This page collects updates on U.S. Government policy changes regarding travel and visas.
For the near future, Berkeley International Office recommends minimizing international travel due to the changing nature of the new administration's policies on visas and U.S. entry. Should you have concerns about immediate or essential international travel or visa renewal, contact BIO to consult an advisor.
As of 12:01 am EDT May 12, 2023, noncitizen nonimmigrant air passengers no longer need to show proof of being fully vaccinated with an accepted COVID-19 vaccine to board a flight to the United States. See the CDC travel page for more information
A Department of State (DOS) final rule published at 88 FR 18243 (March 28, 2023) raises visa processing fees, effective May 30, 2023. (These are the visa processing fees for an entry visa application at an embassy or consulate abroad.) Changes impacting students and scholars or employees:
NIV MRV*, non-petition-based (except E)- changing from $160 to $185 NIV MRV* petition-based (H, L, O, P, Q, R)- changing from $190 to $205
The U.S. Department of State announced the publication of an Interim Final Rule that permits designated sponsors for the Exchange Visitor Program (EVP) to digitally sign and electronically transmit the J-1 DS-2019 form, effective April 27, 2023. With this change, sponsors like UC Berkeley can either
print and physically sign paper forms in ink, scan and save them, and electronically transmit them (e.g., via email). OR, sponsors onors may may use digital signature software to sign Forms DS-2019 and then electronically transmit them.
After receiving the DS-2019s electronically, J-1.
On March 10, 2023, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) rescinded the Order titled “Requirements for Negative Pre-Departure COVID-19 Test Result or Documentation of Recovery from COVID-19 for Aircraft Passengers Traveling to the United States from the People’s Republic of China.”
This rescission takes effect for flights departing to the United States from the People’s Republic of China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Designated Airports* at or after 3:00pm ET (8:00pm GMT) on March 10, 2023 .
On December 28, 2022, stricter testing requirements for international travelers to the US were announced by the CDC as part of a comprehensive strategy to fight COVID-19. The following is an excerpt from the CDC announcement: Starting at 12:01 AM ET on January 5, all air passengers two years and older originating from the People’s Republic of China (PRC) will be required to get a test (such as a.
As of 12:01AM ET on June 12, 2022, CDC will no longer require air passengers traveling from a foreign country to the United States to show a negative COVID-19 viral test or documentation of recovery from COVID-19 before they board their flight. Information on this change can be found on the CDC’s COVID-19 Testing Recision webpage
On December 28, 2021 President Biden issued A Proclamation on Revoking Proclamation 10315 which revokes the southern Africa entry ban effective 12:01 a.m. eastern standard time on December 31, 2021. Additional information can be found on the Dept of State webpage .
On December 2, 2021, stricter testing requirements for international travelers to the US were announced by President Biden as part of a comprehensive strategy to fight COVID-19. Beginning on December 6, all air passengers, regardless of vaccination status, must show a negative COVID-19 test taken no more than 1 day before travel to the United States. For detailed information please visit the .
On November 26, 2021, President Biden signed a new proclamation suspending indefinitely the entry into the U.S. as nonimmigrants of noncitizens who pose a risk of transmitting the coronavirus disease. Except for immediate family members of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent .
On Monday October 25, 2021 President Biden signed a Proclamation - Advancing Safe Resumption of Global Travel announcing new requirements for air travel that will take effect on November 8, 2021. This proclamation will end the travel restrictions under Presidential Proclamations (P.P.) 9984, 9992, 10143, and 10199 as they relate to the suspension of entry into the United States of persons physically present in.
The White House recently announced plans that travelers (including international students and scholars) will soon be able to enter the United States on the condition that they are fully vaccinated. This would mark a transition away from the travel restrictions that apply to those who had been physically present in China, Iran, the United Kingdom, Ireland, the 26 Schengen Zone countries, Brazil, .
As of Sept. 14, 2021 the U.S Department of State has announced a continuing expansion of waivers for in-person visa interviews for F and J visa applicants through the end of 2021. The announcement indicates: "Consular officers may, if they so choose, and pursuant to local conditions, now waive the visa interview requirement for F, M, and academic J visa applicants who were previously issued any type of visa, and who have never.
On April 30, 2021, President Biden signed a new proclamation suspending indefinitely the entry into the U.S. as nonimmigrants of noncitizens who pose a risk of transmitting the coronavirus disease. Except for immediate family members of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents and .
