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Vaccination Requirements Non-US Citizens

Effective November 8, 2021, all non-citizens entering the US will need to be fully-vaccinated prior to entry. 

The US State Department website, states that, “On October 25, President Biden announced a Presidential Proclamation titled ‘A Proclamation on Advancing the Safe Resumption of Global Travel During the COVID-19 Pandemic.’” 

This proclamation takes effect at 12:01 am eastern standard time on November 8, 2021.  The new Proclamation ends the air travel restrictions of Presidential Proclamations (P.P.) 9984, 9992, 10143, and 10199 which prohibited entry into the United States of persons physically present in Brazil, China, India, Iran, Ireland, the Schengen Area, South Africa, and the United Kingdom within the prior 14 days.

New COVID-19 Vaccination Requirement

The announcement then goes on to state:

In place of these restrictions, the President announced a global vaccination requirement for all adult foreign national travelers.  This proclamation applies to persons aboard any flight scheduled to arrive in the United States that departs after 12:01 a.m. eastern standard time on November 8, 2021.  More information about this global vaccination requirement, including details on exceptions and waivers due to humanitarian concerns, is available at Non-U.S. citizen, Non-U.S. immigrants: Air Travel to the United States | CDC.

At that webpage, you can find a list of accepted vaccines and a list of exceptions to the vaccination requirement.   One such exception is, “Persons with valid visas [excluding B-1 (business) or B-2 (tourism) visas] who are citizens of a foreign country with limited COVID-19 vaccine availability.”  That list of countries is to be updated by the CDC every 90 days.   Note that unvaccinated persons cannot enter the U.S. on B-1 or B-2 visitor visas, regardless of their country of citizenship. 

Furthermore, on October 29, the Department of Homeland Security announced that “essential visitors” (including ISU employees, J-1 scholars, and students) crossing into the U.S. by land or ferry must meet a new vaccination requirement starting in January 2022.   The Mexican and Canadian borders have been closed to “non-essential” travel into the U.S. since March 2020.   Both borders will open to all travelers starting November 8, 2021, but “non-essential” visitors must provide proof of vaccination.  It is recommended that all travelers entering the U.S. by land or ferry prepare to provide proof of vaccination and plan for “longer than normal wait times and long lines at U.S. land border crossings.”

Please make sure your in-coming visiting scholars and international employees, as well as those returning to Iowa State from international travel, are aware of these changes.