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US reopened on 8 November 2021 (& subsequent entry restrictions for non-citizens)

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Old Sep 15, 2021, 1:47 pm
FlyerTalk Forums Expert How-Tos and Guides
Last edit by: NewbieRunner
New thread for discussing 1-day test requirements for travellers arriving in the US by air
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/coronavirus-travel/2060730-us-require-air-travelers-provide-negative-test-within-1-day-departure.html

Entry ban from eight southern African countries starting on November 29, 2021

Most non-U.S. citizens who have been in South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique or Malaw within the prior 14 days will not be allowed into the United States.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/11/26/a-proclamation-on-suspension-of-entry-as-immigrants-and-nonimmigrants-of-certain-additional-persons-who-pose-a-risk-of-transmitting-coronavirus-disease-2019/

Entry ban by air to be lifted on November 8, 2021 - All travelers should refer to CDC for travel requirements.

3 day pre-flight testing requirement will continue (US citizens/LPR not vaccinated will have to test no earlier than 1 day prior) Children under 2 years old do not need to test.

Children under 18 are exempt from vaccination requirement
Accepted vaccines will include:
  • AstraZeneca
  • BIBP/Sinopharm
  • Covishield
  • Janssen/J&J
  • Moderna
  • Pfizer-BioNTech
  • Sinovac
Vaccination certificates must come from an official source
There is a face mask mandate when flying to/from the USA, with effectively no exemptions, and including children two and above years old
Airlines need to provide some sort of contact tracing information for potential follow-up cases

Update on U.S. travel policy requiring COVID-19 vaccination
Last Updated: October 25, 2021

As announced by the White House today, the new travel policy requiring foreign nationals traveling to the United States to demonstrate proof of full vaccination against COVID-19 will take effect November 8. The CDC’s website explains that, for purposes of entry into the United States, the accepted vaccines will include FDA approved or authorized and WHO Emergency Use Listing vaccines.

COVID-19 Travel Restrictions and Exceptions - U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs
Last updated: October 25, 2021

The presidential proclamations described on this page will no longer be in effect on November 8, 2021. For additional information, please see Safely Resuming Travel by Vaccine Requirement and Rescission of Travel Restrictions on Brazil, China, India, Iran, Ireland, the Schengen Area, South Africa, and the United Kingdom (travel.state.gov).

To protect the public health, there are four presidential proclamations that suspend entry into the United States of all noncitizens who were physically present in any of 33 countries during the 14-day period preceding their entry or attempted entry into the United States. They are Presidential Proclamation 9984 (China); Presidential Proclamation 9992 (Iran); Presidential Proclamation 10143 (Schengen Area, United Kingdom, Ireland, Brazil, and South Africa); and Presidential Proclamation 10199 (India).

What we know so far is
- Confirmed to start on 8 November
- Children under 18 are exempt from the vaccine restrictions, so the varying international standards on jab ages won't be an issue here.

- Vaccines that are OK will include Pfizer, Moderna, AZ, J&J and the two Chinese vaccines.
- Some exemptions from vaccinations are potentially allowed, notably for US citizens, though my guess is airlines will be expecting to see vaccine certificates

- 3 day pre-flight testing requirement will continue, so this needs to be a documented antigen/Lateral Flow test or PCR.
- 3 days is potentially more than 72 hours, departure on a Friday afternoon means a test on Tuesday morning or thereafter.
- NHS Lateral Flows and PCRs can't be used.
- Children over 2 years old travelling with vaccinated travellers have to be tested on the same basis (3 days).
- 1 day testing for unvaccinated USA legal residents (testing on or the day before departure), including their children.

- All passengers need to sign an attestment to confirm their negative test result and also a statement to confirm full vaccination status.
- Children who are not vaccinated do not need to get vaccinated but do need to get a "viral test" 3 to 5 days after arrival in the USA
- As a result there is a separate attestion question for unvaccinated children to confirm that the viral test is arranged.

- Vaccination certificates must come from an official source. The NHS COVID Pass app and EU DCC are specifically mentioned as acceptable.
- Vaccination is counted as two weeks from dose2, or 2 weeks after the sole dose in the case of J&J.
- Antibody certification is not a replacement for the need for vaccination, at least for non USA residents.
- 14 clear days need to elapse before travel. So if jabbed on 1 October then 15 October is when you are good to go.
- Booster vaccinations are not a factor here, they don't count towards or against the primary dose process.

- There is a face mask mandate when flying to/from the USA, with effectively no exemptions, and including children two and above years old.
- Airlines need to provide some sort of contact tracing information for potential follow-up cases.
- These restrictions do not apply at the land border.

Note that a lot of interpretation onus falls on airlines. For example there is no language requirement for vaccine certificates as far as the CDC is concerned, however you can imagine Air France may be hesitant in accepting a vaccine certificate issued in the Welsh language, to take one example.

CDC link
https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2...el-System.html


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US reopened on 8 November 2021 (& subsequent entry restrictions for non-citizens)

 
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Old Jul 26, 2021, 8:47 pm
  #1921  
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Originally Posted by nemenor
Given the ongoing travel ban and purely political reasoning of the current administration (so much about they only follow the science), I’m looking for workarounds as I have travel to Europe coming up soon which I do not want to cancel at all cost (non-permanent resident here, EU passport).

