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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.

  • Andrew says:

    Similar experience arriving in Miami yesterday – very quick entry process, in fact they didn’t even ask for my passport, they just asked me to remove my mask and look into the camera and everything they needed was there. And in Miami mask wearing is as widespread as in London which is great – about 10% of people are wearing them (although airports and in Ubers it is mandatory).

    • Lady London says:

      Andrew is this not a bit scary? If they didn’t ask for your passport does this mean they have a superb automated facial recognition system?

      • Andrew says:

        Yes, their facial recognition software links you to your passport from a previous visit – he even told me my name to confirm, rather than asking me what my name was.

        • John says:

          So in theory the US could accept travellers without a passport at all after they have visited once (or enrolled their passport at a US embassy even)

      • davefl says:

        Nothing out of the ordinary these days. This is why everyone had to switch to bio recognition passports. Your pic is encoded within the chip.

        The 1st time I really noticed it was in Shanghai a couple of years ago when passing through security, you walk straight ahead and a large display board lights up “hello Mr F, your gate is 145, 15 mins walk” with an arrow pointing to it.

        But then I’ve already given the chinese authorities everything from my passport in order to get a visa right? So EU-UK-US data transfer is exactly the same but simpler as there are agreements in place to give them your bio profile ahead of time.

      • A says:

        When departing the US, sometimes you get facial recognition scans at gates instead of any physical check of the passport…. I certainly had it boarding a virgin flight to the uk in July, so their facial recignition is clearly working well.

        • John says:

          When I visited Taiwan in 2018 it was nothing more than a thumbprint scan (collected on arrival) to exit through immigration, and oddly there was no passport check at the gate either, going to HKG.

          I was HBO so possibly was able to get my BP online too (didn’t record what happened at check-in)

  • Doug M says:

    @Rhys. You’ve not thought GE worthwhile?

    • Nick says:

      I don’t have it either, despite going to the US at least 3-4 times a year pre-covid. I guess it helps that the airports I use tend to have few queues (only ever arrived JFK off the BA1 so I avoid what’s clearly the worst), but the faff of applications, fees and interviews puts me off for something that has limited benefit. Suppose Rhys could put it on expenses though. If Canada had an equivalent I’d jump at it… the queues at YVR are horrific!

      • Doug M says:

        For me the benefit is both the GE, but also the TSA Pre that comes with it. That makes the security such an improved experience at so many places it’s definitely worth the price and effort. In terms of effort I did my original interview in Grosvenor Sq. a few years back, so easy. When it came to renewable no further interview was needed, different for different people. For say £25/year it’s a huge benefit.

        • Terry says:

          I second that. The TSA Pre service is really worthwhile – especially when your flight from the U.K. lands late, and you have a connection to make.

        • mradey says:

          Agreed – I easily beat the flight crews through immigration/customs when using my GE.

    • Rob says:

      We are hoping to do it for an article if he can get an appointment on his way back from holiday next week.

    • Rhys says:

      I’m actually in the middle of applying. Would’ve done it sooner but covid…

  • Guy Incognito says:

    I had no issues entering on an NIE. Obviously planes were emptier then but it took me about 1 minute to get through immigration. Again the checking of documents is entirely on the airport and their staff, this was never checked by any US official.

    Regarding masks, I’m exempt and Virgin were great about it. I also had no issues in the US but did make sure to have the letter from a GP (that I had to pay for privately) saved on my phone to show anyone. I also took an exemption lanyard.

    • Mark says:

      Interesting to hear that. I travelled on a NIE a while back and they gave me a real hard time. Sat for 2 hours waiting for further questioning. Even then they weren’t sure what the NIE was and wanted to send me back!

  • Lady London says:

    Very well written article Rhys.

    In general, just meeting people, what is the emotion around Covid? Are people scared, defiant, shrugging it off? Are people mentioning family or friends they’ve lost or were hospitalised?

    • Liam says:

      Depends, as with so much Covid-related, on where you go. In general I think there is a pretty widespread (although not uniform) determination that there’ll be no more lockdowns and that, come what may, the country will push forward in spite of however many people end up catching Covid, being hospitalised, or dying this winter. There’ll be some variation state by state, or even within states between a big city/county or two and the rest, and attitudes, both to Covid and the vaccine, vary between local communities and ethnic groups.

