TRAVEL TO THE USA
Travel requirements have changed. Starting December 6, all air passengers, regardless of vaccination status, must show a negative COVID-19 test taken no more than 1 day before travel to the United States.
Centers for Disease Control
https://www.cdc.gov/Passports must be valid six months beyond the date the traveler will exit the United States.
VISAS
Generally, a citizen of a foreign country who wishes to enter the United States must first obtain a visa. Visitor visas are nonimmigrant visas for persons who want to enter the United States temporarily for tourism (visa category B-2).
Visa Waiver Program (VWP)
The VWP enables most citizens or nationals of participating countries* to travel to the US for tourism or business for stays of 90 days or less without obtaining a visa. In order to travel without a visa on the VWP, you must have authorization through the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) prior boarding a US bound air or sea carrier.
Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, Chile, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan*, United Kingdom**.
Canada
Citizens of Canada do not require visas to enter the United States.
Mexico
Citizens of Mexico will need a Border Crossing Card (BCC) which is both a BCC and a B1/B2 visitor's visa.
China
Chinese citizens with a 10-year B1, B2 or B1/B2 visas in Peoples' Republic of China passports will be required to update their biographical and other information from their visa application via a website every two years, or upon getting a new passport of B1, B2, or B1/B2 visa, whichever occurs first. This is called Electronic Visa Update System.
The USA requires certain country’s entrants to apply for a National Interest Exemption waiver in addition to the usual USA Visa. All National Federations have been notified of this requirement. More information can be found here: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/tourism-visit/visitor.html
Covid-19 Questions
Is there a travel ban?
The United States announced a new international air travel system, opening travel for all vaccinated foreign nationals in early November 2021.
Do I need to be Vaccinated?
Travelers will need to show proof of full vaccination prior to boarding U.S.- bound planes.
Do I need a Covid Test before boarding?
- If you plan to travel to the U.S., you will need to get a COVID-19 viral test (regardless of vaccination status or citizenship) no more than 1 day before you travel by air into the United States. You must show your negative result to the airline before you board your flight.
- If you recently recovered from COVID-19, you may instead travel with documentation of recovery from COVID-19 (i.e., your positive COVID-19 viral test result on a sample taken no more than 90 days before the flight’s departure from a foreign country and a letter from a licensed healthcare provider or a public health official stating that you were cleared to travel).
What type of tests are acceptable?
You must be tested with a viral test to look for current infection – these include an antigen test or a nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT).
Phrases indicating a test is an antigen test could include, but not are not limited to:
- Rapid antigen test
- Viral antigen test
- Also, could be noted as Antigen Chromatographic Digital Immunoassay, Antigen Chemiluminescence Immunoassay, or Antigen Lateral Flow Fluorescence
Examples of available NAATs for SARS-CoV-2 include but are not restricted to:
- Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR)
- Isothermal amplification including:
- Nicking endonuclease amplification reaction (NEAR)
- Transcription mediated amplification (TMA)
- Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP)
- Helicase-dependent amplification (HDA)
- Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)
- Strand displacement amplification (SDA)
The test used must be authorized for use by the relevant national authority for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 in the country where the test is administered.
Are You Fully Vaccinated
Accepted Covid-19 Vaccines
Travel Documentation Required
You are considered fully vaccinated:
- 2 weeks (14 days) after your dose of an accepted single-dose vaccine
- 2 weeks (14 days) after your second dose of an accepted 2-dose series
- 2 weeks (14 days) after you received the full series of an accepted COVID-19 vaccine (not placebo) in a clinical trial
- 2 weeks (14 days) after you received 2 doses of any “mix-and-match” combination of accepted COVID-19 vaccines administered at least 17 days apart*
If you don’t meet these requirements, you are NOT fully vaccinated.
* CDC has not recommended the use of mix-and-match COVID-19 vaccine primary series. However, such strategies are increasingly common in many countries outside of the United States. Therefore, for the of purpose of interpreting vaccination records for travel to the United States, CDC will accept combinations of accepted COVID-19 vaccines.
As a reminder, be sure to have your required documents, such as your passport and any visa or other entry/residency documentation. All Visa Waiver Program travelers must have a valid, approved Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) for travel to the United States. The United States Government recommends travelers log in and review their ESTA status in advance of travel. Visit https://esta.cbp.dhs.govexternal icon for more information.
