Coronavirus 30-Day Ban on Travel to U.S. for Europe’s Schengen Area Citizens Effective March 14, 2020 - (UPDATED 3/14/20)
**3/14/2020 UPDATE** Beginning Monday, March 16 at midnight, the U.S. will ban travel from the United Kingdom and Ireland as well as Schengen Area countries. The ban will not affect U.S. citizens and legal residents, who will be allowed to return home.
**6/23/2020 UPDATE** U.S. Customs and Border Protection's website confirms that the current travel ban for Schengen countries and similar travel bans in other recent Presidential Proclamations are still in place.
On March 11, 2020, President Trump announced a Presidential Proclamation restricting travel from the “Schengen Area” of Europe for 30 days. This action affects most foreign nationals who would be coming from the 26-country area within 14 days prior to traveling to the U.S. This area comprises the countries of Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland. Prior to this proclamation, the Trump administration had imposed a travel ban on foreign nationals who had visited China and Iran last month. While U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents of the U.S. are not subject to the travel ban (please see the proclamation for further details), foreign guest artists who have traveled to China, Iran, or Schengen countries within 14 days prior to traveling to the U.S. will not be permitted entry.
Furthermore, there are several U.S. embassies and consulates that are closed or suspending services for some time. CoveyLaw has compiled a preliminary list, to which we've added updates from GG Arts Law:
- China: All consular services are currently suspended, including at the Embassy in Beijing. You will not be able to obtain a U.S. visa in China.
- Denmark: Routine visa appointments are suspended at the Embassy in Copenhagen. It’s highly unlikely that you would be able to obtain a U.S. visa in Denmark. *Denmark just announced it was closing its borders.
- France: Routine visa appointments are suspended at the Embassy in Paris. It’s highly unlikely that you would be able to obtain a U.S. visa in France.
- Germany: Nonimmigrant visa services in Berlin are suspended from March 13th to April 3rd. You will not be able to obtain a U.S. visa in Berlin during this time.
- Italy: Consular services are suspended except for “emergency visa services” at all consulates, including the Embassy in Rome. It’s highly unlikely that you would be able to obtain a U.S. visa in Italy.
- Jamaica: All consular services are currently suspended at the Embassy in Kingston. You will not be able to obtain a U.S. visa in Jamaica.
- Norway: U.S. embassy in Oslo has temporarily ceased all visa operations until further notice.
- Portugal: U.S. embassy in Lisbon has temporarily ceased all visa operations until further notice.
- Spain: All consular services are currently suspended, including at the Embassy in Madrid. You will not be able to obtain a U.S. visa in Spain.
- Sweden: Routine nonimmigrant visa appointments are suspended at the Embassy in Stockholm. It’s highly unlikely that you would be able to obtain a U.S. nonimmigrant visa in Sweden.
- Additional information: Based on unconfirmed but fairly reliable information, it appears that U.S. embassies and consulates in the following countries are closed or operating in a limited capacity: Cambodia, Israel, Jamaica.
It is strongly advised that visa beneficiaries contact a specific embassy or consulate directly to determine whether the office is open and visa services are available.