Some of the inbound international travel restrictions that have bedeviled U.S. employers reportedly are expected to be lifted by mid-May.

This will include restrictions on travel from the UK, Europe, and Brazil, as well as the travel restrictions at the Northern and Southern borders, which were recently continued until April 21, 2021. An anonymous senior administration official said there would be a “sea-change in mid-May when vaccines are more widely available to everyone.”

The administration reviews the travel restrictions weekly. There appear to be two schools of thought: 1) those who are concerned about lifting travel restrictions due to the spread of COVID-19 variants and 2) those who believe that the COVID-19 testing requirements for boarding international flights are sufficient.

The plethora of world-wide travel restrictions has led to confusion and hardships to businesses and individuals, and there is no direct evidence that the travel bans are needed now that COVID-19 testing is widely available.

Industry groups, including the airlines, have been urging the administration to loosen restrictions and rely on “core public health protections, such as the universal mask mandate, inbound international testing requirements, physical distancing or other measure that have made travel safer and reduced transmission of the virus.”