Dear Clients and Friends:
The pandemic due to the COVID-19 virus has had a significant impact on the migration of people worldwide, travel restrictions imposed by the governments of each country continue to be greater day by day as long as it is not controlled.
In our country (Mexico), the phenomenon is observed specifically on the border that we share with the United States of America (U.S.A.). Starting on March 21st of this year and for up to 30 days, the Foreign Secretary of Mexico, Marcelo Ebrard, and the U.S. Secretary of State, Michael Pompeo, agreed to close the border to all trips considered “non-essential” in response to the COVID-19 outbreak and in order to reduce the possibilities of greater contagion among the population of both Nations and minimize economic impacts. This same restriction has been extended to the northern border between the U.S.A. and Canada.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (D.H.S.) has defined “non-essential” trips as those that by nature are made for tourism or recreation, including gambling and attending cultural events.
In this scenario, the only trips allowed and considered “essential” to enter the U.S.A. will be the following:
- Those of US citizens and permanent residents returning to the U.S.A.
- Those with a medical purpose (for example, receiving treatment at a health facility in The U.S.A.)
- Those whose purpose is to serve an educational institution in that country.
- Travel for emergency response and public health purposes (for example, government officials or emergency personnel entering the U.S.A. to assist government efforts to respond to COVID-19 or other emergencies)
- Those required to work in the U.S.A. (for example, those who work in the agriculture industry and who have to travel between the U.S.A., Canada, and Mexico for that reason)
- Those of individuals involved in legitimate border trade (for example, truck drivers who move cargo between the U.S.A., Canada, and Mexico)
- Official government or diplomatic trips
- Travel by members of the United States Armed Forces, their spouses and children returning to The U.S.A., or military personnel conducting operations
- Other forms of travel as determined by the U.S. Department of Customs and Border Protection (C.B.P.) on a case-by-case basis.
In addition to complying with the requirement of a trip considered “essential,” the person must present a valid travel document for entry and wait for the United States Customs and Border Patrol (C.B.P.) officials to request detailed information on your employment or business activities to be enhanced in that country. It should be noted that these measures do not guarantee entry into the country and since immigration agents have discretionary powers, they can deny entry to that country.
In the case of Mexico, so far, the restrictions on entry to nationals of the U.S.A. and other countries are limited to the medical examination of each foreign passenger, carried out jointly by the immigration agents of the National Institute of Migration (I.N.M.) and the sanitary authority at the ports of entry to our country: airports, seaports, and international bridges, this as measures of detection of symptoms and contagion prevention and containment of the virus.
For its part, Canada has closed its borders to anyone who is not a citizen of that country, a permanent resident or a citizen of the U.S.A., in addition to the fact that entry by air will only be allowed at the airports of Toronto, Montreal, Calgary, and Vancouver, after inspection of the symptoms of COVID-19.
Finally, although the measures described above imposed by these three nations are intended to prevent a further spread of the COVID-19 virus, it is possible that, in the coming days in the case of Mexico, it will be decided to impose greater entry restrictions on its visitors and In the case of The U.S.A., the border closure period is extended.
As a result of the foregoing, companies need to consider that these measures to restrict entry to Mexico, The U.S.A. and Canada, may have a significant impact on the international labor mobility of foreign workers to those countries, affecting their income and labor transfer to any of these countries, as well as waiting for a delay in the authorizations of migratory processes and approval of Visas both in the offices in charge of authorizing them and in the Embassies and Consulates in charge of issuing them. The attorneys in the Immigration area of our firm are prepared to assist you with any queries regarding this matter. Therefore, we urge our clients to take the appropriate measures to avoid the cancellation of assignments of foreign workers and minimize their economic repercussions.
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