Farage visited the US, so can the rest of us join him?
Q I saw that Nigel Farage attended Donald Trump’s rally in Tulsa at the weekend. Can Europeans get in the US now?
Jim S
A Not the vast majority of us. A tiny number can, but they must fall into one of a very few specific categories. Since mid-March British nationals “who have been physically present within the United Kingdom” within the previous 14 days have been banned from the US. A similar rule applies to travellers from the European Union. We are all regarded as “Persons Who Pose a Risk of Transmitting Coronavirus”. This is clearly absurd in the context of the terrifying levels of infection in the US compared with, say, Greece.
The main categories of exemptions are, according to the Foreign Office, “limited categories of visa holders (such as UN staff and diplomats)”. To stand a chance of being let in, you would need an A visa, which indicates you are a diplomat or foreign government official, or an H-1B visa – indicating “specialty occupations in fields requiring highly specialised knowledge”. The normal visa for business travel is a B-1, and for tourism a B-2. Neither would qualify – and nor would an Esta, the standard online permit that most European travellers use for visits to the US.
When Mr Farage tried check-in at Heathrow on Friday 19 June, he was initially denied boarding because he did not qualify. Presumably a few phone calls took place at that stage, because a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson later told The Independent that the Brexit Party leader was deemed to be an “alien whose entry would be in the national interest” of the US. Mr Farage will find that his travel insurance is not valid because he is travelling against Foreign Office advice.
Assuming the UK quarantine measures are still in force by the time he returns, the politician will be required to go straight home and self-isolate there for two weeks. There is no equivalent in the UK quarantine law of America’s “get out” clause. The Brexit campaigner will no doubt follow the requirement to stay indoors for 14 days, which will be a relief for the British public after his visit to a country with an atrocious record for dealing with coronavirus.
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