COVID-19 Travel Update – Travel Ban Lifted as of 12/29/2021, Testing and Vaccine Requirements still in Place

Travel Ban No Longer in Effect:

The White House has allowed Proclamation 10315 to lapse as of December 29, 2021. Now, immigrants and non-immigrants physically present in the following countries are no longer subject to the Omicron variant travel ban: Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe.

Updated COVID-19 Testing Requirements:

As of December 6, 2021, all air passengers 2 years of age and older destined for the United States will now be required to show a negative COVID-19 viral test no more than 24 hours before travel, or proof of recovery from COVID-19 (a positive COVID-19 viral test on a sample taken no more than 90 days before flying to the US and a letter from a licensed healthcare provider or public health official clearing the individual for travel).

The CDC continues to require travelers to the United States to be fully vaccinated to enter the US (except for US citizens and lawful permanent residents, and other limited exceptions).

Please call our office if you have questions about returning to the US.

Vaccine Requirements for International Air Travelers as of November 8, 2021:

All foreign nationals must be fully vaccinated to enter the United States. There are very limited exemptions to this policy (such as children who do not yet qualify for vaccination).

Accepted vaccines include those authorized or approved by the FDA and WHO Emergency Use Listing vaccines. The US will accept any combination of vaccines from the FDA and WHO lists for individuals to achieve full-vaccination status (for example, one dose of Pfizer-BioNTech and a second dose of Oxford-AztraZeneca).

• FDA Authorized/Approved Vaccines: Moderna, Johnson & Johnson (Jansen), and Pfizer-BioNTech
• WHO Approved Vaccines: Moderna, Johnson & Johnson (Jansen), and Pfizer-BioNTech, Oxford-AztraZeneca/Covishield, Sinopharm, and Sinovac.

Individuals can be considered fully vaccinated two weeks after receipt of the last dose if they have received any single dose of an FDA approved/authorized or WHO EUL approved single-dose series (i.e., Janssen), or any combination of two doses of an FDA approved/authorized or WHO emergency use listed COVID-19 two-dose series (i.e. mixing and matching).

Requirements for Children

Children under 18 are exempt from the vaccination requirement for foreign national travelers. Children between the ages of 2 and 17 are required to take a pre-departure test 24 hours prior to their flight.

Border Crossing from Canada and Mexico (Title 19 Restrictions Lifted)

DHS is allowing non-essential travel across regular land and ferry borders for fully vaccinated travelers. Non-essential travel includes tourism and visiting friends and family.

Effective January 22, 2022, DHS will require proof of COVID-19 vaccination for all border travel, including essential travelers. Essential travel includes essential workers with employment in the US. Continue to communicate with our office and your employer if you have questions.