Hours after the US imposed new travel restrictions on India, Secretary of State Tony Blinken issued exemptions to certain categories of students, academics, journalists and individuals from the travel ban.
In the wake of the extraordinarily high Covid-19 caseloads and multiple variants circulating in India, US President Joe Biden issued a proclamation restricting travel from the country beginning May 4.
The US state department has issued the same set of National Interest Exceptions to India it has applied to all other regional travel restrictions. The travel ban exemptions to is in line with exemptions granted to some categories of travel from China, Iran, Brazil, and South Africa.
Indian students seeking to commence studies in the fall, academics, journalists and individuals who provide critical infrastructure support in the US are eligible to apply for National Interest Exceptions, said the US state department. However, it warned that the pandemic has continued to limit the number of visas their embassies and consulates abroad are able to process.
The US state department also notified that students who already have valid F-1 and M-1 visas and intend to begin or continue an academic program commencing August 1, 2021 or later may enter the US no earlier than 30 days before the start of their academic studies. Such students do not need to contact an embassy or consulate to seek an individual NIE to travel, it said.
Further it added that it would continue to grant NIEs for qualified travellers seeking to enter the US for purposes related to humanitarian travel, public health response and national security.
Meanwhile, according to new travel restrictions on India, the US has barred most non-US citizens from entering the country. The new restrictions were imposed on the advice of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), citing the magnitude and scope of the surging Covid-19 cases in India.
India, second to the US in total infections, has reported more than 300,000 new cases for nine-straight-days, hitting another global record of 386,452 in the last 24 hours.