Rules changing soon for travelers trying to enter United States

Presidential proclamations banning travel to the United States from certain countries because of COVID-19 will be rescinded in November and replaced with new rules for international travelers.

How we got here

On September 20, 2021, the Biden administration announced the proclamations issued by the Trump administration early in the COVID-19 pandemic, banning travel to the United States from many countries, will be rescinded in November. Questions remain about the effective date.

The announcement is a great relief to travelers from the affected countries, including business leaders who haven't been able to attend to their U.S. interests in person since early 2020 without first spending at least 14 days in a country not affected by the ban.

Impact of earlier proclamations

The earlier proclamations targeted 33 countries where COVID-19 was identified as a particular problem. As of now, the banned list still includes the Schengen Area (Europe), the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, Brazil, China, Iran, and South Africa.

U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents (green card holders) were exempt from the geographic travel ban, and there were other limited exceptions, e.g., for the parents of minors who are U.S. citizens. Travelers from any country who spent time in one of the banned countries, including even landing at an airport there simply to change planes, had to spend 14 days in a country not subject to the ban before becoming eligible to travel to the United States.