Apologies if it’s been discussed before - can I take a flight to Mexico, then proceed to Europe on separate ticket and return the same way?
Basically:
Ticket 1: US-Mexico
Ticket 2: Mexico - Europe - Mexico
Ticket 3: Mexico - US

Possible or does CBP have a way of knowing that I’ve been in Europe in between and send me to 2 week quarantine in Mexico on my way back?
Fully vaccinated in the US.

Disclaimer: Appreciate not being judged. Been patiently waiting for 1.5+ years, but don’t see an end to the ban in sight and am deeply disappointed about the handling of this by the Biden-Harris administration. When it comes to this, they’re exactly as political as the former one and not following the science at all.
Realistically to do this you’d either need two different passports or a tearable page in your existing passport for the stamps. This is (was) common practice for people who visited both Israel and certain other middle eastern countries which would result in being denied entry to Israel due to other counties travelled to.

In reality once you leave the US, if you aren’t a citizen it’s not really any of their business where you were before entering again. They do ask for countries travelled to/through on the trip though there isn’t really any definition of what trip they’re talking about.
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Old Jul 26, 2021, 8:54 pm
  #1922  
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Originally Posted by cmd320
Realistically to do this you’d either need two different passports or a tearable page in your existing passport for the stamps. This is (was) common practice for people who visited both Israel and certain other middle eastern countries which would result in being denied entry to Israel due to other counties travelled to.

In reality once you leave the US, if you aren’t a citizen it’s not really any of their business where you were before entering again. They do ask for countries travelled to/through on the trip though there isn’t really any definition of what trip they’re talking about.
except that it definitely is their business, especially right now, as they're using it to determine eligibility. If you ARE a citizen then it's none of their business because they can't deny you entry anyway. I'm assuming OP is on a work visa in the US and has a job here, so risking lying to CBP and having their visa cancelled and being barred from re-entry seems like an exceptionally poor idea.
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Old Jul 26, 2021, 9:09 pm
  #1923  
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Originally Posted by Smiley90
except that it definitely is their business, especially right now, as they're using it to determine eligibility. If you ARE a citizen then it's none of their business because they can't deny you entry anyway. I'm assuming OP is on a work visa in the US and has a job here, so risking lying to CBP and having their visa cancelled and being barred from re-entry seems like an exceptionally poor idea.
LOL! Right, they may not be able to flat out deny you entry, but if you’re coming back from a questionable location you’d better be prepared to give a pretty good explanation of why you were there, lest you end up at a black site.
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Old Jul 26, 2021, 9:29 pm
  #1924  
 
Join Date: Jun 2007
Posts: 4,639
Originally Posted by mattg85
Yes. It’s easy, at least in my experience.

At check-in I had barely handed over my passport before I was asked for my green card so there was an assumption I was traveling as an LPR.

On entering the US I used Global Entry kiosk and was through in the usual 30 seconds.

It is slightly more burdensome if one is using one of the other exemptions however, but mainly as a result of having to travel with more documentation (marriage certificates etc)
Awesome, thanks. That's good to know. Straight green card exemption for me so looks like that's all I'll need. Hopefully I don't come across an uninformed BA checkin agent at MAD lol.
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Old Jul 26, 2021, 9:36 pm
  #1925  
 
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Originally Posted by stupidhead
Awesome, thanks. That's good to know. Straight green card exemption for me so looks like that's all I'll need. Hopefully I don't come across an uninformed BA checkin agent at MAD lol.
They have direct phone to DHS— you’ll be fine. (UK-issued NIE may be trickier at MAD— doesn’t apply to you.)
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Old Jul 26, 2021, 9:40 pm
  #1926  
 
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Originally Posted by nemenor
Given the ongoing travel ban and purely political reasoning of the current administration (so much about they only follow the science), I’m looking for workarounds as I have travel to Europe coming up soon which I do not want to cancel at all cost (non-permanent resident here, EU passport).

Apologies if it’s been discussed before - can I take a flight to Mexico, then proceed to Europe on separate ticket and return the same way?
Basically:
Ticket 1: US-Mexico
Ticket 2: Mexico - Europe - Mexico
Ticket 3: Mexico - US

Possible or does CBP have a way of knowing that I’ve been in Europe in between and send me to 2 week quarantine in Mexico on my way back?
Fully vaccinated in the US.

Disclaimer: Appreciate not being judged. Been patiently waiting for 1.5+ years, but don’t see an end to the ban in sight and am deeply disappointed about the handling of this by the Biden-Harris administration. When it comes to this, they’re exactly as political as the former one and not following the science at all.
Do not lie. Guaranteed that you will be caught.

