The US will no longer enforce a travel ban on fully vaccinated Indians beginning in November. Indians, as well as visitors from Europe, Brazil, and South Africa, will be able to enter the United States without difficulty. A negative RT-PCR test is done 72 hours before departure is still necessary. In the aftermath of the tragic Delta variant, President Biden ordered a broad travel restriction on Indian non-immigrant visa holders, including the H1-B and L-1, as well as their dependents, business travelers, and tourists, on April 30. Even though the first injunction was limited to 30 days, the ban has been extended in 30-day increments every month.
The number of cases is far lower now, and vaccination rates have increased, forcing Biden to shift direction. The editorial in BusinessLine criticized Biden’s policy, which was riddled with contradictions. As if the virus could tell the difference, the prohibition exempted US citizens and permanent residents. Students on F-1 and M-1 visas were also automatically exempted, due to the university lobby, which relies on international students for survival. The directive made no allowances for Indians who had recovered from Covid and had become immune to it, or who had been completely vaccinated.
Worse, Biden continues to welcome a flow of illegal immigrants to the US’s southern border, putting the country at a considerably greater danger of Covid spread than Indian visitors. Many migrants do not adhere to Covid guidelines and are not immunized. Despite this, they are being released into the vast US hinterland before their asylum court with Notices to Appear, which can take years and are regularly ignored by immigrants. The United States is not the only country with strange rules. Canada, in its wisdom, refuses to recognize an India-administered Covid test. Fearing that test results may be tampered with, Canada, which requires travelers to get an RT-PCR or fast test 72 hours before traveling, forced Indians to layover at a hotel in a third country just to get a trial.
The Maldives is a beneficiary of Canadian rule. Male, one of the few nations that issue visas on arrival to Indian passport holders, is experiencing an economic renaissance not witnessed since the epidemic. Indians flying to Canada arrive in Male, take the exam, stay at a hotel, and depart the next day, reviving the local economy and the numerous airlines that travel from India to Male daily. Biden’s illogical policy made the United States, a popular destination for Indian tourists, unattainable. Indians, using their innate jugaad skills, devised ways to lawfully circumvent the prohibition. The regulation says that Indian passport holders on non-immigrant visas are not permitted to enter the United States straight from India.
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