Over the last two weeks, EIG has sent global digests to inform our clients of all the COVID-19 developments impacting global immigration and global travel. The reports from this past week are available here.
Please consider sharing this email with colleagues and peers who would benefit from this information. We’re all in this together.
International Updates
- Chile | US citizens considering returning to the US are urged to make arrangements while flights are available. Contact airlines as international and domestic flights are being reduced/canceled. US carriers have suspended flights in/out of Santiago.
- Japan | Effective midnight on April 3, Japan will bar admission to travelers who have recently visited any country that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has designated “Level 3” for infectious disease concerns, which includes the United States.
- Lithuania | Air and ferry travel are suspended after April 4, except for the Kiel to Klaipeda ferry service.
- Paraguay | The Paraguayan government extended its order to close all international borders until further notice. Commercial flights are suspended at all Paraguayan airports, with limited exceptions for repatriation flights (none scheduled at this time).
- Peru | No flights are scheduled for tomorrow, April 2, to the US. Flights out of Lima will resume on April 3. There are currently no repatriation flights scheduled from Cusco past April 3.
- San Francisco | In light of the Shelter in Place order that was extended to May 3, the SF USCIS field office has confirmed that interviews “will not resume by April 7” as originally planned.
Requests for Evidence that are due during the closure for the San Francisco or San Jose Field Offices will have a one-month extension. However, SF USCIS has advised that any RFE/NOID, etc. issued after March 1, should be reviewed carefully. - Sweden | Sweden is no longer accepting visa applications for non-essential travel.
- Switzerland | Swiss authorities are now categorizing the condition in Switzerland as an ‘extraordinary situation’ under the Swiss Epidemics Act.
- The UK | The UK has stopped accepting visa applications globally.
Also, please listen to EIG’s Immigration Nerds podcast for this week in immigration, featuring policy updates from DOS, DHS, USCIS, and ICE.