There are currently a number of restrictions regarding international travel due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. This has led to the blanket recommendation to advise your foreign national employees to refrain from departing the United States or they risk being abroad for longer than anticipated, which can ultimately affect their U.S. employment. This recommendation over the past 18 months is expected to change due to the Biden Administration proposing to lift various travel restrictions as early as November 8, 2021.
The current travel restrictions apply to certain travelers from China, Iran, the European Schengen Area (most of the European Union), the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Brazil, South Africa and India and prohibit a foreign national who does not qualify for an exemption from traveling to the United States if they have been physically present in one of the designated countries 14 days in advance of their arrival to the United States.
The proposed rules will likely permit fully vaccinated individuals who are visitors from these countries to be admitted to the United States. Foreign national air travelers are expected to be required to show proof of vaccination before boarding a flight as well as proof of a recent negative COVID-19 test. Fully vaccinated foreign nationals crossing a land border are not expected to need to show proof of a recent negative test. The White House has indicated in its preliminary statement that the lifting of the travel ban will take a phased approach – the first phase will be implemented on November 8, 2021 for non-essential travel and the second phase in early January 2022.
As a reminder to employers, even though the travel bans may be lifted and numerous foreign national employees will be looking to travel internationally for the first time in almost two years during the upcoming holiday season and beyond, the U.S. Department of State continues to have limited services at U.S. Consulates and Embassies abroad due to the pandemic. Therefore, foreign nationals planning to travel internationally will need to confirm that they have a valid U.S. visa stamp in the appropriate visa classification prior to departing the United States or they will be required to apply for a new visa stamp in their passport at a U.S. Consulate or Embassy abroad. With continued limited routine visa services at U.S. Consulates and Embassies abroad due to the pandemic, foreign nationals could experience long wait times to obtain a visa appointment to renew their visa stamp, requiring them to remain abroad for longer than expected, which will have an effect on U.S. employers.
Please reach out to your Hall Render Immigration Team if any of your foreign national employees notify you of upcoming international travel over the holidays or beyond so we can confirm they have the proper status documents to permit them to travel.
- Lindsay C. Ramsey, (317) 429-3637, lramsey@hallrender.com;
- Charlotte M. Fillenwarth, (317) 977-1476, cfillenwarth@hallrender.com;
- Michael L. Kim, (317) 977-1418, mkim@hallrender.com; or
- Your primary Hall Render contact.
Hall Render blog posts and articles are intended for informational purposes only. For ethical reasons, Hall Render attorneys cannot—outside of an attorney-client relationship—answer an individual’s questions that may constitute legal advice.
