Travel Ban On Certain Countries to Be Lifted On Nov. 8; Registration for 2023 Diversity Visa (Green Card) Lottery Now Open

Category: Client Alerts
Date: Oct. 22, 2021
Title: Travel Ban On Certain Countries to Be Lifted On Nov. 8; Registration for 2023 Diversity Visa (Green Card) Lottery Now Open

The White House Has Announced That the Travel Ban On Certain Countries Will Be Lifted On Nov. 8

The White House has announced the precise date that it will lift COVID-19-related travel bans that apply to international travelers from more than 30 countries. Starting Nov. 8, 2021, travel bans will be lifted for fully vaccinated international travelers.

It is important to note that starting on Nov. 8, the United States will now require all foreign travelers arriving by air to show proof that they have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 in order to enter the U.S., with limited exceptions (including for U.S. citizens and likely for children). Foreign nationals traveling to the U.S. by air will need to show proof of vaccination before boarding their flight, and ALL air travelers, including U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents, will still need to show proof of a negative COVID-19 test taken within three days of boarding a flight to the U.S. The CDC has indicated that only vaccines that are approved or authorized by the FDA or listed for emergency use by the World Health Organization (WHO) will be accepted for international travelers seeking to travel to the U.S. Unvaccinated Americans will face stricter testing requirements.

Land border crossings will open up in two stages: Starting Nov. 8, the border will open to nonessential visitors from Canada and Mexico who are fully vaccinated. Those who are essential and unvaccinated can continue to enter until January 2022 upon the showing of a negative COVID-19 test. Starting January 2022, foreign visitors (essential or not) arriving via land border or ferry from Canada or Mexico will need to show proof that they are fully vaccinated.

Registration for 2023 Diversity Visa (Green Card) Lottery Now Open

Recently, the U.S. Department of State opened the registration period for the 2023 Diversity Visa (DV) lottery. As in past years, the DV lottery will allow a maximum of 50,000 “diversity immigrants” to obtain permanent residence in the United States if they are from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States. Entries for the DV-2023 lottery must be submitted electronically by noon Eastern Standard Time on Tuesday, Nov. 9, 2021. Applicants may access the electronic Diversity Visa entry form (E-DV) at https://dvprogram.state.gov/ during the registration period. Paper entries are not accepted.

The DV lottery is administered on an annual basis by the U.S. Department of State. For FY2023, natives of the following countries remain ineligible to apply for the DV lottery because the countries sent a total of more than 50,000 immigrants to the United States in the previous five years: Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, China (including Hong Kong SAR), Colombia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, South Korea, United Kingdom (except Northern Ireland) and its dependent territories, Venezuela, and Vietnam. Persons born in Taiwan remain eligible. Instructions for entering the DV-2023 lottery are available at the U.S. Department of State website: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/diversity-visa-program-entry/diversity-visa-instructions.html.