      It’s a culture-war and legislative issue too, with Texas and Florida’s governors and state governments leading the charge against mask mandates and vaccine mandates, and other southern states joining them to challenge the federal government’s attempts to mandate vaccinations in businesses employing 100+ people.

      At a more mundane level, a lot of the stuff that was really just for show—temperature checks, excessive hand-washing/-sanitising, wiping-down or spraying as much as possible—seem to have mostly disappeared, even in LA, where I live, which has been relatively aggressive in trying to tackle Covid (indoor mask mandate still in place, for example).

      • Magic Mike says:

        As with everything else in the US in the past few years, Covid seems to have become highly politicized with those with extreme views at both ends of the spectrum shouting at each other. Masks, vaccines, restrictions, all get fought over and create a toxic atmosphere where rational debate is impossible.

        At least in the UK we just have Labour vaguely suggesting doing the opposite of what the government proposes, at least until they are proven wrong and move onto the next opportunistic soundbite…

    • Rhys says:

      Not really. Feels pretty normal, the same as anywhere else.

      We’re all a bit tired of talking about covid!

  • Terwri says:

    Has anyone had experience yet of checking in with the NHS covid recovery pass? Im double vaxxed so dont forsee any issues with paperwork / NHS pass once I get there but getting checked in without a test due to recent infection worries me. I cant get a response from BA

    • paulm says:

      I think you still need to test, it is only antigen test needed so you should be fine even with recent case of covid. I recently had covid and did a test before departure which was negative.

    • Rhys says:

      I’m not aware of a testing exemption for the recently recovered.

  • Shaun says:

    Does anyone know what the actual rules are for unvaccinated children where the parents are vaccinated? Have heard different reports that they need a test on day 3 – 5 in the USA, but others that have no mention of this.

    • Steve says:

      I’d like to know as well

      • Sean says:

        A test is “recommended” but not essential. Suggest taking a couple of NHS lateral flow tests to show willing.

      • Rob says:

        The Day 3-5 test was added after the initial details were published which is why some coverage, including ours, did not mention it.

        • Steve says:

          Question is if “3-5 days test” is required or just recommended for unvaccinated 7-year old for instance? And can we carry a few free nhs lateral flows to be used there or the test needs to be purchased in US?

  • RB says:

    Thanks Rhys,

    Due to fly to LA tomorrow. Does anyone have experience of rapid lateral flow or PCR tests in or around the Mayfair area? It wasn’t clear to me if Lateral Flows were being accepted so have been cautious up to now but do need to get sorted today!

    • Andrew says:

      LFTs are fine – but can’t be done at home unless supervised by video. ExpressTest did mine at a testing site, certificate within 40 mins in my inbox.

    • Rhys says:

      Try ExpressTest – they have some good city centre locations. I use the one in Bank/St Pauls regularly.

  • anonymous today! says:

    I flew to LAX in early October with my US citizen spouse. At immigration spouse was waved through and I was taken away despite the protestations of US citizen spouse. I was led by a large armed man to a room in which there were about 50 other people. I was not told why. I had my passport taken away. No one was permitted to use any electronic device (people were checked when going to the loo, and screamed at if they surreptitiously used a phone even for playing games). People were missing flight connections. After about 3 hours with no information or explanation I was interviewed. The questions were the same (as were the answers) as at the immigration desk, and included wanting to know about my bank balance(s). Peremptorily I was released, with no more explanation. My spouse was asleep on the baggage in the reclaim hall. The land of the free! Every US person I told about this experience was embarrassed and said that TSA and the like have taken more and more power and regularly abuse it. Since the advent of Trump things got significantly worse. In the future I shall aim for a smaller airport, but at the time there was little to no choice. If there is a message here, it is do not take any risks with US immigration regulations. Someone in the messages above talks about not taking the required Covid test – a risk not worth taking.

    • Paul Pogba says:

      I’ve had this twice at EWR under Obama, and sailed through at BOS under Trump. I’m not sure the presidents bother themselves with the selection of passengers for secondary passport selection.

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