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Update: entry into the United States

U.S. ENTRY PROVISIONS

Restrictions to arrivals to the United States for vaccinated travelers from the Schengen area, the United Kingdom, Ireland, China, India and Brazil have been lifted since November 8, 2021. The Proclamation issued by President Biden on October 25 (“Advancing the Safe Resumption of Global Travel During the Covid-19 Pandemic”) sets out in detail access procedures for vaccinated people, and lists some limited exceptions to the vaccination requirement.

1. FULLY VACCINATED TRAVELERS, AND ACCEPTED VACCINES

a) Travelers who are fully vaccinated shall be allowed entry into the United States. ”Fully vaccinated” applies to people vaccinated with FDA-approved vaccines (Moderna, Pfizer and Johnson and Johnson) as well as to those vaccinated with vaccines listed on the World Health Organization’s Emergency Use Listing (EUL), which includes AstraZeneca.
b) “Fully vaccinated” also applies to people who have received a mixed-dose vaccine provided that it was carried out with vaccines approved by the FDA or included in the EUL: “any combination of two doses of an FDA approved/authorized or WHO emergency use listed COVID-19 two-dose series”.
c) A person is considered “fully vaccinated” if he/she has received, at least 14 days prior to arrival in the U.S., the second dose of vaccination, or the single dose in the case of one-dose vaccines (Johnson and Johnson).

NB: A person who has contracted CoVID-19 and has received only one dose of vaccine (except for the Johnson & Johnson single-dose vaccine) is not considered fully vaccinated as pertains to travel to the United States.

2. PROOF OF VACCINATION

a) A Vaccination Certificate (digital format accepted) must be presented to the airline at the time of boarding.
b) Airlines must verify both the correspondence between the traveler’s data and that reported in the certificate of vaccination, and that the certificate was issued by authorized bodies or organizations.

3. COVID TESTING AND IMPROVED TESTING PROCEDURES

a) Starting December 6, 2021, all passengers on flights to the United States, including vaccinated travelers, will be required to show a negative Covid-test (molecular or antigenic test) carried out no later than one day prior to departure to the United States. Furthermore, it is recommended that vaccinated travelers undergo an additional test (molecular or antigenic) between the third and fifth day after arrival in the country.
b) Fully vaccinated U.S. citizens are also required to present a negative test performed within one day of departure.

N.B. Those wishing to travel who have recently contracted Covid-19 and who in Italy hold a “green pass” issued following the administration of a single dose of vaccine (with the exception of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine which is administered in a single dose), travel to the United States is subject to the presentation of a positive result to the Covid-19 viral test carried out no more than 90 days before the departure of the flight together with a letter from a licensed health care provider or a public health official stating that the person concerned is fit to travel. (see CDC website https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/testing-international-air-travelers.html?CDC_AA_refVal=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cdc.gov%2Fcoronavirus%2F2019-ncov%2Ftravelers).

4. REQUIREMENTS FOR MINORS

a) Minors under the age of 18 are excluded from the vaccination requirement.
b) Minors between 2 and 17 years of age must in any event show proof of a negative Covid-19 test before departing for the United States.

5. EXCEPTIONS TO THE VACCINATION REQUIREMENT

There are limited exceptions to the vaccination requirement for those arriving from abroad. They include:
a) those under the age of 18.
b) Travelers who are participating in COVID-19 clinical trials.
c) Travelers who for medical reasons or contraindications cannot be vaccinated.
d) Those who need to travel for emergency or humanitarian reasons (with proof in the form of a letter from the U.S. government stating the urgent need to travel).
e) Those traveling on non-tourist visas from countries with vaccination rates below 10% (the CDC will publish a list of such countries).

Foreign travelers who fall under the above exceptions will still be required to present a negative Covid test performed one day before departure, to perform a second test between the third and fifth day after entry into the country, and to self-isolate for one week.

Beneficiaries of the above exceptions who intend to stay in the country for more than 60 days will be required to undergo vaccination in the United States. This is without prejudice to those who cannot be vaccinated due to medical contraindications.

Pursuant to the Proclamation, the limitations do not apply to holders of the following visa categories:
a) A1, A2, A3 (diplomats and government officials)
b) G1, G2, G3, G4 (diplomats and officials of International Organizations)
c) NATO 1-2-3-4-6 (military or civilian personnel traveling to the U.S. in accordance with NATO agreements)
d) C1, C2, C3 (visas for travelers in transit)
d) Ship and aircraft crew members
e) Those traveling to the United Nations Headquarters in New York (in this case, a letter of invitation from the United Nations is required which states the reasons for the trip).

6. CONTACT TRACING

The CDC is working on a contact tracing order. The order will require all airlines flying into the United States to have passenger contact information available, and to be prepared to turn this over to the CDC so that these authorities are able to track incoming travelers who may be potentially infected, or who may have had contact with infected persons.

7. With the new provisions, the procedure requiring a National Interest Exception (NIE) as a prerequisite to obtain a visa or to travel with ESTA is therefore suspended as of November 8, 2021.

In compliance with the new provisions and the requirements in terms of vaccination and Covid testing, travel to the United States is again permitted in conformity with pre-Covid procedures, i.e. with an Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA), a valid visa, or by applying for a visa at the U.S. Consulates.

For more details on health requirements, please visit https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/international-travel-during-covid19.html and related FAQs https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/proof-of-vaccination.html#vaccine-proof