After the outbreak of the novel coronavirus all around the world and later being declared as a pandemic by the WHO (World Health Organization), many countries including the United States of America have implemented travel restrictions with strict guidelines for all visitors to their countries.
People all around the world are concerned and facing issues with visa grants in light of the continuing menace of COVID-19. There have been several coronavirus-related presidential proclamations in effect in the US. These proclamations are all independent of one another like if a person is exempted from June 22, 2020 proclamation on H, J, and L non-immigrants, he or she may still, be subjected to one of the many countries specific COVID-19 proclamations, unless he or she is exempted from all of the proclamations.
Here is some valuable general information provided by immigration consultants in chandigarh that is relevant to most of the circumstances of US Immigration Visa rules under the COBID-19 pandemic:
1. Who can travel to the United States and what does the travel order in Presidential Proclamation 9996 mean?
- Three COVID-19 presidential
proclamations limit travel to the US by all individuals who have been
physically present in the country for 14 days before their planned entry to the The United States. These countries are:
Brazil, China, Iran, Ireland, Schengen
Area (Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France,
Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania,
Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia,
Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland), the United Kingdom, and South Africa.
This
travel restriction does not apply to any US citizen and anyone who is:
A permanent resident of
the United States by law
Spouses of US citizens
Parents or legal
guardians of US citizens
Siblings of US citizens
Child, foster child, or
ward of a US citizen
Transit and Air or Sea
Crew Members
Anyone whose entry to
the country would not be of any kind of threat in introducing, transmission, or
spreading the virus to the people.
Anyone whose entry is
important for the United States law enforcement
Anyone whose entry
would be for national interest
Any personnel of the US
Armed Forces along with their spouse and child
Suspension and phase resumption of US Visa services
The US Department of State suspended all routine visa services worldwide in March 2020. The the department last posted on April 6, 2021, that - Posts processing non-immigrant visa applications will be continued to be processed on a priority basis for people who have to travel urgent, foreign diplomats, and certain people who are crucial for the government and will assist with the US response with the pandemic, students and exchange visitors of the F1, M-1, and J-1 categories and people with temporary employment visas of the US.
The COVID-19 scare
and with the second wave on in many countries, has severely affected the
abilities of various embassies including the US to able to resume routine visa
services. Embassies and consulates of the US in various countries that have
processes non-immigration visa applications have started prioritizing travelers
with urgent needs like foreign diplomats, mission-critical categories of
travelers, students, exchange visitors, and some temporary employment visas.