Late Monday night, President Trump ordered an end to the Coronavirus related travel ban put on non-citizen and permanent resident travelers from Europe and Brazil. For more information, please click here for Europe and here for Brazil. The proclamation will lift the ban on January 26, which is also the day that the Center for Disease Control and Prevention will start requiring all passengers from abroad to present proof of a negative COVID-19 test before boarding a flight.
The original travel ban banned direct travel from the effected countries for all travelers including those holding valid visas except for the foreign nationals listed below:
- Lawful permanent residents;
- The spouse of a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident;
- The parent or legal guardian of a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, if the U.S. citizen or permanent resident is unmarried and under the age of 21;
- The sibling of a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident, provided that both are unmarried and under the age of 21;
- The child, foster child, or ward of a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident, or who is a prospective adoptee seeking to enter the United States pursuant to the IR-4 or IH-4 visa classifications;
- A foreign national traveling at the invitation of the U.S. government for a purpose related to containment or mitigation of the virus;
- Nonimmigrant crewmembers;
- Foreign nationals seeking entry or transiting the United States under an A-1, A-2, C-2, C-3, G-1, G-2, G-3, G-4, NATO-1 through NATO-4 or NATO-6 visa;
- A foreign national whose entry would not pose a significant risk of transmitting the virus, as determined by the Centers for Disease Control; and
- A foreign national whose entry would further important U.S. law enforcement interests or would be in the U.S. national interest.
The incoming president-elect Biden, who will take over on January 20 before the above Proclamation will go into effect, have already stated that the Proclamation will be overturned. President-Elect Biden have stated with the worsening COVID-19 conditions in the U.S., it does not make sense to relax the controls now.