I suggest applying for an NIE once you landed in the UK that would allow you to travel back directly. Now it’s valid for multiple entry (12 months). If you don’t hear back before it’s your time to travel back then have plan B for Mexico 2-week stay. I can recommend Cabo for West Coast onwards travel.
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Old Jul 26, 2021, 9:57 pm
  #1927  
 
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Originally Posted by merlin90
I don't think there's any need to even ask returning US citizens to show a CDC card if the administration is worried about the optics. I'd hope Biden could say something like, "Entry into the United States for our citizens will always be guaranteed, regardless of where you're coming from or whether you're vaccinated. Americans will never be asked to prove their vaccination status in order to enter their own country. In these uncertain times we think it's right to ask those people visiting our country to show proof of vaccination until we can be confident we've brought this virus under control." However, there are so many nutters influencing the general US political discourse that even that would probably still be billed as the start of a slippery slope towards federally-mandated vaccine passports.
On the merits I agree with you, but the media & the drunk with power doctors like Fauci will go apes*** if Biden were to do this. He probably doesn't want to have that fight. That would require him to tell the CDC, etc. what to do, and since that's what Trump tried to do, Biden won't do it because Orange Man Bad.

Originally Posted by nemenor
Possible or does CBP have a way of knowing that I’ve been in Europe in between and send me to 2 week quarantine in Mexico on my way back? Fully vaccinated in the US.

Disclaimer: Appreciate not being judged. Been patiently waiting for 1.5+ years, but don’t see an end to the ban in sight and am deeply disappointed about the handling of this by the Biden-Harris administration. When it comes to this, they’re exactly as political as the former one and not following the science at all.
I wouldn't risk it. CBP certainly has the ability to find out, and if they find out the consequences could be severe for you.
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Old Jul 27, 2021, 9:33 am
  #1928  
 
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One question for those lucky ones with NIEs and the first-hand experience: if you were granted NIE for e.g., PP 9993 (DJT's Schengen proclamation), with the extension of validity of the NIE for 12 months since the date of issuance, is this NIE still valid for PP 10143 (JRB's Schengen proclamation). I do assume so but any experience with this would be greatly appreciated.
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Old Jul 27, 2021, 9:56 am
  #1929  
 
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Posts: 1,197
This sticks in my craw a bit...

No quarantine for Americans who enter the UK with a vaccine card

Americans will be allowed to enter the UK and avoid quarantining if they produce vaccine cards proving they have been double-jabbed, as part of a drive to open up transatlantic travel.Ministers are expected to sign off plans this week for US citizens arriving in the UK to be able to present the cards they were given when they were vaccinated as sufficient proof.
https://archive.is/vPShh
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Old Jul 27, 2021, 9:58 am
  #1930  
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Originally Posted by RG1X
This sticks in my craw a bit...

https://archive.is/vPShh
Just goes to show you that in the US we prefer to continue living under a rock in the stone ages. Not sure why any of you all want to come here anyway, you're not missing much.
cmd320 is offline  
Old Jul 27, 2021, 10:00 am
  #1931  
 
Join Date: Nov 2017
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Originally Posted by cmd320
Just goes to show you that in the US we prefer to continue living under a rock in the stone ages. Not sure why any of you all want to come here anyway, you're not missing much.
Sadly I'm very much missing family.
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Old Jul 27, 2021, 10:12 am
  #1932  
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Originally Posted by RG1X
Sadly I'm very much missing family.
Fair enough, I supposed that's probably the #1 reason most would want to come here.
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Old Jul 27, 2021, 10:23 am
  #1933  
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Originally Posted by cmd320
Fair enough, I supposed that's probably the #1 reason most would want to come here.
Same. I have to cancel a trip for my mom to visit me next month. Ugh.
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Old Jul 27, 2021, 10:35 am
  #1934  
 
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Originally Posted by nemenor
Given the ongoing travel ban and purely political reasoning of the current administration (so much about they only follow the science), I’m looking for workarounds as I have travel to Europe coming up soon which I do not want to cancel at all cost (non-permanent resident here, EU passport).

Apologies if it’s been discussed before - can I take a flight to Mexico, then proceed to Europe on separate ticket and return the same way?
Basically:
Ticket 1: US-Mexico
Ticket 2: Mexico - Europe - Mexico
Ticket 3: Mexico - US

Possible or does CBP have a way of knowing that I’ve been in Europe in between and send me to 2 week quarantine in Mexico on my way back?
Fully vaccinated in the US.

Disclaimer: Appreciate not being judged. Been patiently waiting for 1.5+ years, but don’t see an end to the ban in sight and am deeply disappointed about the handling of this by the Biden-Harris administration. When it comes to this, they’re exactly as political as the former one and not following the science at all.
I don't think this will work - EU - Mexico flights fly through US airspace, so I think the US has access to the passenger manifest.

An example of this type of flight being a problem: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/wor...to-Mexico.html
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Old Jul 27, 2021, 10:36 am
  #1935  
 
Join Date: Jun 2018
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Originally Posted by cmd320
Fair enough, I supposed that's probably the #1 reason most would want to come here.
Me too. I’ve lost count now of how many times I’ve had to reschedule our original April 2020 flights to see much-missed family. And I’ve shed more tears than I like to admit. We’re fully vaxxed, what risk are we?
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Whiterose is offline  


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