On April 26, 2021, the U.S. Department of State extended the National Interest Exceptions to include additional countries. The NIE list now includes China, Iran, Brazil, the U.K., Ireland, and the European Schengen area.
Students with valid F-1 visas intending to begin or continue their academic program commencing.
On January 21, 2021 President Biden issued an Executive Order on Promoting COVID-19 Safety in Domestic and International Travel, which d irects relevant agencies to assess a prior January 12, 2021 CDC order requiring a negative COVID-19 test result for airline passengers traveling into the United States, and, based on that.
On January 25, 2021, President Biden signed a new proclamation suspending indefinitely the entry into the U.S. of immigrants and non-immigrants who pose a risk of transmitting the coronavirus disease.
Except for immediate family members of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent.
Starting on November 6, 2020, all Chinese and foreign passengers bound for China will be required to take nucleic acid and IgM anti-body tests and apply for a green health code with the "HS" mark or a certified health declaration form before boarding the flight.Please review the Notice on Airline Boarding Requirements information carefully from the Chinese Embassy in the U.S., follow any necessary instructions, and check with your airline carrier if you need to .
On Monday, June 22nd, 2020, President Trump signed a new Executive Order, “ Presidential Proclamation Suspending Entry of Aliens Who Present a Risk to the U.S. Labor Market Following the Coronavirus Outbreak. ” This order is to take effect at 12:01 a.m. on June 24th, 2020.
Who is NOT impacted by the proclamation?
Under the proclamation, "the term “military-civil fusion strategy” means actions by or at the behest of the PRC to acquire and divert foreign technologies, specifically critical and emerging technologies, to incorporate into and advance the PRC’s military capabilities."
Who are entities in the PRC that.
Effective at 11:59 p.m. eastern daylight time on May 26, 2020, the entry into the United States of any foreign national (except immediate family members of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents and others excluded in section 2 of the Presidential Proclamation who was physically present within Brazil during the 14-day period preceding their entry or.
On Wednesday, April 22, 2020 the President issued a proclamation suspending the entry of certain new immigrants for 60 days.
Who is NOT impacted by the proclamation? Nonimmigrant visa holders including F-1 students, J-1 Exchange Visitors, H-1B, TN and O-1 workers are NOT impacted. The proclamation DOES NOT impact .
A Federal Register notice announces the decision to temporarily limit the travel of individuals from Canada into the United States at land ports of entry along the United States-Canada border to “essential travel.” “Essential travel” includes “Individuals traveling to attend educational institutions; Individuals traveling to work in .
In response to significant worldwide challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. Department of State is temporarily suspending routine visa services at all U.S. Embassies and Consulates. Embassies and consulates will cancel all routine immigrant and nonimmigrant visa appointments as of March 20, 2020. They will resume routine visa services as soon as possible but are unable to provide a specific date at this .
Effective Monday, March 16, 2020 at 11:59 p.m. eastern daylight time, the entry into the United States of any foreign national (except immediate family members of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents and others excluded in section 2 of the Presidential Proclamation ) who was physically present within the the United Kingdom ( excluding .
Effective Friday, March 13 at 11:59 p.m. eastern standard time, the entry into the United States of any foreign national (except immediate family members of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents and others excluded in section 2 of the proclamation ) who was physically present within the Schengen Area during the 14-day period preceding their entry or .
CORONAVIRUS UPDATE: Effective Monday, March 2nd at 5 p.m. eastern standard time, the U.S. government will deny the entry into the U.S. of any foreign national (except immediate family of U.S. citizens and permanent residents) who were physically present within the Islamic Republic of Iran within the last 14 days. This proclamation does not apply to persons aboard a flight scheduled to arrive in the United States that departed prior to 5:00 p.m. eastern standard time on March 2, 2020.
BIO is closely monitoring the current.
CORONAVIRUS UPDATE: Effective Sunday, February 2nd at 5 p.m. eastern standard time , the U.S. government will deny the entry into the U.S. of any foreign national (except immediate family of U.S. citizens and permanent residents) who has traveled in China within the last 14 days (excluding the Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macau) .
BIO is closely monitoring the current coronavirus outbreak and .
On January 31, 2020 President Trump issued a Presidential Proclamation entitled Proclamation on Improving Enhanced Vetting Capabilities and Processes for Detecting Attempted Entry to take effect on February 21, 2020. This Presidential Proclamation restricts entry on immigrant visas for citizens and nationals of Myanmar, Eritrea, Kyrgyzstan, Nigeria and entry as Diversity Immigrants for citizens and nationals of Sudan and Tanzania. Note that this DOES NOT include F or J student or scholar visa categories.
