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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
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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 Oct 25, 2021, 7:50 am
  #2626  
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Originally Posted by invisible
Well, it is not an option because tickets are booked for the 10th - they can't dash into Serbia just for vaccination.

So the question remains - what would happen in their case?
Why is that even a question if entry requirements cannot be met. The 10th is about 2.5 weeks away. Maybe they should quickly evaluate their options for a J&J shot if travel is required.
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Old Oct 25, 2021, 12:07 pm
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Originally Posted by invisible
Well, it is not an option because tickets are booked for the 10th - they can't dash into Serbia just for vaccination.

So the question remains - what would happen in their case?
Same as in every case where the entry requirements aren’t met, they’d be turned away at check in.
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Old Oct 25, 2021, 12:34 pm
  #2628  
 
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Travel ban officially lifted.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-...d-19-pandemic/
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Old Oct 25, 2021, 12:42 pm
  #2629  
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Originally Posted by DL77
More accurately, confirmation that the travel ban will be lifted on Nov 8th.
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Old Oct 25, 2021, 12:45 pm
  #2630  
 
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Originally Posted by DL77
it says negative test 72 hours before departure flight but on CDC it says 3 days before departure which is two different things. And no other requirements (quarantine, additional tests,..) after arriving.
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Old Oct 25, 2021, 1:01 pm
  #2631  
 
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Originally Posted by casey89
it says negative test 72 hours before departure flight but on CDC it says 3 days before departure which is two different things.
Typical of the current White House unfortunately.
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Old Oct 25, 2021, 1:08 pm
  #2632  
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Originally Posted by casey89
it says negative test 72 hours before departure flight but on CDC it says 3 days before departure which is two different things. And no other requirements (quarantine, additional tests,..) after arriving.
How is 72hrs different from 3 days?
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Old Oct 25, 2021, 1:10 pm
  #2633  
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Up to 3 calendar days from test date is what has been allowed to-date to US citizens, non-citizen immigrants and NIE-granted migrants/immigrants-to-be flying to the US. That was done to grant the possibility for travel to the US even for hours beyond 72 hours after test time.

The indicated additional opening of the US -- as indicated in the above WH link -- is primarily aimed at additionally opening up for non-citizens who are not already longer-term resident immigrants to the US.

Originally Posted by stupidhead
Typical of the current White House unfortunately.
What are the exact words in that link https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-...d-19-pandemic/ that are causing any consternation? Where in that White House link does it mention "3 days", "three days", "72 hours", "seventy-two hours" or "seventy two hours"?

Last edited by GUWonder; Oct 25, 2021 at 1:15 pm
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Old Oct 25, 2021, 1:12 pm
  #2634  
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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
potfish, KARFA and casey89 like this.

Last edited by corporate-wage-slave; Oct 31, 2021 at 3:23 am Reason: updated information
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Old Oct 25, 2021, 1:16 pm
  #2635  
 
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Originally Posted by invisible
Have to ask for a friend who is vaccinated with Sputnik which is not in US/WHO list of vaccines - if after entering after the 8th of Nov, what are the options/processes?
Interestingly. the new travel admission law makes no mention of the WHO list of vaccines. It's possible that CDC will coordinate with them, but they absolutely don't have to. Right now the following paragraph will give CDC the discretion to do whatever they want:
(v) the noncitizen is described in section 3(b)(i) or 3(b)(ii) of this proclamation and has previously received a COVID-19 vaccine that is authorized or approved by the noncitizen’s country of nationality, as determined by the Director of the CDC, in consultation with the Secretary of State;
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Old Oct 25, 2021, 1:20 pm
  #2636  
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Originally Posted by invisible
Have to ask for a friend who is vaccinated with Sputnik which is not in US/WHO list of vaccines - if after entering after the 8th of Nov, what are the options/processes?
Couldn't the following apply to some of the Sputnik-vaccinated?

