The news spread on Facebook groups, creating hope: the “travel ban” which prohibits most travelers from France from entering the United States has been lifted by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) . It was fake news.
The confusion arose from an announcement, the one indeed made by DHS, on the “Lifting of certain restrictions on entry into the territory” which comes into effect on September 15. This “notice “ provides that “Arrival restrictions are lifted for some flights”. It did not take more to panic the internet, including some specialists, who, having read too quickly, announced the good news. Only the text actually concerns only one rule: the one which limited since March the number of airports authorized to receive flights from China, Iran, the United Kingdom, Ireland and the United Kingdom. Schengen area. From now on, planes coming from these areas can land at any American airport. But all the other restrictions in place remain, and in particular the ban on entering the United States for anyone who has stayed in the last 14 days in these countries (to find out more about the “travel ban” read here).
Contacted by French Morning, a DHS spokesperson confirmed that this notice did not concern “than the number of airports in the US accessible to flights from designated areas ”. For the rest, confirms the DHS, “The presidential proclamations (…) on the travel ban remain in force”. Last July, the US administration introduced relaxations for certain visa holders, on a case-by-case basis, but the principle remains that of the entry ban for foreigners having stayed in the previous 14 days in the countries concerned.
