVID emergency in the coming month.
Background
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 in April 2020 but has been extended continuously in one-month increments. The restrictions do not affect air travel.
A closer look
CBP defines “non-essential” travel to the United States 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 restrictions includes, but is not limited to:
- U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents returning to the United States
- Travel for lawful cross-border trade (e.g. truck drivers carrying cargo)
- Travel to work in the United States
- Travel for medical purposes (e.g., to receive medical treatment in the United States)
- Travel to attend educational institutions
- Travel for emergency response and public health purposes (e.g., government officials or emergency responders entering the United States to assist government efforts to respond to COVID-19 or other emergencies)
- Travel by members of the U.S. Armed Forces, and their spouses and children, returning to the United States
- Other forms of travel as determined by the CBP on a case by case basis
Trade and business travel may be subject to additional screening. In practice, there has been some inconsistent treatment of business travelers since the border restrictions began.
What this means for employers and foreign nationals
Under existing guidance, U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident and foreign national business travel should continue across the Canadian and Mexican land borders into the United States 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.
The easing of Canadian border restrictions for certain fully vaccinated travelers in August and September will permit increased travel from the United States to Canada in the coming months.
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.
