On April 30, 2021, President Biden issued a Presidential Proclamation which imposes COVID-19-related travel restrictions on certain individuals traveling into the US from India effective Tuesday, May 4, 2021, in an effort to prevent the further spread of COVID-19. The proclamation restricts and suspends the entry into the US of nonimmigrants and noncitizens of the US who were physically present within India during the fourteen-day period preceding their entry or attempted entry into the United States. This proclamation does not apply to US citizens, lawful permanent residents of the US, or noncitizen spouses of US citizens or permanent residents, among other listed exceptions.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki announced the policy is based on advice from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In a statement, Ms. Psaki said: “The policy will be implemented in light of extraordinarily high COVID-19 caseloads and multiple variants circulating in India.”

India joins a list of countries with country-specific COVID travel restrictions, which currently includes Brazil, China, Iran, Ireland, countries in the European Schengen Area, South Africa, and the United Kingdom.