New US Travel Rules: How Unvaccinated Travellers Can Go to the USA |

New US Travel Rules: How Unvaccinated Travellers Can Go to the USA

As of this week, the United States lifted the travel restrictions that barred non-US citizens from Brazil, China, India, Iran, Ireland, the Schengen Area, South Africa, and the United Kingdom from entering the country.

With the reopening of US border restrictions, the United States is also imposing new rules requiring nearly all foreign adult visitors to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Foreign travellers will be required to provide proof of full vaccination status prior to boarding their flight to the US unless they meet certain exceptions.

To know the US travel rules for vaccinated travellers check out our blog post.

Generally, noncitizen nonimmigrants must be fully vaccinated with an accepted vaccine to travel by air to the US. Although there are no vaccination exceptions for religious reasons or other moral convictions, unvaccinated travellers may still enter the US if they meet these exceptions. In this case, they must submit a viral test taken no more than 1 day before their departure from a foreign country.

Quick Reference: Requirements to Travel to the U.S. by Air (source: CDC)

US Travel Vaccine Exceptions

The US administration stressed that exceptions to the vaccine requirements for foreign visitors would be rare but have been made for the following reasons:

Persons on diplomatic or official foreign government travel
Children under 18 years of age
Persons with documented medical contraindications to receiving a COVID-19 vaccine
Participants in certain COVID-19 vaccine trials
Persons issued a humanitarian or emergency exception
Persons with valid visas [excluding B-1 (business) or B-2 (tourism) visas] who are citizens of a foreign country with limited COVID-19 vaccine availability
Members of the U.S. Armed Forces or their spouses or children (under 18 years of age)
Sea crew members travelling with to a C-1 and D nonimmigrant visa
Persons whose entry would be in the national interest, as determined by the Secretary of State, Secretary of Transportation, or Secretary of Homeland Security.

Children Under 18

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stated that unvaccinated children visiting the United States will not need to be quarantined upon arrival under the country's new travel rules.

According to an amended document signed by CDC Director Rochelle Walensky, noncitizens under 18 years old who are not immigrating to the US will still need to fill out an attestation form that says they will arrange to get tested for the coronavirus three to five days after arrival, but they will not need to promise to arrange a seven-day quarantine period after arrival.

Based on the potential difficulty that self-quarantine may pose to children under 18 years of age especially when accompanied by a vaccinated parent or guardian who is not required to self-quarantine, CDC has determined that self-quarantine should not be required.
CDC order

Children below 2 years old do not need to take a COVID test before departure.

Travellers with Medical Conditions – US Travel Vaccine Exemption

Visitors claiming medical reasons for not being vaccinated have to present a signed letter from a licenced physician documenting a medical contraindication to receiving a COVID-19 vaccine.

The letter must have the following essential elements:

Must be signed and dated on official letterhead that contains the name, address, and phone number of the licenced physician who signed the letter.
Must clearly state that the passenger has a contraindication to receiving a COVID-19 vaccine. The name of the COVID-19 vaccine product and the medical condition must both be listed.
- Medical contraindications to COVID-19 vaccination include immediate or severe allergic reaction after a previous dose or known allergy to a component of a COVID-19 vaccine.
Must have sufficient personally identifiable information to confirm that the person referenced in the letter matches with the passenger’s passport or other travel documents.

Personal objections to vaccination based on religious or moral convictions do not qualify for an exception.

Participants in Certain COVID-19 Vaccine Trials – US Travel Vaccine Exemption

Travellers that prove they have participated or are participating in Phase 3 COVID-19 vaccine trial with a qualifying vaccine can still travel to the US.

They should meet the COVID-19 vaccine criteria set by CDC.

Manufacturer	Vaccine Product(s)
CanSinoBIO	Ad5-nCoV
Clover Biopharmaceuticals	SCB-2019
Sinopharm/WIBP	SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine (Vero Cell), Inactivated

If you have participated in a qualified vaccine trial, you will need to show official documentation of clinical trial participation that includes the following information:

Documentation you participated in a phase 3 trial of with a qualifying COVID-19 vaccine candidate
Documentation you received the full series of an active (non-placebo) qualifying COVID-19 vaccine candidate or a vaccine approved for emergency use by WHO, with the name of the vaccine product and the date(s) received (showing it has been at least 2 weeks since you completed the series)
Personal identifiers in the clinical trial documentation (at a minimum name and date of birth) that match with your passport or other travel documentation.

Persons Issued a Humanitarian or Emergency Exception

CDC may grant a humanitarian or emergency exception in limited circumstances only when an individual must travel to the United States to preserve health and safety and is unable to become fully vaccinated before travel.

To get this exception, you must contact the US embassy or consulate nearest to you.

Travellers from Countries with Less Than 10% Vaccination Rate

Unlike in the US, COVID-19 vaccines are not readily available to most countries. The CDC has listed 50 countries where COVID vaccines are scarce.

For these countries, citizens with a work visa may enter the US without the vaccinations but must provide one-day negative test results prior to boarding, as well as agree to quarantine for 7 days after arrival, take another test 3 to 5 days after arrival, and must then be vaccinated within 60 days of arriving in the US if they plan to stay in the country for 60 days or more

Tourists on a B-1 or B-2 visa will not be allowed in the US from these countries without a vaccination.

These 50 countries have fewer than 10% of people having been vaccinated

Afghanistan
Algeria
Angola
Armenia
Benin
Burkina Faso
Burundi
Cameroon
Central African Republic
Chad
Congo
Côte d’Ivoire
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Djibouti
Egypt
Ethiopia
Gabon

Gambia
Ghana
Guinea
Guinea-Bissau
Haiti
Iraq
Kenya
Kiribati
Liberia
Libya
Madagascar
Malawi
Mali
Mozambique
Myanmar
Namibia
Nicaragua

Niger
Nigeria
Papua New Guinea
Senegal
Sierra Leone
Solomon Islands
Somalia
South Sudan
Sudan
Syrian Arab Republic
Togo
Uganda
United Republic of Tanzania
Vanuatu
Yemen
Zambia

Travellers Recently Recovered from COVID-19

Travellers who recently recovered from COVID-19 should provide official documentation of recovery from COVID-19. They should provide the positive COVID-19 viral test result and should be dated no more than 90 days before boarding the flight to the US and a letter from a licenced healthcare provider or a public health official stating that they were cleared to travel.

National Interest Exception (NIE)

A qualified traveller will need to show an official US Government letter (paper or digital) documenting approval of the National Interest exception.

Are you ready to travel to the US? Talk to us in the comment section below. Or if you need more advice on the above, contact us for further travel & immigration advice.

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And because of the pandemic, don’t forget to get your travel insurance, which will cover you for flight disruptions and pandemic related matters.

IaM can help with your visa application to the United States, the UK & other countries

If you need help with a US visa, a UK Visa, or visa to Europe, including help with appointment booking obligations, IaM can help. For more information and advice on US immigration, UK immigration law and US visa applications or if you need any help or assistance please, reach out to your Visa Coordinator at IaM.

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