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USA travel is surprisingly easy – notes from my New York trip

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Last week I was on the first Virgin Atlantic flight to New York since entry restrictions were eased. Not only did I get to experience a once-in-a-lifetime moment like the synchronised takeoff but I was also one of the first people to experience how the USA has adapted to covid and what travelling there is like.

I received a lot of questions on Instagram asking how I found the experience, so I thought it was worth looking at what travel to the United States is like ‘right now’.

The good news is that travelling to the USA is actually really easy.

Statue of Liberty, New York, USA

Entry testing requirements

You can read our full article about USA entry requirements here but, fundamentally only the fully vaccinated are allowed in and you will need to do a covid test.

This can be as basic as a self-administered lateral flow test, although the official guidelines state that these must be carried out under ‘real-time video supervision’. It’s not clear how this is enforced in practice as the US Customs and Border Protection seem to take a fairly hands-off approach to the whole procedure.

US CBP customs border protection

Immigration at JFK was …. fine?!

The last time I was on a Virgin Atlantic press trip – on the A350 inaugural – we were queuing for over two hours before speaking to an immigration officer.

JFK – and US airports in general – are notoriously bad, although that time was definitely the worst I have ever experienced.

This time couldn’t have been more different. Whilst a large swell of passengers arrived, both from our flight and (I think) another, the queue moved quickly and I was through within fifteen minutes or so.

Our flight was, to be fair, the first transatlantic flight to land at JFK Terminal 4 so we may just have beaten the masses, but I was still impressed. I imagine CBP had prepared for a large influx in visitors as borders re-opened and it didn’t seem like there were any teething issues ramping up capacity.

That doesn’t mean there won’t be long queues again, of course. Immigration in the US can be highly variable – you never really know what you’ll encounter until you’re through. It will be interesting to see how other people’s experiences compare over the coming weeks.

US CBP customs border protection

US Customs and Border Protection do not routinely check covid documentation

As I mentioned above, the CBP appears to be taking a hands-off approach and letting the airlines deal with the entry requirement compliance. Nobody in my group was asked to show proof of covid vaccination or provide a negative test result – although you should still make sure you carry this with you, just in case.

The immigrations officer asked all the usual questions (how long I was staying and what I was doing) and then waived me on. It was all very easy.

You don’t have to complete a long-winded passenger locator form

If you are trying to find a passenger locator form for your next trip to the United States you won’t find one, because it doesn’t exist.

The US has kept it simple, unlike the UK government which has – as I’m sure you’ve experienced by now – one of the most long-winded covid passenger forms I’ve encountered.

The only thing you need to complete is your ‘attestation’. This is effectively you confirming that you comply with the entry regulations, are fully vaccinated and have a negative covid test taken within the required time frame.

This is administered by your airline (you can find the Virgin Atlantic one here, for example) and simply requires you to confirm your status. Easy peasy.

Landing cards are a thing of the past

Another piece of admin has also been simplified, with landing cards no longer required. These were previously handed out on flights to the USA or completed at terminals in the immigrations hall. They were handed to an officer after baggage collection.

The CBP now collects all arrivals and departure information electronically and biometrically, saving you the hassle of completing and submitting an extra slip of paper.

(Virgin Atlantic tells me this depends on the airport so some US flights may still require them, but not to New York JFK.)

Empire State Building NYC

Mask wearing is stricter than in the UK

Mask policies vary state to state and potentially even city to city. In New York City masks are far more prevalent than in London, although it doesn’t appear to be particularly enforced.

Wearing masks is most common at airports and on public transport, where it is legally mandated.

Other public areas take varying approaches. Whilst almost all places say they recommend mask wearing it doesn’t appear to be required. You will find different levels of compliance at different venues. In some places it is not necessary if you are fully vaccinated, for example.

Some people even choose to wear masks outdoors, although this is a small minority.

The bottom line is that you should have a mask to hand whilst out and about in New York.

Have your NHS covid pass ready

The other big difference to London – although perhaps not other European countries – is that you need to show your vaccination certificates almost everywhere. Restaurants, bars, theatres, food halls and other tourist attractions will want to see this on entry.

The good news is that you don’t need to download a special app – the NHS vaccination certificate is fine although you may have to talk people through the document details as it is clearly different to the US ones.

Some places require you to show ID at the same time, to ensure you are who you say you are, so make sure you’ve got both. I didn’t have any problems with my NHS covid pass and UK driving licence.

Conclusion

The United States has a bit of a reputation for difficult immigration procedures but I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly and easy the whole process was. Documents are checked at check-in, not by immigration officers, and the lack of a long passenger locator form make things much simpler.

Out and about in New York City things are different but not particularly complicated. Just remember to keep a mask and your NHS covid pass on you and you will be able to do pretty much everything you were able to do pre-covid.

I will be back in the United States in two weeks to visit friends over Thanksgiving and I am confident that I will have just as smooth an experience. It really is very easy.

Comments (130)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • paul sheeter says:

    I too recently travelled to NYC and indeed Cape Cod
    On a UK passport pre opening up of the USA to us Brits
    JFK was 1.45 hours queue with only 2 booths open for immigration and no automated barometric machines
    Out of the airport I found much the same situation as Rhys reports save that in taxis hotels shops and subway universally there was almost total mask wearing compliance
    Also i was impressed that my PCR for my return flight to Israel was free and could be done at numerous mobile units scattered throughout Manhattan
    All in all a good experience

  • Mark says:

    When you say ‘Have your Covid Vaccination Certification ready’, does that mean on the NHS app or a printed certificate?

