Tourist visa vaccine requirements

[JayFromTexas 61]

I read in another section that there is a waiver for people living in countries where they don’t have access to WHO approved vaccines. Is that correct? Is a Russian citizen able to travel to the U.S. without a valid vaccination?

[powerpuff 6,084]

Russia is not on the list

 

Table 4. List of Foreign Countries with Limited COVID-19 Vaccine Availability (Effective June 28, 2022)

 

Table 4. List of Foreign Countries with Limited COVID-19 Vaccine Availability (Effective June 28, 2022)

Burkina Faso	Malawi	South Sudan
Burundi	Mali	Sudan
Cameroon	Niger	Syrian Arab Republic
Democratic Republic of the Congo	Nigeria	United Republic of Tanzania
Eritrea	Papua New Guinea	Yemen
Haiti	Senegal
Madagascar	Somalia

https://www.cdc.gov/quarantine/order-safe-travel/technical-instructions.html

 

[SusieQQQ 11,585]

It doesn’t sound like the exemption covers visit visas anyway. The link above, under exemptions, says 

 

• Excepted Covered Individuals:

• Persons on diplomatic or official foreign government travel
• Children under 18 years of age
• Participants in certain COVID-19 vaccine trials
• Persons with medical contraindications to receiving a COVID-19 vaccine
• Persons issued a humanitarian or emergency exception
• Persons with valid nonimmigrant visas (excluding B-1 [business] or B-2 [tourism] visas) who are citizens of a country with limited COVID-19 vaccine availability (Table 4)
• Members of the U.S. Armed Forces or their spouses or children (under 18 years of age)
• Sea crew members traveling pursuant to a C-1 and D nonimmigrant visa
• Persons whose entry would be in the U.S. national interest, as determined by the Secretary of State, Secretary of Transportation, or Secretary of Homeland Security (or their designees)

Edited October 23, 2022 by SusieQQQ

[powerpuff 6,084]

2 hours ago, SusieQQQ said:

It doesn’t sound like the exemption covers visit visas anyway. The link above, under exemptions, says 

 

• Excepted Covered Individuals:

• Persons on diplomatic or official foreign government travel
• Children under 18 years of age
• Participants in certain COVID-19 vaccine trials
• Persons with medical contraindications to receiving a COVID-19 vaccine
• Persons issued a humanitarian or emergency exception
• Persons with valid nonimmigrant visas (excluding B-1 [business] or B-2 [tourism] visas) who are citizens of a country with limited COVID-19 vaccine availability (Table 4)
• Members of the U.S. Armed Forces or their spouses or children (under 18 years of age)
• Sea crew members traveling pursuant to a C-1 and D nonimmigrant visa
• Persons whose entry would be in the U.S. national interest, as determined by the Secretary of State, Secretary of Transportation, or Secretary of Homeland Security (or their designees)

Good point. 

[SusieQQQ 11,585]

1 hour ago, powerpuff said:

Good point. 

Oh, and the exception isn’t a free pass either. I was wondering about students etc coming unvaccinated but seems they’ll need to do it after arrival -I guess as the exception only being because it’s not available and obviously once you get to the US, it is.

 

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/proof-of-vaccination.html#noncitizen

 

If you travel by air to the United States under one of these exceptions, you will be required to attest that you are excepted from the requirement to present Proof of Being Fully Vaccinated Against COVID-19 based on one of the exceptions listed above. Based on the category of the exception, you may further be required to attest that:

1. You will be tested with a COVID-19 viral test 3–5 days after arrival in the United States, unless you have documentation of having recovered from COVID-19 in the past 90 days;
2. You will self-quarantine for a full 5 days, even if the test result to the post-arrival viral test is negative, unless you have documentation of having recovered from COVID-19 in the past 90 days; and
3. You will self-isolate if the result of the post-arrival test is positive or if you develop COVID-19 symptoms.

Depending on the category of the exception, if you intend to stay in the United States for longer than 60 days you may additionally be required to attest that

• You agree to be vaccinated against COVID-19; and
• You have arranged to become fully vaccinated against COVID-19 within 60 days of arriving in the United States, or as soon thereafter as is medically appropriate.