Airports across the US reopen to international flights
On September 15, 2020, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued a notice announcing airports across the US would be reopened to international flights.
The announcement confirmed the termination of the policy of routing all international flights into the US carrying U.S. citizens or others exempt from the current travel bans who had departed from, or were otherwise present, in one of the entry-banned countries within 14 days of arrival in the United States to one of 15 US airports where specific public health and screening resources were in place.
Under the CBP notice, with effect from September 14, 2020, airports across the US were being reopened to international flights.
USCIS cites the reason for termination of the policy as “allowing public health resources to be more effectively reprioritized for other containment and mitigation efforts and to stimulate air travel.”
This notice is not to be confused with existing travel restrictions under presidential proclamations 9984, 9992, 9993, 9996, 10041 and 10042, which remain in place. These restrictions will remain in effect until expressly terminated by the President.
This includes foreign nationals traveling to the US from certain countries, including China, Schengen countries, the UK and Ireland, Iran and Brazil, within 14 days of their arrival to the US who are not be permitted to enter unless they have been granted an exemption.
US immigration advice
NNU Immigration is actively monitoring the impact of the pandemic on US immigration policy and application processing.
As the situation continues to develop, please contact our US immigration specialists for the latest advice for your specific circumstances.
This article does not constitute direct legal advice and is for informational purposes only.
Last updated: September 15, 2020
Author
Founder & Principal Attorney Nita Nicole Upadhye is a recognized leader in the field of US business immigration law, (The Legal 500, Chambers & Partners, Who's Who Legal and AILA) and an experienced and trusted advisor to large multinational corporates through to SMEs. She provides strategic immigration advice and specialist application support to corporations and professionals, entrepreneurs, investors, artists, actors and athletes from across the globe to meet their US-bound talent mobility needs.
Nita is an active public speaker, thought leader, immigration commentator, and immigration policy contributor and regularly hosts training sessions for employers and HR professionals.