On June 26, 2018, the Supreme Court of the United States upheld Presidential Proclamation 9645 . The Presidential Proclamation 9645 provides country-specific entry restrictions for citizens of Iran, Libya, Syria, Yemen, North Korea, Venezuela and Somalia. As of June .
A Presidential Proclamation on April 10, 2018 , has removed Chad from the Travel Ban list effective April 13, 2018 due to a Department of Homeland Security review which found that "that Chad has made marked improvements in its identity-management and information-sharing practices."
On Dec. 28, 2017, the US Department of State announced that full visa services will resume in Turkey.
On December 4, 2017 the Supreme Court of the United States issued stayson 2 previous preliminary injunctions impacting the September 24, 2017 .
On Nov 13, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a partial stay of the Hawaii preliminary injunction on travel ban Proclamation 9645. The partial stay continues to block the travel ban for citizens of Chad, Iran, Libya, Syria, Yemen, and Somalia only if they can establish that they have "a credible claim of a bona fide relationship with a.
US non-immigrant visa services have resumed at the U.S. embassy and consulates in Turkey,on a limited basis with a reduced number of available appointments . For the near future, Berkeley International Office recommends minimizing international travel due to the changing nature of the new administration's policies on visas and U.S. entry. Should you have essential travel that requires a visa application, please information available from from the U.S. Mission in Turkey.
Preliminary injunctions from U.S. District Courts in Hawaii and Maryland continue to block enforcement of travel bans for nationals of Chad, Iran, Libya, Syria, Yemen, and Somalia, but leaves in place the Proclamation's bars on Venezuela and North Korea. The U.S. government is expected to continue appeals. See NAFSA's Entry Ban Litigation Updates for more information.
On Oct 17, 2017 the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii issued a Temporary Restraining Order prohibiting enforcement of sections 2(a), (b), (c), (e), (g), and (h) of the Sept 24, 2017 travel ban Proclamation 9645. This Temporary Restraining Order blocks.
This is to alert you of the suspension of visa services at the U.S. embassy and consulates in Turkey. Until further notice, it is not possible to apply for a non-immigrant visa in Turkey.
In a statement from the U.S. Ambassador to Turkey, Ambassador John Bass indicates that this suspension of services is not a visa ban nor a travel ban for Turkish citizens. If you already have a valid visa, the visa remains valid: https://tr.usembassy.gov/.
On September 24, 2017, President Trump issued a Presidential Proclamation entitled Enhancing Vetting Capabilities and Processes for Detecting Attempted Entry Into the United States by Terrorists or Other Public-Safety Threats (click here for BIO's detailed summary) . This Proclamation partially or fully restricts entry into the United States for nationals of Chad, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Syria, Venezuela, Yemen and Somalia. The proclamation contains specific provisions for each impacted country, as summarized below. The new restrictions established by the proclamation take effect October 18, 2017.
The U.S. diplomatic mission to Russia announced on August 21, 2017 , that "Due to the Russian government-imposed cap on U.S. diplomatic personnel in Russia, all nonimmigrant visa operations across Russia will be suspended on August 23. Operations will resume in Moscow on September 1; visa operations at the U.S. consulates will remain suspended indefinitely. Currently scheduled appointments will be cancelled and applicants will be provided instructions on how to .
On July 13, 2017 the U.S. Federal District Court in Hawaii issued a ruling exempting a new group of close family members from the EO 13780. The court rules that the State Departments interpretation of "close family relationship" was too narrow and orders to government to exclude from the travel ban "grandparents, grandchildren, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, and cousins of persons in the United States " as well as.
A June 28 U.S. Department of State cable provides guidance for consular officers regarding implementation of Executive Order 13780 (E.O.) in visa issuance and exemptions from the suspension of entry. Notably, the cable seems to indicate that F-1, J-1, H1-B, TN, O-1, and Permanent Residents would appear to be exempt from the travel ban. Berkeley .
On June 26, 2017 The Supreme Court of the United States granted the U.S. government’s request for a stay of the previous lower court preliminary injunctions to the Executive Order 13780 “Travel Ban.” The Supreme Court will hear the final case in October 2017. The current Supreme Court decision upholds the travel ban for nationals or citizens of the 6 designated countries of Libya, Iran, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen- but creates an important exception for “foreign nationals who have a credible claim of a bona fide relationship with a person or entity in the United States” which appears to include UC Berkeley students, scholars, and employees.