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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 Jun 4, 2021, 12:18 pm
  #691  
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Originally Posted by Owenc
Katie Hopkins was over there too. Both of them are not American citizens or permanent residents. They should not get preferential treatment.

not to mention Prince Harry has been over and back a few times too.
Hi,

Prince Harry is married to a US citizen so he would be allowed to enter the US.

Regards

TBS
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Old Jun 4, 2021, 1:04 pm
  #692  
 
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Originally Posted by golfmad
Wow. I had no idea that was possible. I wrote to the US Embassy asking for a national interest exception and they refused it before even asking for the details of the circumstances. How did you find the relevant contact at your port of entry? I'd like to the right person at MIA or JFK. Thanks

Sorry for your loss.
Originally Posted by destone
My understanding that this process has changed as of March 2 and you can no longer petition CBP for NIEs. It must be done through the local Consulate/Embassy once you're outside the US.
Originally Posted by golfmad
Sounds like you are right. More information here:

https://www.natlawreview.com/article...n-adjudication
Ah, that sucks. It's unclear exactly what changed when, but mine was granted on March 11 and I don't fall squarely into one of the categories outlined here (although I could loosely be categorised in one or two).

I only found out about the NIE possibility and who to contact because I spoke the attorney who works with my company and sorted out my visa in the first place and asked if there was anything that could be done to allow me to make the trip. She told me who to contact and reviewed the letter I wrote.
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Old Jun 4, 2021, 4:37 pm
  #693  
 
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Originally Posted by The _Banking_Scot
Prince Harry is married to a US citizen so he would be allowed to enter the US.
There is the small matter of a visa. Supposedly Prince Harry has an O-1 visa, which, I believe, doesn't have the tax implications of being a citizen or permanent resident.
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Old Jun 4, 2021, 4:42 pm
  #694  
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Originally Posted by Owenc
Katie Hopkins was over there too. Both of them are not American citizens or permanent residents. They should not get preferential treatment.

not to mention Prince Harry has been over and back a few times too.
He’s only returned once - for the funeral of DofE

And Farage was photographed in the Caribbean prior so presumably did his 14 days there so no special exemption
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Old Jun 4, 2021, 7:17 pm
  #695  
 
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Originally Posted by vanillabean
There is the small matter of a visa. Supposedly Prince Harry has an O-1 visa, which, I believe, doesn't have the tax implications of being a citizen or permanent resident.
What does tax burden have anything to do with admissibility? H1, L1 etc all pay taxes at the same rate citizens or permanent residents (absent a tax treaty or something similar). Please read through forum for anectodes about tax paying "workers" unable to travel. O1 visa holders also pay the same tax depending on the the tax code and and tax treaties. You really think that in the US only citizens and PR pay taxes?

Last edited by sbandy; Jun 4, 2021 at 8:02 pm
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Old Jun 5, 2021, 1:02 am
  #696  
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Originally Posted by vanillabean
There is the small matter of a visa. Supposedly Prince Harry has an O-1 visa, which, I believe, doesn't have the tax implications of being a citizen or permanent resident.
What does the proclamation have to do with tax status?
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Old Jun 5, 2021, 1:03 am
  #697  
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Originally Posted by golfmad
While the previous guy was in the White House it would have been simple enough. In the current situation I'd assume Nige has to spend two weeks on a beach in Mexico (or equivalent). I've just booked tickets to see Arsenal, Inter Milan and Everton play in Orlando in July. How are they all permitted to enter????
Professional athletes fall under a separate visa category.
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Old Jun 5, 2021, 1:48 am
  #698  
 
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Originally Posted by LondonElite
Professional athletes fall under a separate visa category.
They are banned but they can obtain a Nie through CBP not consulates. Special procedure
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Old Jun 5, 2021, 2:25 am
  #699  
 
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Ive had a look at the whitehouse PP. Am I right in saying it only covers Shengen & the UK? I'm looking at spending 14 days in Cairo then flying CAI-AMM-ORD - I take it I wouldn't face any restrictions (other than PCR) on entering the USA?
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Old Jun 5, 2021, 2:29 am
  #700  
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Originally Posted by LHR FLYER
Ive had a look at the whitehouse PP. Am I right in saying it only covers Shengen & the UK? I'm looking at spending 14 days in Cairo then flying CAI-AMM-ORD - I take it I wouldn't face any restrictions (other than PCR) on entering the USA?
it covers

Austria, Belgium, Brazil, China (People's Rep.), Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, India, Iran, Ireland (Rep.), Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland or in the United Kingdom (excluding overseas territories outside of Europe),
if you haven't been in or transited any of these countries in the past 14 days you are fine to enter
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Old Jun 5, 2021, 2:31 am
  #701  
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Originally Posted by LHR FLYER
Ive had a look at the whitehouse PP. Am I right in saying it only covers Shengen & the UK? I'm looking at spending 14 days in Cairo then flying CAI-AMM-ORD - I take it I wouldn't face any restrictions (other than PCR) on entering the USA?

