If you are planning a trip to the United States, you should know the list of documents that the authorities require of you before setting foot in North America. What in years past boiled down to a visa and passport has now changed due to the emergence of the SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes covid-19. Here we share the details:
Passport
One of the essential requirements for traveling to the United States is a passport, issued by the Department or Secretary of Relations or Foreign Affairs of the country of origin. All travelers without exception, unless they are naturalized U.S. citizens, must have this document. The passport must be in good condition and be valid for at least six months after the scheduled return date.
Visa for EE.UU.
The visa issued by the US consulate of each country is required to enter the United States, with the exception of 39 countries in the world which provide for a stay of not more than 90 days and only for tourism or business, including Australia, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom, among others. In the case of these countries, tourists only need to process an ESTA (Electronic System for Travel Authorization).
Form I-94
Travelers entering the United States are encouraged to complete this form to detail their entry and exit from the country. On this sheet, tourists note their personal details, the house or hotel where they are staying, the number of days their stay will last, their contact details and whether they are carrying more money than the authorized or specific food. All travelers must complete this form, except Canadian citizens, US citizens, and undocumented immigrants.
Vaccination certificate
Due to the covid-19 pandemic, a mandatory requirement for entering the United States is to have the full SARS-CoV-2 vaccination schedule. And not only that, the vaccine must be approved by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), such as Janssen / J&J as a single dose; Yes Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, AstraZeneca, Covaxin, Covishield, BIBP / Sinopharm, Sinovac and Novavax / Covovax, in a two-dose regimen. Vaccination certificates can be presented in verifiable files (digital or paper), non-verifiable paper files (for example: CDC vaccination card) and non-verifiable digital files (mobile app without QR code).
Covid-19 test
And finally, the US authorities are demanding a negative test for covid-19. It is an antigenic test or PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction); It should be mentioned that the antibody test is not valid, as this test does not detect the virus in the body but rather detects if in the past you had COVID-19 in your body. According to the official CDC provision, some travelers, such as Mexicans, must have their antigen tests done no later than 24 hours before their flight.
Other documents
In some cases, US authorities may require a border crossing card or Tarjeta de Cruce de Fronteras, this is a document that allows entry to Mexican citizens in the USA and is the equivalent of the B1 / B2 visa for tourists; Likewise, travelers can process an ESTA (Electronic System For Travel Authorization), which allows tourists to enter the United States for 90 days without having to have a visa approved, as in the case of citizens of the 39 countries from which they do not need. a document. The Visa Waiver Program is similar to ESTA in that it can be processed for a short period of time, especially for people who need to travel to the country for courses, seminars or for very short stays.
The pandemic does not give a truce
The outlook is not encouraging for travelers. Over the New Year’s weekend, US commercial airlines canceled 2,373 flights, and the number has risen to more than 3,900 worldwide, according to the FlightAware website.
The airlines that have canceled the most flights are Southwest, JetBlue, Delta and American Airlines, each with more than 100 flights; Southwest canceled 264 and JetBlue halted 16% of its business operations.
The TSA (US Transportation Security Administration) revealed that from Friday, December 31 to Monday, January 3, they expected a visitor flow of 10 million people. In the past 10 days, it is estimated that more than 14,000 commercial flights have been canceled.
As if that weren’t enough, for the first time in four months, more than 100,000 people are hospitalized in the United States with covid-19 and its variants, including omicron, which medical experts have called ” very contagious “. The record for hospitalizations was in January 2021, when more than 142,000 confirmed cases were counted.
In the previous weeks, the increase in infections in infants has increased and this panorama worries the international medical community. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children’s Hospital Association, more than 170,000 minors have tested positive for covid-19 only from December 9 to 16. That’s a 28 percent hike in two weeks.
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