United States: U.S. Land Border Restrictions on Travel From Canada and Mexico Extended Through January 21, 2022 But Restrictions to Lift for Fully Vaccinated in November 2021

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 January 21, 2022, according to a set of notifications to be published in the Federal Register. The restrictions were due to expire tomorrow, October 21.

However, in November 2021, CBP will lift these restrictions for foreign nationals who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to align with the White House’s upcoming international air travel vaccination requirements. This lifting will be part of the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) two-phase plan to impose COVID vaccination requirements on border travel. Last week, the agency announced that the first phase of its two-phase border travel vaccine plan would occur in alignment with the White House air travel policy. According to the White House, the air travel policy is expected to take effect on November 8.

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.

Earlier this month, DHS announced a two-phase plan to change existing border restrictions. It announced that starting in November 2021, it would allow foreign nationals who are fully vaccinated to enter the United States from Canada or Mexico by land or ferry for “non-essential” activities such as tourism and personal visits. This phase would begin in alignment with the upcoming international air travel vaccination requirements in November 2021.

The agency stated that the second phase – expected to start sometime in January 2022 – would expand the vaccination requirement to include “essential” travel as well, meaning foreign nationals seeking to enter the United States for business and work purposes will need to be fully vaccinated in order to enter by land or ferry at that time. This is in contrast to the White House air travel vaccine policy, which is scheduled to take effect November 8 and will include air travel from Canada and Mexico.

Details of the new international travel vaccination policies – including potential exceptions and information on what vaccine documentation will be accepted – have not yet been released. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has recently 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. However, we await further detail and confirmation of the requirements for both the new international air travel policy and the new land border/ferry travel vaccination policy.

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 had been some inconsistent treatment of business travelers when the border restrictions began, but that has largely ceased.

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. 

According to DHS, starting sometime in January 2022, foreign nationals traveling to the United States for work and business, including those traveling on H, L, O, and B visas and under the Visa Waiver Program, will be required to show full COVID vaccination in order to enter the United States after land or ferry travel. Until specific policy implementation dates and details are issued by the U.S government, concrete travel planning may be difficult, but obtaining an available vaccine in the coming months may prevent foreign national travel delays in the new year.

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.