New U.S. COVID-19 Travel Restrictions Update

The United States will now be requiring proof of vaccination for all air, sea, and land travel in and out of the country. The Center for Disease Control will require all travelers to show a negative proof of a COVID-19 test within three days of travelling, even for those who are already vaccinated. These new restrictions will take place on November 8, 2021.  

Anyone flying into the United States from a foreign country, including Canada and Mexico, will be required to show proof of a full COVID-19 vaccination prior to their flight. A full vaccination is two weeks after one's last required dose, according to the CDC. In addition, the CDC provided a list of the acceptable vaccines that are sanctioned by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and approved by the World Health Organization (WHO). The full list includes: Moderna, Johnson & Johnson (Janssen), Pfizer-BioNTech, Oxford-AstraZeneca/ Covishield, Sinopharm, and Sinovac. A combination of any of the approved vaccines will fulfill the travel requirements as well. 

The travel restrictions pertaining to non-essential travel along the Mexico and Canada borders will be updated in two phases. The Department of Homeland Security announced that the first phase, effective November 8, 2021, will allow fully vaccinated foreign national travelers from Canada or Mexico to enter the country for non-essential reasons at land and ferry Ports of Entry (POEs). At the moment, said visitors can only arrive by plane. 

The second phase, effective January 2022, will require that all inbound foreign national travelers crossing by land or ferry for reasons essential or non-essential, be fully vaccinated.  

The Department of Homeland Security also stated that exemptions to these new vaccine requirements will be very limited. It is also not yet certain whether booster vaccines will be required to be considered fully vaccinated. 

This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal advice. 

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