New Covid19 travel ban on South Africa, U.K. and Brazil (Jan 24)

[HRQX 4,145]

12 minutes ago, millefleur said:

If you see that any were issued, email/contact the Embassy and specifically reference that report (include the link to the PDF even.) A VJ member waiting at the Moscow Embassy did that because 4 K-1's were issued in December, and the response they got was that they are still processing K-1's in "life or death" scenarios, but they have not yet resumed "routine services"....which may not exactly be the answer people want to hear, is still at least some glimmer of hope that something is being worked on and Embassy are not completely shut down.

Looks like Brookeandluuk is a K-1 applicant in the Netherlands. Amsterdam embassy will most likely cite the Schengen Area proclamation as an excuse, despite it not being a legally valid excuse. In Milligan v. Pompeo, the judge said: "A person who receives a visa can enter the United States without violating a proclamation — namely, by first quarantining for 14 days in a non-proclamation country — and thus can attempt entry without violating [the order]," "Plaintiffs here may very well act in this fashion if and when they finally obtain their visas."
 

But the above ruling currently only helps the listed Plaintiffs. The judge was hindered by the way the Plaintiffs' own legal team structured the complaint filing. In the complaint they also requested writ of Mandamus order, and thus the whole complaint could only be limited to Plaintiffs. The most the judge can do for non-Plaintiffs in the ongoing lawsuit is to verbally scold the Government lawyers:

 

[Brookeandluuk 7]

Thank you for your in-depth respsone @HRQX. 

 

Our visa has been expired in July, I had not the ability to react in time to get to the United States before the first executive order had took place. travelling via a third country and risking to get stuck, sick or refused into the USA we ran out of options. After the visa had expired I had contacted the embassy immediatly (and before expiration as well).The embassy then requested us to return to them with a re-issuance request after the travel restrictions have been lifted to return to the embassy. Then they will look at my case's particulars and see if a reissue is available for our situation. 

 

Since they do not re-issue the visa, there is no option for us but to wait and hope for the best. And even though the re-issue is not certain, re-applying would not make sense, because the embassy is not processing any visas at this time. Our future is literally tied to the current travel restrictions, and we are porbably not the only unfortunate ones. 

 

Does anyone have any helpful advice if the Biden's restrictions will have the same wording as Trump's on K1's? 

[gomesren 3]

I wonder if the exceptions can still be applied and if me as a spouse of a us citizen can still enter the country

[HRQX 4,145]

40 minutes ago, gomesren said:

I wonder if the exceptions can still be applied and if me as a spouse of a us citizen can still enter the country

Yes, you are still exempt to all proclamations as spouse of US citizen.

13 hours ago, Theodora said:

are they adding more European countries to the list? Turkey, Croatia, Serbia...?

Only South Africa is new: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/01/25/proclamation-on-the-suspension-of-entry-as-immigrants-and-non-immigrants-of-certain-additional-persons-who-pose-a-risk-of-transmitting-coronavirus-disease/

21 hours ago, thebob said:

Until we see the actual text of Biden’s Presidential Proclamation, nothing is certain.

See link above. Essentially, the same exempt type of individuals are still exempt. The only insignificant change was the new Administration's use of the Politically Correct term "noncitizen." Trump used the legally defined (and more legally practical) term "alien"; see INA 101(a)(3): "The term "alien" means any person not a citizen or national of the United States." http://joshblackman.com/blog/2013/04/23/alito-calls-out-sotomayor-for-using-term-noncitizen-instead-of-alien/ Biden then had to ironically "exempt" noncitizen US nationals even though all US nationals are always guaranteed entry by the law.

 

For those boarding flights in South Africa today (Jan. 25) , they are not affected by the Proclamation: "The suspension and limitation on entry set forth in section 1(a) of this proclamation does not apply to persons aboard a flight scheduled to arrive in the United States that departed prior to 12:01 a.m. eastern standard time on January 26, 2021."

Edited January 25, 2021 by HRQX

[Hilde 381]

I see the requirement for a negative test prior to flight as a safety barrier to protect fellow travellers. (Airlines must do something to make travellers feel secure, even if the rapid test has terrible sensitivity).

The requirement to quarantine upon arrival is a safety barrier to protect people at the destination city.

 

South Africa was included bc of the new variant strain.

 

All we can do is hope countries get their act together to decrease the spread of COVID-19. Otherwise... we're all in for many more travel bans are delays in general...

 

Good luck to everyone!

