Update on Travel from Schengen Countries, UK and Ireland

[Update: August 6, 2020] US Customs and Border Protection has issued the following guidelines regarding F-1 students and their dependents entering from the Schengen area and the United Kingdom and Ireland. We recommend that F-1 students and their dependents entering from the Schengen area print out and carry a copy of these guidelines with them.

On July 16, the US State Department announced that F-1 students, among certain other visa holders, may be able to travel to the US from the Schengen countries and the United Kingdom and Ireland if they are applying for or have valid F-1 student visas. In addition to this announcement, many - although not all - US embassies and consulates in the Schengen area have started to resume limited visa services, and have also indicated that F-1 students are or may be eligible to travel to the US, despite the COVID-19 travel suspension.

At this time, the International Center is recommending caution in traveling back to the US in the immediate future for the following reasons:

• The July 16 announcement by the Department of State, which oversees US embassies and consulates worldwide, has not yet been confirmed by US Customs and Border Protection (CBP). CBP is responsible for overseeing immigration arrival at US ports of entry, including US airports, and CBP officers have final say on whether an individual will be permitted to enter the US. CBP has been asked to issue immediate clarification regarding arrival procedures for F-1 students in light of the July 16 announcement by the Department of State.
• US consulates and embassies in the Schengen area are resuming visa services according to local conditions, and the guidance they are offering regarding F-1 student travel are not necessarily consistent from consulate to consulate.

Please remember that if you are transiting through a Schengen country (or the UK or Ireland) from another location that is still subject to a COVID-19 travel suspension, you will be ineligible to enter the US, even if restrictions are lifted for the Schengen area, if you were in a restricted area within the 14 days prior to seeking entry into the US.

Recommendations

1. If you need to apply for an F-1 visa to enter the US this fall, please follow the directions of your US consulate to obtain your visa and get instructions regarding Fall 2020 arrival
2. Prior to finalizing any travel plans, consult the International Center web site for further developments, as well as information provided to you by your local US consulate. The International Center will continue to monitor this active situation and issue guidance

While this is a very encouraging development for F-1 students planning on coming to the US from the Schengen area and the UK and Ireland, we expect additional time will be needed to ensure that all agencies of the US government - including the Department of State and US Customs and Border Protection - are operating from the same instructions. This is a developing issue and look for further announcements as we get additional information and the US government updates its procedures.

Sincerely,

Tufts International Center