President Biden signed a Presidential Proclamation on December 28th revoking his previous Proclamation (Proclamation 10315) that placed travel bans on several African nations due to the widespread outbreak of the Omicron variant of COVID-19. The previous proclamation suspended the entry of certain noncitizens traveling as immigrants or nonimmigrants who were physically present in Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe during a 14-day period prior to their attempted entry to the United States.
In accordance with President Biden’s proclamation, beginning January 1st, 2022, visa issuance will no longer be prevented to individuals subject to the previous proclamation (those who were present in the affected countries). Consular offices in Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe are set to resume normal immigrant and nonimmigrant visa services and operations. Applicants who had their cases for visas rejected solely based upon their location in one of these affected countries should contact their consulate and have them reconsider. This does not mean however that the embassies will be immediately able to schedule everyone for their appointments, applicants should contact their embassies to seek assistance in scheduling appointments and learning about the process.
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