On 4/30/2021, President Biden issued a proclamation suspending the travel of certain nonimmigrants who have been in India during the 14-day period preceding immediately preceding the proposed entry to the U.S. This proclamation goes into effect at 12:01am 5/4/2021.
Essentially, this would require nonimmigrants who are or have been in India to quarantine in a 3rd country for 14 days before they would be permitted to enter the U.S. Similar quarantine measures have been in place for several other countries.
Who is impacted?
Nonimmigrants only. That is, those seeking to enter the U.S. in B, F, L, H, O, etc. status.
At present it is not clear whether the travel suspension would apply to individuals seeking to return to the U.S. using an Advance Parole (I-512) document.
Who is not impacted?
- U.S. citizens
- U.S. permanent residents (green card holders)
- Nonimmigrant spouses of U.S. citizens or permanent residents
- Nonimmigrant parents or legal guardians of U.S. citizen or permanent resident children, provided the children are unmarried and under the age of 21
- Nonimmigrant children or foster children of U.S. citizens or permanent residents, provided the children are unmarried and under the age of 21
- Nonimmigrants who have been issued a National Interest Exception (NIE), whose entry is deemed to be in the national interest of the U.S.
National Interest Exceptions (NIE)
Under certain limited circumstances, a nonimmigrant may qualify for an NIE when it is determined by the U.S. Consulate that it is in the national interest of the U.S. to permit them to enter the U.S. without completing the 14-day quarantine in a third country if they are entering the U.S. in support of critical infrastructure.
NIE applications must be made at a U.S. Consulate. If issued, the NIE will be valid for a single entry to the U.S. within 30 days.
The critical infrastructure categories are:
1. Chemical Sector
2. Commercial Facilities Sector
3. Communications Sector
4. Critical Manufacturing Sector
5. Dams Sector
6. Defense Industrial Base Sector
7. Emergency Services Sector
8. Energy Sector
9. Financial Services Sector
10. Food and Agriculture Sector
11. Government Facilities Sector
12. Healthcare and Public Health Sectors
13. Information Technology Sector
14. Nuclear Reactors, Materials, and Waste Sector
15. Transportation Sector
16. Water and Wastewater Systems Sector
For more information on applying for an NIE at a U.S. Consulate abroad, please visit the Consulate’s web site.