Hi,
There are others covering China/Iran/Brazil/South Africa/India also but that is it.

Your plan would work


Regards

TBS
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Old Jun 5, 2021, 6:01 am
  #702  
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Originally Posted by golfmad
I contacted the US Embassy in London. They emailed me a long list of questions and I responded to them all in detail including this description:

Please tell us why you are applying to travel from the UK to the United States. For example, if you recently returned from the U.S. to the UK, please provide the reasons for that travel. If you are not normally resident in the UK, please provide the reasons why you are traveling from here. Please note that if you are not traveling from the UK, the U.S. Embassy in London will be unable to assist you with your request. Please contact the U.S. Embassy in the country where your travel will begin.
We live in the USA but our business in based in the UK. We need to travel for business reasons to the UK and will then require to return to the USA. At the moment we cannot travel to the UK as we are not permitted to return to the USA from the UK. We are seeking permission to travel back to the USA so that we may arrange business travel to the UK, conduct our business and then return home to the USA.

Reason that you believe your travel is in the U.S. national interest:
It is imperative for the operation and growth of our business here in the USA that we conduct meetings in the UK. The US State Department information published on 7/22/20 outlines the possibility that business travelers and treaty traders may qualify for a national interest exception and this is what we are seeking. We are hoping that this discretion includes our situation.
.

I received a very swift and polite 'NO' 2 days later which stated the following:

.
We understand how concerned you are about returning to your business in the United States. Therefore, we reviewed your case expeditiously. Unfortunately, after examining your submission carefully, Consular managers have determined that your case does not fall under an exception to the Presidential Proclamation on Suspension of Entry for Nonimmigrant and Certain Additional Persons Who Pose a Risk of Transmitting 2019 Novel Corona Virus. This means that while Presidential Proclamation 9996 remains in effect, it will not be possible for you to travel directly to the United States from the United Kingdom. Please review the Presidential Proclamation for detailed information.
Travel to the United States from a third country that is not covered by the Presidential Proclamation may be possible, but we advise you verify if the countries to which you intend to travel have implemented travel or other restrictions prior to making travel arrangements. Please also bear in mind that the Presidential Proclamation suspends travel to the U.S. for any individual who has been physically present in the United Kingdom within 14 days prior to their arrival in the United States.

We appreciate your desire to travel as soon as possible, so we understand how disappointing this news is. However, as this decision is final, no review is available. We regret that our response cannot be more favorable.

We encourage you to continue to monitor our website as it will be updated if there are any changes to the travel restrictions.

Sincerely,

Chief, Consular Information Unit

U.S. Embassy, London




Unfortunately, that is just boiler plate language. Not even an explanation of “why” they deemed you’re not eligible to get an exception. My guess is that the mention of a need for in-person meetings is married with an implicit response of “we don’t know why a remote/virtual meeting wouldn’t be sufficient when so many others have done it for ABC to XYZ purposes”.

Hopefully, by some time next month they will no longer be continuing with use of that boiler plate language there anymore.
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Last edited by GUWonder; Jun 5, 2021 at 6:28 am
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Old Jun 5, 2021, 6:02 am
  #703  
 
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Originally Posted by GUWonder
Unfortunately, that is just boiler plate language from the consular unit. Not even an explanation of “why” they deemed you’re not eligible to get an exception. By sometime next month, hopefully they won’t be needing that boiler plate language there anymore.
On the bright side, it's better than the "we don't want to look bad by admitting a rich country with high vaccine penetration" thing...
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Old Jun 5, 2021, 6:06 am
  #704  
 
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Originally Posted by Visconti
On the bright side, it's better than the "we don't want to look bad by admitting a rich country with high vaccine penetration" thing...
Right. Much better to admit just from third world countries with no vaccine penetration at all.🙄😩🤣
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Old Jun 5, 2021, 6:15 am
  #705  
 
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Originally Posted by DL77
Right. Much better to admit just from third world countries with no vaccine penetration at all.🙄😩🤣
Right.

No idea who made that statement or if we're reading it out of context, but it's just absurdly nonsensical. I mean, if this were in a movie, the entire audience would break out in laughter the moment those words were uttered.
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