United States: Effective November 8, Regional Travel Bans Rescinded, Replaced with COVID Vaccination Requirement for Nonimmigrant International Air Travel

U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents (LPRs) are not subject to the new air travel vaccine requirement. Immigrant visa holders are also not impacted by the proclamation; since October 1, 2021, immigrant visa applicants have been required to obtain a COVID vaccine in order to complete their green card medical exam.

The following groups will qualify for exceptions under the new policy, and will not be required to be vaccinated in order to board a flight to the United States:

• Children under the age of 18;
• Low vaccine availability. Nationals of countries with less than a 10 percent total vaccination rate in the population, or countries otherwise determined by the CDC to qualify as having limited vaccine availability. However, this exception will not apply to B-1/B-2 travel. The CDC website contains a list of the limited vaccine availability countries;
• Medical contraindications. Those with documented medical contraindications for the COVID vaccination, as determined by the CDC;
• Humanitarian/emergency. Humanitarian or emergency exceptions will be granted by the CDC, but requests will be submitted to a U.S. consulate abroad. The consular post will transmit the request to the CDC. According to the government, this exception will be granted in limited circumstances only when the individual must travel to the United States to preserve health and safety, and is unable to access or complete the vaccination before travel.
• COVID clinical trials. Those who participated in certain COVID vaccine clinical trials, as determined by the CDC;
• Others including certain air and sea crew members, U.S. armed forces and immediate family, and certain diplomatic or U.N. travel;
• Those whose entry would be in the “national interest” as determined by the State Department, the Transportation Department or the Department of Homeland Security.

There are no exceptions under the proclamation for religious or moral objections related to the vaccine.

Nonimmigrants who are exempt from the air travel vaccine requirements must still comply with several other COVID public health requirements, including:

• One-day pre-arrival testing. Unvaccinated foreign nationals who are qualified for an exception must provide proof of a negative viral test taken within one day of travel to the United States, or provide proof of recent recovery from COVID. This includes children between the ages of 2 and 17, unless they are traveling with a fully vaccinated adult (in which case the standard three-day testing requirement applies).
• Post-arrival vaccine requirement. Excepted foreign nationals are required to agree to become fully vaccinated against COVID either within 60 days of arriving in the United States or within some other timeframe as determined by the CDC, unless:
  • Vaccination is inappropriate due to age or medical status. The CDC order indicates that children under 18 will not be subject to a post-arrival vaccination requirement at this time;
  • Their stay in the United States is 60 days or less;
  • They have participated in certain COVID vaccine clinical trials; or
  • Certain diplomats and other case-by-case determinations by the CDC.
• Post-arrival testing, and quarantine. Prior to boarding their flight to the United States, these foreign nationals will be required to attest that they have arranged to take a COVID test within three to five days after their arrival. Post-arrival in the United States, adults must self-quarantine for seven days, unless they have recovered from COVID in the last 90 days or participated in certain COVID vaccine trials. If their post-arrival COVID test is positive, self-isolation activities will be required as directed by the CDC.

The CDC has confirmed that only vaccines approved or authorized by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or listed for emergency use by the World Health Organization (WHO) will be accepted. Currently, these lists include the following:

• Janssen/J&J
• Pfizer-BioNTech
• Moderna
• AstraZeneca
• Covishield
• BIBP/Sinopharm
• Sinovac

The agency considers a person fully vaccinated two weeks (14 days) after the last dose of an accepted vaccine series (whether one- or two-dose). “Mix-and-match” vaccine doses will be accepted as long as both vaccines are on the FDA or WHO lists and the doses are administered at least 17 days apart.

Digital or paper documentation will be accepted by the airlines in order to verify vaccination status, as long as the record contains:

• Biographical information that matches the foreign national’s travel documents;
• Name of official source issuing the record (e.g. public health agency, authorized vaccine provider)
• Vaccine manufacturer
• Date(s) of vaccination

Examples of acceptable proof of vaccination provided by CDC guidance include vaccination certificates with QR code 1, digital pass via Smartphone with QR code 1, and paper record printouts issued at a national or subnational level or by an authorized vaccine provider.

Airlines will verify an individual’s vaccination status in the same way they currently have been verifying negative COVID tests for air travelers, prior to boarding. Passengers will sign an attestation certifying the validity of their documentation.

The new air travel vaccine restrictions permit the issuance of nonimmigrant visas by U.S. consulates abroad, even to those who do not meet the vaccine requirements. The foreign national may be able to obtain a visa, but will not be permitted to board a flight bound for the United States before complying with the proclamation.

In addition, those seeking new visas should expect to see further delays in visa appointments. Existing consular appointment backlogs are likely to increase after the lifting of the travel bans on November 8, when demand is likely to increase. The State Department has cautioned in today’s guidance that rescission of the travel bans does not necessarily mean that consulates will be able to immediately schedule applicants for interviews.

Current COVID testing requirements will remain in place for all fully vaccinated international air travelers, regardless of citizenship status. Fully vaccinated U.S. citizens and LPRs must continue to provide a negative COVID test taken within three days of travel, or provide proof of recent recovery in order to board a flight to the United States. 

Under the new rules, however, unvaccinated U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents will be subject to stricter testing protocols. They will need to provide a negative COVID test within one day of their flight, or provide proof of recent recovery, as is the case with unvaccinated foreign nationals permitted to enter the United States under the above exceptions.

Until November 8, those with recent presence in a country subject to a COVID-19 travel ban remain subject to the ban, unless otherwise exempt. On and after November 8, foreign nationals with valid visas and proof of an approved vaccine may travel by air to the United States after complying with the standard three-day COVID testing requirement. Those seeking new visas should prepare for delays in visa appointments.

Foreign nationals who are not vaccinated, but may qualify for a discretionary exception should keep apprised of upcoming guidance from the agencies. CDC guidance indicates that additional information should be provided. The government has also repeatedly stated that discretionary exceptions will be granted only in limited circumstances.

For those seeking to engage in land border travel in the coming months, the White House has stated that its separate Canada and Mexico land border travel policy is forthcoming.

Fragomen is closely monitoring the implementation of the new international travel policies and will issue further alerts as developments occur.