The United States has just announced that it will end the state of emergency related to the COVID-19 pandemic. First, it’s just May 11, so it’s not for another 4 months. Second, it has nothing to do with their travel rules. So don’t get your hopes up too fast.
Logic would obviously dictate that their entry rule (the USA vaccination requirement) be abolished at the same time… but if they followed logic, they would have removed all rules a very long time ago already!
Here are the details.
The current situation
In early January, the U.S. vaccination requirement was extended to the theoretical date of April 10.
You can read our article on the USA vaccination requirement renewal for all the details, I won’t repeat them here.
The new announcement on January 30
Monday, the American President confirmed that the state of emergency will be lifted on May 11, 2023.
It really has nothing to do with travel rules.
Travel requirements are something completely separate and distinct from the state of emergency. So it really doesn’t mean anything.
The travel rules come from a presidential proclamation, not from the state of emergency.
Obviously, as I said, the logic would be that if the state of emergency is eliminated, the entry rules can also be eliminated. So this new announcement is a good sign. It’s still good news (or bad news if you thought they’d get over all this faster).
It is obviously very likely that the USA vaccination requirement will be gone by May 11 as well.
But also remember that President Biden said the pandemic was over… back in September!
So actions are not always coherent and consistent, as has been the case since the beginning of the governmental response to the pandemic. Just like here, of course.
I let you reread the section on the “logic” of this rule if you are one of those who blindly believe that governments are always right.
The state of emergency in the USA
If you’re interested, I’ll explain the January 30th announcement and what the state of emergency is, or rather their 2 separate states of emergency.
In 2020, the United States declared:
- A national state of emergency
- A state of public health emergency
It’s obviously outdated. But it’s still in place in 2023, for lots of political reasons.
The national state of emergency was set to expire on March 1 and the public health state of emergency was set to expire on April 11.
The President announced that he was extending both states of emergency until May 11… and that he would not renew them at that time.
(The word “emergency,” by definition, is not that compatible with predicting that it will be an “emergency” for another 4 months or predicting 4 months in advance that it won’t be an “emergency” in 4 months… but hey, that’s just politics like everything else in the COVID-19 rules for a while now!)
Speaking of politics, the biggest impact of the end of the state of emergency in terms of borders isn’t even about the vaccination requirement to enter the USA, it’s what they call Title 42.
The impacts of the state of emergency
With the end of the state of emergency, it will be the end of the Title 42 policy.
This allows the United States to expel all migrants at the land border without delay, due to coronavirus, instead of having to process their applications. Trump had thought about this indirect way of using a public health rule to restrict entry.
Apart from that, the end of the state of emergency ends special funding for the Medicaid program for example, and many other policies like free vaccines and tests among others.
In short, it’s really mostly about their internal response to the pandemic.
The state of emergency is not directly related to the entry requirements for foreigners, which is a different presidential proclamation as I mentioned.
But we’ll obviously monitor that and let you know if the USA vaccination requirement is:
- lifted on its current end date of April 10
- extended to May 11 like the state of emergency
- extended even more (everything is possible in this hygiene theater)
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Summary
The United States has announced the end of its state of emergency. This has nothing to do with the USA vaccination requirement so we shouldn’t be too quick to rejoice. We can’t assume that the entry rule will be eliminated as well, even though it is still very likely.
What would you like to know about the travel requirements in the US? Tell us in the comments below.
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Featured image: Horseshoe Bend, Arizona, USA (photo credit: David Evans)
I would like to know when travel restrictions will be lifted
Don’t we all? Our guide on the rules to enter the USA will be updated as soon as we know something. You can also sign up for our free newsletter to get all the updates in your inbox too 🙂
I suspected as much, but so appreciate this explanation of what may or may not happen. Your site is invaluable for many things – thank you.
Thank you for following us 🙂
Thomas Massie
@RepThomasMassie
·
17h
Thank you @USTravel
for vocally supporting H.R. 185 to remove the COVID vaccine requirement for international visitors flying to the United States. This bill will reunite families and promote commerce. Congress votes on H.R. 185 next week!
will you update us if this happens even b4 April 10th. I’m praying I can travel to the US with my 11 year old daughters team.
Hi, yes for sure we’ll write about any change! You can sign up for our free newsletter and join 95,000+ Canadian travelers who get all the travel updates (and travel tips and deals) in their inbox directly.