United States: CDC Temporarily Revises Public Health Rule in Order to Expand Entry Ban to Green Card Holders Recently in DR Congo, Uganda, or South Sudan

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has expanded its recent entry ban, issued in response to the recent Ebola outbreak in Africa, to include lawful permanent residents as well as nonimmigrant and other foreign national travelers who have been present in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Uganda, or South Sudan in the past 21 days. In an interim final rule (IFR) published today in the Federal Register, the CDC has temporarily removed lawful permanent residents from the list of exceptions provided in the controlling public health entry ban rule. The IFR indicates that the rule revision took effect May 22 and is scheduled to expire on November 27, 2026, unless the Secretary of Health and Human Services terminates it earlier.

On May 22, the CDC also issued an accompanying revised entry ban order that removed the lawful permanent resident exception and reissued the entry ban for 30 days. The initial CDC order was issued on May 18, suspending entry into the United States of individuals subject to the ban for a 30-day period.

The revised CDC order applies to foreign nationals who depart from, or have otherwise been present within, the DRC, Uganda, or South Sudan during the last 21 days, regardless of their country of origin.

The revised order does not apply to:

• U.S. citizens or U.S. nationals;
• Members of the U.S. military, overseas U.S. government personnel, and their families, subject to certain limitations;
• Individuals determined by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to merit an exception from the order based on the totality of the circumstances, including consideration of significant law enforcement, officer, and public safety, humanitarian, and public health interests; and
• Other individuals excepted by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in consultation with CDC.

The entry ban has been issued pursuant to certain federal public health laws that allow the CDC Director to suspend the entry of persons into the United States if the Director determines that the existence of a quarantinable communicable disease in a foreign country creates a serious danger of the introduction of the disease into the United States and a temporary suspension of entry is deemed necessary to protect U.S. public health.

At the end of the new 30-day suspension period, the CDC will consider whether continued restrictions are necessary.