At the end of April, the U.S. Department of State issued a notice that Chinese students with F1, M1 or J1 visas who start school on August 1 can fly directly from China to the U.S. within 30 days before the start of school, without having to go to a third country for 14 days of quarantine first. Recently, there is good news that the family members of international students can also fly directly to the U.S.
Prior to the lifting of the “travel ban” for international students, Chinese students had to go to a third country, such as Vietnam or Thailand, for 14 days before they could fly to the United States.
At the end of April, the U.S. Department of State lifted the ban on international students going to the U.S. – Chinese students with F1, M1 or J1 visas starting from August 1 can fly directly from China to the U.S. within 30 days before the start of the school year, without having to go to a third country for 14 days first.
There is also good news from China and other places that allow eligible students, visiting scholars and other family members who are eligible for National Interest Exemption (NIE) to also fly directly to the U.S. without having to be quarantined in a third country for 14 days.
For the specific notice of the U.S. Department of State, some people still have a lot of questions. To give you a collation of the key points.
- national interest exemptions apply to new students, veteran students, and OPT.
2、Eligible dependents also apply to the national interest waiver.
- Those who have applied for a visa and meet the above scope may travel directly to the United States within the corresponding dates without contacting the embassy or consulate.
4、If the school starts earlier than August 1, then you are not eligible for the national interest waiver, you need to contact the school to have your school start date revised to August 1 or after August 1.
- The available direct flight time is the start of school/program no earlier than August 1, 2021, and entry into the U.S. no earlier than 30 days after the start of school, i.e., the earliest date is July 2, 2021.
- If you have not yet obtained a visa, you will need to obtain a visa and travel to the U.S. within the appropriate time frame.
7、The rest of the people who meet other national interest exemptions (humanitarian, public health, U.S. national security, etc.) can contact the U.S. Embassy or Consulate to apply for National Interest Exception (refer to the April 26th U.S. State Department announcement)
As for visa issues, all major U.S. consulates in China have now resumed processing of student visas, and basically all of them can be approved, but individual students will be rejected due to sensitive family background or school background. For example, the news broke a few days ago that a Chinese undergraduate student applied for a student visa at the U.S. consulate, but was denied because the student’s father was a public security officer.
Recent Comments