Types of Visas to access the U.S. in COVID-19 time

This is reciprocal, since The United States is the country with the highest number of cases of COVID-19 of the planet and many nations have cut off passenger flow with the North American country. As the coronavirus outbreak has progressed, the list of countries facing these restrictions has grown exponentially. Currently, the countries most affected by the U.S. travel ban are China, Schengen member states and most recently Brazil. Read on to learn about the new restrictions and how they affect travelers from the European Union when it comes to obtaining an ESTA for travel to the United States or any other U.S. visa.

Restrictions for travelers from Europe and the Schengen Area

Last March 11, 2020, President Trump announced a travel ban that applied to residents of and visitors to the Schengen Area of Europe. This decision, still in effect except for justified travel, restricted the movement of people visiting the United States from the European continent since last March 13. The travel ban announced in the U.S. Presidential Proclamation affects the following 26 ● Schengen countries.

      Germany ●

      Austria ●

      Belgium ●

      Denmark ●

      Slovakia ●

      Slovenia ●

      Spain

●      Estonia ●

      Finland ●

      France ●

      Greece ●

      Hungary ●

      Netherlands ●

      Italy ●

      Iceland ●

      Latvia ●

      Liechtenstein ●

      Lithuania ●

      Luxembourg ●

      Malta ●

      Norway ●

      Poland ●

      Portugal ●

      Czech Republic ●

      Sweden ●

      Switzerland In addition to Schengen nations, the United States has also extended its restrictions for travelers from the European continent from the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. In turn, travel authorizations such as ESTA were suspended and will remain on hold as long as bans on entry to the U.S. remain in effect for citizens coming from certain countries such as Spain, Italy or France. However, travelers with U.S. passports and Green Card holders are still entitled to enter the U.S. from a European point of origin. They are also eligible for this exemption: ●

      Individuals married to permanent residents or U.S. citizens. ●

      Parents and guardians of U.S. citizens or permanent residents under the age of 21. ●

      Brothers and sisters of lawful permanent residents and citizens provided they are both unmarried and under 21 years of age. ●

      Children or adopted children of U.S. citizens or permanent residents. ●

      Crew members of ships and aircraft. ●

      Foreign government officials and their family members. ●

      U.S. armed forces workers. ●

      Those traveling with medical agencies to help contain the coronavirus. ●

      Those whose entry is considered to be of “national interest”. The following sections will detail some of the visas currently available for travel to the United States from Europe and from outside the European continent.

Types of visas for the United States

Undoubtedly, there are many reasons why a visa is required to enter the United States, the most frequent being: tourism, business, work and residence. Currently, there are almost fifty visas for the U.S. (if non-immigrant visas and immigrant visas are added). To these must be added the

 ESTA visa waiver, known as the Visa Waiver Program, available to nationals of 39 countries (including Spain) who may spend a maximum of 90 consecutive days in the U.S. without having to apply for any additional visa.

U.S. visas for non-immigrants

Among nonimmigrant visas for the United States, there are two types of visas that stand out above the rest: ●

      B1 visa. ●

      B2 visa. The B1 visa is professional in nature and is available to travelers coming to the United States for the following reasons: ●

      Business. ●

      Participating in competitions where money or a reward is at stake (e.g., professional athletes and/or sportsmen). ●

      Accompanying a “boss” abroad (e.g. domestic workers or nannies). On the other hand, the B2 visa is intended for other types of activities in the U.S.: ●

      Tourism, pleasure or vacation. ●

      Receive medical treatment in the United States.

U.S. visas for immigrants

When it comes to immigrating legally to the U.S. for an extended period of time, there are many options available to European and non-European citizens. For example, IR1 or CR1 family-based visas are available for spouses, parents, stepparents, children or stepchildren under the age of 21 of a U.S. citizen. Similarly, family members such as siblings or children over 21 of a U.S. citizen may apply for IR2, CR2, IR5, F1, F3 and F4 immigrant visas. Finally, in the case of work visas, there are five groups of visas available for working in the United States: ●

      USA E1 visa for priority workers. ●

      USA E2 visa for  professionals and workers with exceptional skills. ●

      USA E3 or EW visa for professionals and other workers. ●

      USA T5 and C5 Visa for job creators and investors.

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