New Travel Ban Issued for Several African Countries

Due to the new Omicron COVID-19 variant, a new presidential proclamation has been issued restricting travel to the US for several African countries. The proclamation imposed a travel ban on individuals who have been to the following South African countries in the last 14 days:

• Botswana
• Eswatini
• Lesotho
• Malawi
• Mozambique
• Namibia
• South Africa
• Zimbabwe

This ban will take effect on November 29, 2021 at 12:01 EST and will continue until it is terminated by the president. Similar to the travel bans put in place in 2020, the following individuals will be exempt from the ban:

• S. citizens;
• 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.

Foreign nationals who have recently visited these countries and who are not immediate relatives of U.S. citizens or green card holders will not be admitted to the United States until the presidential proclamation has been lifted. This includes foreign nationals who hold a valid U.S. nonimmigrant visa. The State Department has yet to release information and standards for national interest exception for this new travel ban, more information will be provided once available.