While states, employers, and the federal government battle over vaccine mandates for employees, the vaccine mandate for international travelers entering the United States by airplane took effect November 8, 2021.

The requirement was imposed by the October 25, 2021, Presidential Proclamation Advancing the Safe Resumption of Global Travel During the COVID-⁠19 Pandemic, which also terminated the Presidential Proclamations restricting entry from China, Iran, the Schengen Area of Europe, the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, Brazil, the Republic of South Africa, and India.

At the same time, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) amended its Order, Requirement for Proof of Negative COVID-19 Test or Recovery from COVID-19 for All Air Passengers Arriving in the United States, which applies to all air passengers two years or older.

Who is affected?

Foreign national travelers entering by air are subject to both vaccination and testing requirements.

U.S. citizens, nationals, and “green card” holders (U.S. permanent residents) are subject to testing requirements, which are less stringent for those who are vaccinated.

Vaccination requirements

Foreign national travelers entering the U.S. by airplane must now be either fully vaccinated or qualify for an exception.

Who is “fully vaccinated”?

A person is “fully vaccinated” 14 days after receiving the last dose of an acceptable vaccine series. For example, if the last dose was on October 1, the person was fully vaccinated on October 15.

Acceptable vaccine series are:

• One does of Janssen/Johnson & Johnson

• Two doses of Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna

• Two doses of AstraZeneca, Covaxin, Covishield, BIBP/Sinopharm, or Sinovac

• A combination of two doses of accepted Covid vaccines given at least 17 days apart

• Full series of an accepted Covid vaccine (not placebo) in a clinical trial

• Full series of Novavax (or Covovax) Covid vaccine (not placebo) in phase 3 clinical trial

Who is exempt from the vaccination requirements?

The following travelers may enter the U.S. by plane without being fully vaccinated:

• Persons on diplomatic or official foreign government travel

• Children under 18 years of age

• Persons with documented medical contraindications to receiving a Covid vaccine

• Participants in certain Covid vaccine trials

• Persons issued a humanitarian or emergency exemption

• Members of the U.S. Armed Forces or their spouses or children (under 18 years of age)

• Sea crew members traveling with a C-1 and D nonimmigrant visa

• Persons with valid visas (except for B-1 or B-2 visitor visas) who are citizens of a country with limited Covid vaccine availability

• Persons whose entry would be in the national interest, as determined by the Secretary of State, Secretary of Transportation, or Secretary of Homeland Security (or their designees)

Emergency or humanitarian exceptions will be limited, and other exceptions must be carefully documented. The goal of the Proclamation is to encourage vaccination to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Travelers utilizing one of these exceptions must agree to certain testing and self-quarantine measures following entry. Those who will stay in the U.S. longer than 60 days must agree to be vaccinated and have arranged to be fully vaccinated within 60 days of arrival or as soon as medically appropriate (except for children who are too young to be vaccinated).

What about entry by land?

Currently, vaccination requirements do not apply to foreign national travelers crossing for “essential reasons” at a land port or ferry terminal. Foreign national travelers older than 18 entering for non-essential purposes must be vaccinated as outlined above.

The vaccination requirement is expected to be extended to include all foreign national travelers including those entering for essential reasons starting in early January 2022, subject to the exceptions noted for entry by plane.

“Essential reasons” include, but are not limited to:

• Medical purposes (e.g., to receive medical treatment in the United States)

• Attendance at educational institutions

• Work in the United States

• Emergency response and public health purposes (e.g., government officials or emergency responders entering the United States to support federal, state, local, tribal, or territorial government efforts to respond to COVID-19 or other emergencies).

• Engaging in lawful cross-border trade (e.g., truck drivers supporting the movement of cargo between the United States and Canada and Mexico)

• Engaging in official government travel or diplomatic travel

• Engaging in military-related travel or operations

The good news about this change is the “non-essential” travelers who are vaccinated or exempt from vaccination requirements may enter through land ports, which until this time was not allowed.

Testing requirements

Fully vaccinated air travelers older than two must have a negative Covid test within three days of boarding the airplane to return or proof of recovery from Covid within the last 90 days. The testing or recovery requirement does not apply to entries from U.S. territories (American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands).

Travelers older than two who are not fully vaccinated, even if exempted from being vaccinated, must have a negative Covid test within one day of boarding the airplane or proof of recovery from Covid within the last 90 days.

Exemptions from testing may be granted by the CDC in emergency medical situations on a limited basis, such as a medical evacuation.

No Covid testing is required for entry by land at this time.

Great news, but only half the battle

Removing the Covid entry restrictions based on country of debarkation is a big step in facilitating commerce and family reunification. For international travel to the U.S. to recover fully, U.S. consulates and embassies must be staffed, and visa appointment availability restored. While NIEs (national interest exceptions) are a thing of the past, an emergency appointment request or finding a U.S. consulate in another country is still necessary for travelers from many countries in which visa appointments are limited.