On May 1, 2023, the Biden administration announced that COVID-19 vaccination requirements for federal employees, federal contractors, and international air travelers will end at the end of the day on May 11, 2023. The federally issued COVID-19 public health emergency declaration will end the same day. Also on May 1, the U.S. Department of Homeland
As of June 12, 2022, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) no longer requires air passengers traveling to the United States from a foreign country to show a negative COVID-19 test.
On Dec. 9, 2021, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it will temporarily waive the requirement that the civil surgeon sign Form I-693, Report of Medical Examination and Vaccination Record within 60 days of filing an application for the underlying immigration benefit. This temporary waiver is effective immediately and will continue until Sept.
Starting Monday, Dec. 6, 2021, as per CDC Order, all air passengers traveling to the United States must have a negative viral COVID-19 test taken within one day of the flight’s departure to the U.S. This new rule applies to everyone over the age of two, regardless of citizenship or vaccination status. This does
In response to the new Omicron variant of the COVID-19 virus and in an effort to stop the spread, President Biden issued a new Proclamation Nov. 26, 2021, restricting travel to the United States from certain countries in the Africa region exposed to the Omicron variant.
As reported on this blog on Sept. 21 and
Starting Jan. 22, 2022, the Biden administration will require foreign national travelers engaged in essential travel to be fully vaccinated when crossing U.S. land borders or ferry terminals. Essential travel includes travel for work or study in the United States, emergency response, and public health. The new rules apply to foreign nationals; U.S. citizens and
To advance the safe resumption of global travel during the COVID-19 pandemic, on Oct. 25 President Biden issued a Proclamation emphasizing the continued enhanced measures against the spread of the virus. The Proclamation quotes data indicating that the most effective way to control the spread amongst international travelers is to get vaccinated, in addition to
On Sept. 20, 2021, the Biden administration announced it would simultaneously relax travel restrictions for foreign nationals traveling from China, Iran, the Schengen Area, the U.K., Brazil, Ireland, South Africa, and India, and impose new travel requirements for travelers from all other countries. The Biden administration will start requiring all adult travelers to provide proof
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has announced that, effective Oct. 1, the COVID-19 vaccine is included in the list of vaccines required for applicants to obtain permanent residence and refugee status. By way of background, the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), at section 212(a)(1)(A)(ii), sets out the requirement that, in order to