This article was prepared with the assistance of ABIL, the Alliance of Business Immigration Lawyers, of which Loan Huynh, Fredrikson Immigration Department Chair, is a member.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued an order, effective November 8, 2021, requiring air passengers two years of age and older boarding flights to the United States to present:
Paper or digital documentation of a negative pre-departure viral test result for SARS CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, that meets one of the following requirements:
- For passengers who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, the viral test must be conducted on a specimen collected no more than three days before the flight’s departure from a foreign country.
- For passengers not fully vaccinated against COVID-19, the viral test must be conducted on a specimen collected no more than one day before the flight’s departure from a foreign country.
Or a paper or digital documentation of recovery from COVID-19 in the form of both:
- A positive viral test result conducted on a specimen collected no more than 90 days before the flight; and
- A letter from a licensed health care provider or public health official stating that the passenger has been cleared for travel.
