President Biden signed a new proclamation on November 26, 2021, suspending indefinitely the entry into the U.S. of nonimmigrants  who pose a risk of transmitting the coronavirus disease. The immediate family members of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents and others excluded in section 2 are exempted. This proclamation suspends the entry into the United States, of nonimmigrants and noncitizens who were physically present within Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe during the 2 week period before their entry into the United States. The proclamation went into effect at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) on Monday, November 29, 2021.

The White House announced a new travel policy on October 25th, 2021 that effective Monday, November 8, 2021, all foreign nationals (including international students and scholars), will need to show proof of full vaccination against COVID-19 in order to be able to enter the United States. The accepted vaccines will include FDA approved or authorized and WHO Emergency Use Listing vaccines. Please refer to the CDC website   for more information. This document provides a quick visual summary.

In short, you will need to show proof of vaccination. A list of acceptable vaccines can be accessed here. There are very limited exceptions, which include:

• children under the age of 18
• those traveling in F-1 or J-1 status from countries with limited COVID vaccines
• those who have medical reasons (will need letter)

Those who receive an exception will be required to attest to complaince with  public health requirements, including testing and quarantine, and a requirement to be vaccinated in the U.S.

Effective July 20, 2021, USCIS eliminated a prior policy that required applicants applying to change their status to F-1 student to file “bridge” applications while their change of status to F-1 applications were pending. For the USCIS news release, please go here. For more detailed information, please go here.

Due to the high volume of COVID cases in India, a travel ban on India will go into effect at 12:01am on Tuesday, May4th. However, on April 30, 2021, the Department of State extended the same set of National Interest Exceptions to India that he had previously applied to all other regional travel restrictions currently in effect as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Students seeking to commence or continue their studies in the fall, certain academics, journalists, and individuals who provide critical infrastructure support in countries affected by a geographic COVID-19 restriction may qualify for a National Interest Exception. This now includes qualified applicants who have been present in India.