Visa question of the month - relaxations for vaccinated persons?

The US government has not yet officially commented on the lifting of the Corona Travel Ban or on travel relief for fully vaccinated persons entering from Travel Ban countries.

To date, the fact that your employee has been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 does not provide any travel benefits.

This means that your employee is affected by the US entry ban until an indefinite period of time, provided that he or she has been in Germany for 14 days prior to planned entry into the US and is neither eligible for a general exception nor eligible for a National Interest Exception (NIE).

Whether or when there will be relief for vaccinated U.S. travelers remains to be seen. It is also unclear how proof of vaccination would have to be provided and whether there will be different regulations depending on the vaccine used.

Currently, there is more frequent irritation because the US Department of Health and Human Services CDC only recently announced relaxations for vaccinated persons during their stay in the USA. However, only vaccinated persons on site, i.e. after successful entry into the United States, are eligible for this benefit - it therefore only affects conditions in the US and not upon entry.

By the way: Since May 27, 2021, the requirements for obtaining an NIE (exemption) for the Travel Ban to the USA have been expanded again. Now not only persons qualify who have an"vital support for U.S. critical infrastructure"but now also peson circles again, which represent "executive direction for U.S. critical infrastructure or supply chain directly linked to critical infrastructure sectors or for significant economic activity" perform. I. e., managing directors and senior executives may now also qualify for an exemption again under certain conditions.

An NIE application can be submitted for your employee by e-mail to the U.S. Consulate General Frankfurt/Main or the Consular Section of the U.S. Embassy in Berlin. You can find further information on the Website of the US consulates in Germany.