Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. consulates and embassies in many countries around the world are still not operating at full capacity. 33 countries still require that non U.S. citizens or permanent residents obtain a National Interest Exception (NIE) before they can enter the U.S. from the affected countries. Embassy shopping has been pretty much shut down at this point as the consulates and embassies in each country are limiting appointments to citizens and residents of that country. Some countries are presently scheduling appointments out almost one year. Without an already approved NIE, pre-scheduled appointment, or the willingness to spend 14 consecutive days in a non-affected country, any travel to one of the 33 countries subject to the U.S. COVID travel ban should be avoided. (See below for a list of the 33 countries)
Countries subject to Presidential Proclamation COVID-19 restrictions:
The 33 restricted countries are:
- Brazil.
- China.
- Countries in the Schengen area (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).
- India.
- Iran.
- Ireland.
- South Africa.
- United Kingdom.
