From November 8, international air travel to the United States will be guided by new regulations. The Biden administration has introduced a consistent set of standards and requirements for all travelers, regardless of where they are traveling from.
What to Expect
- Starting November 8, foreign national air travelers to the United States will be required to be fully vaccinated and to provide proof of vaccination status prior to boarding an airplane to fly to the United States, with only limited exceptions.
- Accepted vaccines will be those that are FDA approved or authorized, and those with an emergency use listing (EUL) from the World Health Organization (WHO). See the CDC’s website for more details.
- Vaccine proof should be a paper or digital record issued by an official source.
- Fully vaccinated air travelers (US citizens, lawful permanent residents (LPRs), and foreign nationals) must show proof of negative viral test taken within three days of boarding.
- Unvaccinated travelers – whether U.S. citizens, LPRs, or the small number of excepted unvaccinated foreign nationals – will need to show documentation of a negative viral test taken within one day of travel to the United States.
- Children between the ages of 2 and 17 are required to take a pre-departure test. If a child is not fully vaccinated and traveling with a fully vaccinated adult, they can show proof of a negative viral test taken within three days before departure. If an unvaccinated child is traveling alone or with unvaccinated adults, they will have to show proof of a negative viral test taken within one day of departure.
- For contact tracing, airlines will collect contact information for all international inbound travelers to the United States – including full name, phone number, email, and US-stay address.
Who Is Exempt?
- The presidential proclamation and CDC order include a very limited set of exceptions from the vaccination requirement for foreign nationals, including children under 18 years of age, certain COVID-19 vaccine clinical trial participants, those with rare medical contraindications to the vaccines, those who need to travel for emergency or humanitarian reasons, those who are traveling on non-tourist visas from countries with low-vaccine availability, members of the armed forces and their immediate families, airline crew, ship crew, and diplomats.
What are the Requirements for U.S. Citizens?
- Fully vaccinated U.S. citizens and LPRs must show documentation of a negative test result from a sample taken within three days of travel and proof of vaccination.
- Unvaccinated U.S. citizens and LPRs must show documentation of a negative test from a sample taken within one day of departure.
Erickson Insights
This new global travel system replaces the existing country-by-country restrictions, putting in place a consistent approach worldwide. Immigrants are not included in this proclamation and order because they are already subject to separate requirements for medical examination and vaccination.
Erickson Immigration Group will continue to share updates as more news is available. If you have questions about anything we’re reporting above or case-specific questions, please contact your employer or EIG attorney.