The long-awaited new White House policy governing the U.S. entry of nonimmigrant travelers is finally here.
Effective November 8th at 12:01 a.m. ET, the country-by-country travel bans will be replaced with a new policy that will allow U.S. entry for fully vaccinated nonimmigrant travelers. The new policy will restrict the entry of unvaccinated nonimmigrant travelers.
There will be exceptions for unvaccinated nonimmigrants, like travelers whose stay is sufficiently brief (as determined by the CDC), and for those who cannot be vaccinated, like children and adults with certain medical conditions. Other exceptions will include diplomats and foreign government public officials, their family members, and certain nonimmigrants traveling from foreign countries where COVID-19 vaccination is limited. Unvaccinated travelers who meet these exceptions will be required to agree to become fully vaccinated against COVID-19 upon entry, as determined appropriate by the CDC, and will continue to face CDC-designated pre-departure and post-arrival testing, mask-wearing, and quarantine requirements. Importantly, all unvaccinated travelers, including U.S. citizens and green card holders, will now be required to present proof of a negative COVID-19 test result conducted within one day of travel.
The White House has delegated the CDC to determine which specific vaccines will be accepted; the specific medical exceptions to vaccines; the acceptable methods of proof of vaccination; how unvaccinated nonimmigrants will provide proof of compliance with entry health standards (like proof of pre- and post-arrival testing and self-isolation, and proof of post-arrival vaccination); the list of countries with limited vaccine availability; and other public health matters for effective implementation.
