COVID-19

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Updated:  October 13, 2022

Federal law requires that employers must properly complete Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, for each worker hired to perform labor or services in the United States. The form documents that the employer took steps to verify the identity and employment authorization of the worker. Normally, the employer must physically examine each document submitted by the employee to determine whether it reasonably appears to be genuine and related to the person presenting it.Continue Reading DHS Extends Form I-9 Requirement Flexibility (Effective January 1, 2022)

Effective December 15, 2021, the Australian government will allow fully vaccinated travelers in eligible visa categories to travel to and from Australia without needing to apply for a travel exemption. The government had previously planned to ease travel restrictions beginning December 1, but postponed those plans because of the identification of the omicron variant. In a press conference, Prime Minister Scott Morrison confirmed that the easing of travel restrictions will move forward as planned beginning December 15.
Continue Reading Australia Eases Border Restrictions for Eligible Visa Holders

On November 29, 2021, the Chilean government announced that it would postpone the relaxation of various pandemic-related entry restrictions. The relaxation was set to begin on December 1 but has been delayed indefinitely due the emergence of the omicron variant. The government’s announcement also included the imposition of travel restrictions covering seven African nations.
Continue Reading Chile Delays Relaxation of Border Restrictions Due to Omicron Variant

In response to the omicron variant, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has significantly shortened the time period during which travelers must secure a negative COVID-19 test before traveling to the United States.  All air passengers 2 years or older with a flight departing to the U.S. from a foreign country after 12:01am EST on December 6, 2021, are required show a negative COVID-19 viral test result taken no more than 1 day before travel, or documentation of having recovered from COVID-19 in the past 90 days, before they board their flight.  Previously, the 1-day rule only applied to unvaccinated travelers, and vaccinated travelers were allowed 3 days before departure to secure negative test results.
Continue Reading CDC Now Requires COVID Testing 1 Day Prior to Travel to the US

On November 26, 2021, Taiwan announced that it would add six African countries – South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, and Zimbabwe – to its list of “key high-risk countries,” effective November 29, 2021. Effective December 1, Taiwan also added Malawi, Mozambique, Egypt, and Nigeria to the list of key high-risk countries. Individuals who have traveled in any of these ten countries within the past fourteen days must quarantine at government group quarantine facilities for fourteen days and complete an additional seven-day self-health management period. The announcements are part of Taiwan’s effort to slow the spread of the omicron variant of the coronavirus.
Continue Reading Taiwan Updates Entry Restrictions in Light of Omicron Variant

On November 29, 2021, the Australian government announced that it would delay its plan to reopen the country to fully vaccinated visa holders in light of the identification of the omicron variant of the coronavirus. The delay is effective through at least December 15, 2021, and applies to students, skilled workers, and those carrying humanitarian, working holiday, and family visas. In its announcement, the government cited the need to gather more information to better understand the omicron variant, including its transmissibility, severity, and interaction with existing vaccines.
Continue Reading Australia Postpones Relaxation of Entry Restrictions for Visa Holders

In response to the identification of the omicron variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, several countries around the world have implemented new travel restrictions aimed at slowing the spread of the disease. In the Americas region alone, several countries—including Brazil, Canada, Chile, and the United States—have announced new restrictions on the entry of foreign nationals. Other countries, such as Mexico, have insisted that such measures are of little use.
Continue Reading Countries Impose Travel Restrictions to Slow Spread of Omicron Variant

On November 26, 2021, in response to the discovery of the omicron variant of the virus which causes COVID-19, the Biden Administration issued a Presidential Proclamation banning the entry into the United States, as immigrants or nonimmigrants, of noncitizens who were physically present within Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe during the past 14-day period.  This ban comes only 19 days after the U.S. government ended its COVID-19 travel bans worldwide and replaced them with a vaccine mandate for travel to the United States.  The Proclamation is effective at 12:01 a.m. eastern standard time on November 29, 2021 and does not apply to persons aboard a flight scheduled to arrive in the U.S. that departed prior to 12:01 a.m. eastern standard time on November 29, 2021.
Continue Reading Omicron Variant Triggers U.S. Travel Ban from Eight African Countries

On November 1, 2021, the Department of Labor (DOL) found that labor shortages resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic do not qualify as a “one-time occurrence” justifying the hiring of H-2B temporary workers.  The H-2B program allows U.S. employers to hire foreign workers to fill temporary non-agricultural positions in the United States. Before hiring an H-2B worker, the employer must file an application with DOL. In particular, the employer must demonstrate that a “temporary” need for foreign workers exists due to: (1) a one-time occurrence; (2) the seasonal nature of the business; (3) a short-term spike in demand (i.e., a peak load); or (4) the intermittent nature of the work.
Continue Reading DOL Finds that Pandemic is not Sufficiently “Temporary” for H-2B Program

On November 1, 2021, Taiwan’s Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) announced that entry restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic will continue through at least February 14, 2022. Under the CECC restrictions, arriving passengers are required to quarantine for 14 days following arrival, and to complete a 7-day self-health management period after the end of quarantine.
Continue Reading Taiwan Entry Restrictions Extended Through February 2022