The US borders are practically tight for travelers from Europe.
Many consider the entry ban to be absurd.
Now something could change - but only for people with proof of vaccination.
Washington - The US wants to make a full corona vaccination a prerequisite for entry into their country.
Washington is developing "a phased approach that, over time, will mean that foreign nationals traveling to the United States - from any country - must be fully vaccinated," a White House official said Wednesday.
There will be "limited exceptions".
The official did not give a time frame.
The working groups dealing with this issue “develop a policy to be able to switch to this new system in due course”.
The aim is to make this “sustainable and safe”.
It was only at the end of July that White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki emphasized that the entry restrictions imposed on travelers from Europe and other countries would not be lifted for the time being.
As a justification, she pointed out that the more contagious delta variant of the coronavirus is spreading “both here and abroad”.
Corona crisis in the USA - entry restricted since March 2020
The US had restricted entry for citizens of the EU, Great Britain, China and Iran in March 2020.
Other countries were added later, including Brazil and India.
Exceptions to the US entry ban apply to students, journalists and business people, among others.
The EU had already lifted its entry restrictions for US citizens in June and has been urging Washington to do the same since then.
The economy and couples separated by the regulations are also calling for the US entry ban to be lifted.
Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) had called for a repeal during her visit to Washington in mid-July.
President Joe Biden promised a quick review of the regulations.
Its experts would examine "how soon" the restrictions could be lifted.
To many, the entry ban seems increasingly absurd, also in view of the rapid progress in vaccination in Europe. In addition, Europeans, if they have the money and time, can bypass the restrictions by staying in a third country like Mexico for two weeks. After 14 days you can then fly to the USA without any problems.
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