    • Rhys says:

      App is fine

    • Andrew says:

      Be mindful in immigration or arrivals you may struggle to get a signal or WiFi.

      • Rupert one says:

        Before you go download it to your Apple Wallet if you have an iPhone.

        • manilabay says:

          Or I recommend saving it to the Swiss Covid Cert/French Tous anti Covid applications – these work offline. In worst case, just save a PDF of the Covid pass on to your device.

  • James says:

    How is everyone’s experience with VeriFLY? Last time I flew a few months ago the app existed but the BA website allowed me to upload my vaccination documents on there also. But that seems to have disappeared now.

    Im flying to NYC on Thursday so my supervised antigen test is booked for Tuesday evening. How is the turnaround in terms of confirmation of certificate through verifly along with them telling BA it’s all ok and being able to check in?

    • Tonei Glavinic says:

      My last few trips the turnaround on test verification has been very quick – 15 minutes or less. A major improvement from the first time I used them in May when it took over two days and I ultimately had to call them to get it processed.

    • Rich says:

      Have just used it again, verified PCR test result photo in less than a minute, all very slick, would recommend.

    • Terry says:

      VeriFLY was a waste of time in September (LHR/YYZ) – we had to join the general queue at T5, and online check in was disabled.

      Last week (LHR/MIA) was the total opposite – did exactly what it was meant to!

      On both occasions, the verification of manual uploads was within 15 minutes. Would definitely recommend using it.

  • Tonei Glavinic says:

    You cannot use a self administered test as you must provide your airline with a certificate that shows the test result along with your name, date of birth, date of test, and name of the laboratory or service that issued it. (Under the CDC order it is the airlines that must verify this information, not customs and border protection). Also, ymmv on this but a friend tried to travel back to the US this weekend with documentation of a negative test from the NHS and was denied boarding as NHS tests are not considered valid for international travel. (I do not know what airline she was booked on).

    • Rich says:

      Some people say you can wing it with some tests and playing down the checks, I think Blenz on here sometimes infers that, but I personally would stick religiously to the rules and you can then rest easy.

      • SammyJ says:

        All the folks on the Orlando pages have had a full doc check, with test certificate checked. It’s probably quite possible to fudge it using a non-video one, as the certificates don’t generally say on them, but not an NHS one.

      • blenz101 says:

        Not me guv’. Anything to do with the USA I would be following the rules to the letter, the airlines are understandably cautious.

        Only think I have said is that rapid PCR tests (carried out at a lab) for entry to Dubai is fine desite the Emirates website saying you can’t use a rapid test. This has never been an issue and I think is confusion between other types rapid test but a RT-PCR lab processed has always been accepted for me. Those doing at home tests with supervision report on here they get away with it but I would much rather my certificate said the name of the test centre I visited and remove all doubt.

        • Rich says:

          Yep, it was a comment that you had made in reference to Dubai a few days/week ago that I had in mind, thanks for clarifying and that you’re not a wide boy 😉😂

  • John says:

    “…and I am confident that I will have just as smooth an experience. It really is very easy.”

    Well you’ve done it now!

  • Roberto says:

    You’re papers please ….sounds similar to 1930s Berlin.

    • Rich says:

      Except that was genocide and this is public health. So no. Not really.

      • Shark says:

        You should go check your history: the precursor of the “genocide” was the ‘papieren bitte’ culture of the 1930s, which progressed from checking papers to creation of a class of ‘other’. The analogy of Roberto is apposite.

    • numpty says:

      How so? Please explain why it sounds the same.

      • Tariq says:

        It’s pretty much the same, just the coronaphobic apologists deny it. And to think we celebrated those who died for our freedom in recent days, these bedwetters willingly give it up to tyrannical dictatorships.

    • Rui N. says:

      Yes, in the US you never ever had to show your papers to get anywhere… try getting in a bar there sometime without “papers”.

      • Andrew says:

        Or in some places, it’s photo ID required to board an Amtrak service.

        Not uncommon to get asked for photo ID for major tourist attractions like Disney or even the Miller beer caves in Milwaukee. To get into the Pentagon is was Passport, Driver’s Licence, utility bill, and apply 3 months in advance.

        • Rui N. says:

          Indeed that as well. But just getting a pint you need valid ID to show you are over 21!

      • ChrisC says:

        About 6 years ago I was asked to show ID for buying a bottle of gin in a World Food Market in Chicago.

        Policy there was Challenge 45!

    • ChrisC says:

      Yet here you are on page 1 willingly giving the US Government all sorts of info about yourself.

      “My GE request has been pending for 14 days now as they are wading through the backlog (not that there are any appointments anyways)”

      • Worksop Dave says:

        One silver lining about covid (apart from me now being able to work from home 2/3 days a week forever) is the crying on the internet from pathetic babies 😂

  • Luke says:

    Is Global Entry still being used, or do I now need to speak to the immigration officer?

    • Terry says:

      Yes, GE was being used in MIA when I arrived last week.

    • Liam says:

      GE never stopped being used during Covid, although if you were entering the US on an NIE it wasn’t much use because it would send you to speak to an immigration official anyway.

  • SammyJ says:

    Does VeriFLY work with Aer Lingus? Anyone used it? MAN-MCO next month.

    • John says:

      Yes

      • davefl says:

        Aer Lingus tweeted a few days ago that use of verifly was mandatory on their US routes.
        Pretty sure that’s not the case and it’s only if you wanted to complete online checkin.

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