12/28/2021 update:
On December 24, 2021, the Biden Administration stated that it would lift the Southern African travel ban at midnight on December 31, 2021.
Original post 11/29/2021:
On November 26, 2021, the Biden Administration issued a new geographic travel ban due to the emerging Omicron COVID-19 variant. The ban goes into effect today, November 29, 2021, and suspends entry for anyone present in the listed countries for the 14 days preceding entry. The countries include: Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. Many of the same exceptions apply as with previous bans, such as Lawful Permanent Residents, parents of minor U.S. citizens, and spouses of U.S citizens. As of this writing, DHS has not announced implementation details except via an announcement to air carriers which instructs that previously granted National Interest Exception (NIE) waivers are void as to this ban, and that this ban does not affect the vaccine and testing requirements for U.S. entry that are currently in place. The Department of State has a short summary of the new ban here.
© Jewell Stewart & Pratt PC 2021