Sec. 2. Global Suspension and Limitation on Entry of Certain Individuals Who Are Not Fully Vaccinated Against COVID-19. (a) The entry into the United States by air travel of noncitizens who are nonimmigrants and who are not fully vaccinated against COVID-19 is suspended and limited, except as provided in section 3 of this proclamation. This suspension and limitation on entry applies only to air travelers to the United States and does not affect visa issuance.
(b) Any noncitizen who is a nonimmigrant, who is not fully vaccinated against COVID-19, and who, notwithstanding section 2(a) of this proclamation, is permitted to enter the United States by air travel pursuant to section 3(b) of this proclamation must agree to comply with applicable public health precautions established by the Director of the CDC to protect against the public health risk posed by travelers entering into the United States. Such precautions may be related to vaccination, testing, mask-wearing, self-quarantine, and self-isolation, as determined by the Director of the CDC, and may include requirements that individuals:
(i) provide proof of pre-departure testing for COVID-19, as determined by the Director of the CDC;
(ii) take precautions during air travel to protect against the further introduction, transmission, and spread of COVID-19, including by wearing a face mask, as determined by the Director of the CDC;
(iii) provide proof of having arranged for post-arrival testing for COVID-19, as determined by the Director of the CDC; and
(iv) provide proof of having arranged to self-quarantine or self-isolate after arriving in the United States, as determined by the Director of the CDC.
(c) Any noncitizen who is a nonimmigrant, who is not fully vaccinated against COVID-19, and who, notwithstanding section 2(a) of this proclamation, is permitted to enter the United States by air travel pursuant to section 3(b) of this proclamation must agree to become fully vaccinated against COVID-19 within 60 days of arriving in the United States, within some other timeframe as determined by the Director of the CDC, or as soon as medically appropriate as determined by the Director of the CDC, and must provide proof of having arranged to become fully vaccinated against COVID-19 after arriving in the United States, unless:
(i) the noncitizen’s intended stay is sufficiently brief, as determined by the Director of the CDC;
(ii) the noncitizen is one for whom, given their age, requiring vaccination would be inappropriate, as determined by the Director of the CDC;
(iii) the noncitizen has participated or is participating in certain clinical trials for COVID-19 vaccination, as determined by the Director of the CDC;
(iv) COVID-19 vaccination is medically contraindicated for the noncitizen, as determined by the Director of the CDC;
(v) the noncitizen is described in section 3(b)(i) or 3(b)(ii) of this proclamation and has previously received a COVID-19 vaccine that is authorized or approved by the noncitizen’s country of nationality, as determined by the Director of the CDC, in consultation with the Secretary of State; or
(vi) the Director of the CDC otherwise determines that COVID-19 vaccination is not warranted for the noncitizen.
Or are you talking about the subset of Sputnik-vaccinated persons for whom the above may not apply?
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Old Oct 25, 2021, 1:25 pm
  #2637  
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US citizens' flight travel will still not be conditioned by the US upon showing proof of vaccination to fly to the US as of that date. Any airline demanding US citizens show proof of vaccination to fly to the US will be doing so on a basis that is not required of the airlines by the USG.
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Old Oct 25, 2021, 1:30 pm
  #2638  
 
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Originally Posted by casey89
it says negative test 72 hours before departure flight but on CDC it says 3 days before departure which is two different things. And no other requirements (quarantine, additional tests,..) after arriving.
The white house back ground press call mentions 3 days;

Fully vaccinated air passengers entering the United States internationally, regardless of citizenship, will continue to be required to show a pre-departure negative COVID test taken within three days of travel prior to boarding.
For those vaccinated persons, they will be required to show proof of vaccination to qualify for this three-day testing window.
However, for unvaccinated air passengers, including unvaccinated U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents, the rules will now require a test within one day of departure to the United States.


https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-...travel-policy/
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Old Oct 25, 2021, 1:50 pm
  #2639  
 
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Originally Posted by Grouchy
The white house back ground press call mentions 3 days;

Fully vaccinated air passengers entering the United States internationally, regardless of citizenship, will continue to be required to show a pre-departure negative COVID test taken within three days of travel prior to boarding.
For those vaccinated persons, they will be required to show proof of vaccination to qualify for this three-day testing window.
However, for unvaccinated air passengers, including unvaccinated U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents, the rules will now require a test within one day of departure to the United States.


https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-...travel-policy/
does the "Test Within One Day" apply to foreign unvaccinated under 18's?
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Old Oct 25, 2021, 1:52 pm
  #2640  
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Originally Posted by Smiley90
How is 72hrs different from 3 days?
Originally Posted by 59Impala
this is the definition as per cdc.gov: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019...travelers.html
see my post 2616

Why does the Order specify 3 days rather than 72 hours? What is considered 3 days?

The 3-day period is the 3 days before the flight’s departure. The Order uses a 3-day timeframe instead of 72 hours to provide more flexibility to the traveler. By using a 3-day window, test validity does not depend on the time of the flight or the time of day that the test was administered.

For example, if a passenger’s flight is at 1pm on a Friday, the passenger could board with a negative test that was taken any time on the prior Tuesday or after.
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