State Department Announces the End of COVID-19 Vaccination Requirement for Nonimmigrant International Air Travelers and Land Travelers, Starting May 12th

passport-g58b60bd4e_1920

Welcome back to Visalawyerblog! In this blog post we share with you some breaking news regarding the COVID-19 vaccination requirement for non-immigrant international travelers.

On May 4, 2023, the State Department announced that the Biden administration will end the COVID-19 vaccine requirements for international air travelers at the end of the day on May 11, 2023, which marks the end of the federal COVID-19 public health emergency.

After this date, beginning May 12, noncitizen nonimmigrant air passengers will no longer need to show proof of being fully vaccinated with an accepted COVID-19 vaccine to board a flight to the United States.

Additionally, the Department of Homeland Security has released its own statement announcing that the COVID-19 vaccine requirement will also end for non-U.S. citizen travelers seeking entry through land parts of entry and ferries as indicated below:

Beginning May 12, 2023, DHS will no longer require non-U.S. travelers entering the United States via land ports of entry and ferry terminals to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and provide related proof of vaccination upon request. DHS intends to rescind these Title 19 travel restrictions in alignment with the end of the Public Health Emergency and the termination of the Presidential Proclamation on air travel.

While it remains to be seen whether the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will continue to require the COVID-19 vaccination for adjustment of status applicants as part of the I-693 immigration medical examination, it appears that the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency may soon make such measures no longer necessary. We will continue to monitor the USCIS webpage for any new developments, as well as the CDC’s technical instructions for civil surgeons.

For more information, please check out our helpful links below.


Contact Us. If you would like to schedule a consultation, please text 619-569-1768 or call 619-819-9204.


Helpful Links


JOIN OUR NEW FACEBOOK GROUP

Need more immigration updates? We have created a new facebook group to address the impact of the new executive order and other changing developments related to COVID-19. Follow us there.

For other COVID 19 related immigration updates please visit our Immigration and COVID-19 Resource Center here.