CDC Orders

CDC issued an Order to implement the President’s direction on safe resumption of global travel during the COVID-19 pandemic and provided guidance to airlines, other aircraft operators, and passengers in Technical Instructions and Frequently Asked Questions.

All non-U.S.-citizen, non-immigrants, with limited exceptions, traveling to the United States by air must be fully vaccinated and show proof of vaccination.

CDC issued an Order on October 25, 2021 requiring airlines and other aircraft operators to collect contact information for passengers before they board a flight to the United States from a foreign country. The purpose of collecting this information is to identify and locate passengers who may have been exposed to a person with a communicable disease for public health follow-up. Airlines will retain the information for 30 days and transmit the information to CDC upon request for contact tracing and public health follow-up to keep people safe.

Following a public health determination, the CDC Director is terminating the Order under 42 U.S.C. §§ 265, 268 and 42 C.F.R. § 71.40 suspending the right to introduce certain persons into the United States. The implementation of the termination of the Order will be on May 23, 2022.

CDC considered multiple factors in its public health assessment and finds that, at this time, the available COVID-19 mitigation tools, as well as the fact that 97% of the U.S. population lives in a county identified as having “low” COVID-19 Community Level, will sufficiently mitigate the COVID-19 risk for U.S. communities and make an order under 42 U.S.C. §§ 265, 268 and 42 C.F.R. § 71.40 no longer necessary. This Termination will be implemented on May 23, 2022, to enable the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to implement appropriate COVID-19 mitigation protocols, such as scaling up a program to provide COVID-19 vaccinations to migrants, and prepare for full resumption of regular migration processing under Title 8 authorities.

The initial CDC Order Suspending Introduction of Certain Persons from Countries where a Communicable Disease Exists was issued on 3/20/2020 [2.1 MB, 43 pages], extended on 4/22/2020 and extended and amended on 5/19/2020 [136 KB, 12 pages]. The Order was replaced with the Order Suspending the Right to Introduce Certain Persons from Countries Where a Quarantinable Communicable Disease Exists on 10/16/2020 and replaced again on 8/2/2021 [296 KB, 24 pages]. This Order and accompanying public health determination terminate all previous orders.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, CDC issued an order suspending the right to introduce certain noncitizens attempting to enter the U.S. from Canada or Mexico (regardless of country of origin) at or between ports of entry. CDC has terminated the Order with respect to unaccompanied noncitizen children.

As a result of a court order, effective immediately and as of April 18, 2022, CDC’s January 29, 2021 Order requiring masks on public transportation conveyances and at transportation hubs is no longer in effect. Therefore, CDC will not enforce the Order. CDC continues to recommend that people wear masks in indoor public transportation settings at this time.