Flying into United States from Hong Kong Just After 14-Day Schengen Window Expires
Background: My girlfriend is on an F-1 visa for the United States, and is currently located in (and a citizen of) Hong Kong. She recently was in Hungary, and flew to Hong Kong via Helsinki. She has a direct flight from HKG to SFO scheduled to land in the United States over (but only an hour over) exactly 14 days since her plane departed Helsinki.
Question: In light of the language of the ban [1, Section 1] on non-citizens or non-permanent residents entering the United States who have been "physically present within the Schengen Area during the 14-day period preceding their entry or attempted entry into the United States," I believe that she shouldn't have problems with the entry in terms of the current COVID-19 related policies, but would like to make sure that I'm not missing anything. Should I be worried about this? Is there an interpretation of "physically present" that could include an international flight? Etc..
Best Answer
Thank you all very much for your comments and suggestions.
Given the uncertainty, I decided to call US Customs and Border protection (didn't even know I could; was only on hold for 3 minutes.) They said that her current plan is just as risky as coming to SFO 15 or 17 days since leaving the Schengen Area. The remaining risk is just due to the discretionary power of the CBP officer, and the CBP person on the phone said that she had heard of travelers getting turned away more than 14 days after exiting the Schengen Area because of this discretion. In her words to me, "I just hope she gets a good officer."
The one bit of advice she did give is to print out and provide documentation of travel and the relevant dates, etc., to make the situation clear to the CBP officer approving (or not) entry.
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