 

 

[olivia77 23]

There's a twitter storm with #loveisnottourism hashtag. People were very active under Jen Psaki's and other gov accounts' posts but other than one small article in Australian outlet, it has not been acknowledged.

 

A new text is online: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/01/25/proclamation-on-the-suspension-of-entry-as-immigrants-and-non-immigrants-of-certain-additional-persons-who-pose-a-risk-of-transmitting-coronavirus-disease/

[Daisy.Chain 317]

18 hours ago, igoyougoduke said:

without a plan as to how they will monitor people stay home for 10 days, this plan is just rubbish. Other countries that have successfully eliminated COVID like Singapore have follow up from Police frequently so people stay at homes. 

 

 

I agree that it seems unenforceable and ridiculous. It was in the executive order, though.

 

[HRQX 4,145]

52 minutes ago, Daisy.Chain said:

It was in the executive order, though.

Not currently in force. We'll have to wait for the Administration to present its enforcement plan: "The Secretary of HHS, in coordination with the Secretary of Transportation (including through the Administrator of the FAA) and the Secretary of Homeland Security (including through the Administrator of the TSA), shall promptly provide to the President, through the COVID-19 Response Coordinator, a plan for how the Secretary and other Federal Government actors could implement the policy stated in subsection (a) of this section with respect to CDC-recommended periods of self-quarantine or self-isolation after a flight to the United States from a foreign country, as he deems appropriate and consistent with applicable law.  The plan shall identify agencies’ tools and mechanisms to assist travelers in complying with such policy."

[igoyougoduke 1,650]

Proclamations are back -

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/01/25/proclamation-on-the-suspension-of-entry-as-immigrants-and-non-immigrants-of-certain-additional-persons-who-pose-a-risk-of-transmitting-coronavirus-disease/

[matiasc 1]

Three things we can do to be heard:

 

1. We can find our local representatives on: https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative

Put in your zipcode and you'll find them. You can also look up their twitter and send them a message.

 

2. Send a message to the White House - 202-456-1111

 

3. Contact news outlets to cover the situation, or to ask a question about Embassies Visas during a Press Conference.

 

 

The most we can do right now is have our voices heard, otherwise nothing will happen.

 

What else can we do? Open to suggestions.

[Daisy.Chain 317]

20 hours ago, HRQX said:

Not currently in force. We'll have to wait for the Administration to present its enforcement plan: "The Secretary of HHS, in coordination with the Secretary of Transportation (including through the Administrator of the FAA) and the Secretary of Homeland Security (including through the Administrator of the TSA), shall promptly provide to the President, through the COVID-19 Response Coordinator, a plan for how the Secretary and other Federal Government actors could implement the policy stated in subsection (a) of this section with respect to CDC-recommended periods of self-quarantine or self-isolation after a flight to the United States from a foreign country, as he deems appropriate and consistent with applicable law.  The plan shall identify agencies’ tools and mechanisms to assist travelers in complying with such policy."

The new U.S. requirement was announced by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Jan. 12 and formalized in President Joe Biden's executive order on COVID-19 safety in domestic and international travel last week.

 

it was announced last week. I've seen the start date reported as being today and also as "within a few days" - not sure which news source (any?) to trust.

 

Checking google flights for prices for a round trip ticket to the DR has the caution - new travel reqs in place alert come up.

[HRQX 4,145]

12 minutes ago, Daisy.Chain said:

it was announced last week. I've seen the start date reported as being today

Today the "proof of a negative COVID-19 test or documentation of having recovered from COVID-19 for all air passengers arriving from a foreign country" began. https://www.cdc.gov/quarantine/fr-proof-negative-test.html

 

The quarantine inside the US is still currently just recommended. Biden's EO directed certain heads of federal agencies to come up with an enforcement plan. That enforcement plan still hasn't been announced.

Edited January 26, 2021 by HRQX

[Spardasa 78]

So I'm going to ask a divergence question on the COVID testing:

 

In Brasil, mainly in Belo Horizonte, are there any sites that are offering test results within 72hour or the rapid testing?

[Hilde 381]

1 hour ago, Spardasa said:

So I'm going to ask a divergence question on the COVID testing:

 

In Brasil, mainly in Belo Horizonte, are there any sites that are offering test results within 72hour or the rapid testing?

I suggest you call private laboratories or the airport directly

[Ed&Midori1031 330]

Since my wife is Brazilian, do you think it would be an issue if she were to travel with her green card to Brazil and then come back into the U.S.?