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Anyone know how you get into the USA now?

33 replies

littleowls83 · 27/01/2022 22:44

Anyone been to the USA in the last few weeks and can explain what you did to get tested for travel? We are planning a trip on a Monday but no clinics are open for testing on a Sunday.

Official US government sites don't clearly define what the window for testing is and the US embassy site clearly hasn't been updated since change of rules in December so its all pretty unclear. Trying to weight up whether this is going to be a once in a lifetime opportunity or a very expensive mistake.

OP posts:
FlowerArranger · 28/01/2022 23:28

I checked the CDC website - here is the relevant information:

If you plan to travel internationally, you will need to get a COVID-19 viral test (regardless of vaccination status or citizenship) no more than 1 day before you travel by air into the United States. You must show your negative result to the airline before you board your flight. The 1-day period is 1 day before the flight’s departure. The Order uses a 1-day time frame instead of 24 hours to provide more flexibility to the air passenger and aircraft operator. By using a 1-day window, test acceptability does not depend on the time of the flight or the time of day that the test sample was taken. For example, if your flight is at 1pm on a Friday, you could board with a negative test that was taken any time on the prior Thursday.

Air passengers will also be required to confirm in the form of an attestation that the information they present is true.

You must be tested with a viral test to look for current infection – these include an antigen test or a nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT).

Phrases indicating a test is an antigen test could include, but not are not limited to:

Rapid antigen test
Viral antigen test
Rapid tests are acceptable if they are a viral test that meet the requirements under the Order.

You can use a self-test (sometimes referred to as home test) that meets the following criteria:

The test must be a SARS-CoV-2 viral test (nucleic acid amplification test [NAAT] or antigen test) with Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) OR the relevant national authority where the test is administered.
The testing procedure must include a telehealth service affiliated with the manufacturer of the test that provides real-time supervision remotely through an audio and video connection. Some FDA-authorized self-tests that include a telehealth service may require a prescription.
The telehealth provider must confirm your identity, observe the sample collection and testing procedures, confirm the test result, and issue a report that meets the requirements of CDC’s Order (see “What information must be included in the test result?” below).

Airlines and other aircraft operators must be able to review and confirm your identity and the test result details. You must also be able to present the documentation of test results to U.S. officials at the port of entry and local/state health departments, if requested.

A test result must be in the form of written documentation (paper or digital copy). The documentation must include:

Type of test (indicating it is a NAAT or antigen test)
Entity issuing the result (e.g., laboratory, healthcare entity, or telehealth service)
Sample collection date
A negative test result must show the sample was taken no more than 1 day before the flight.
A positive test result for documentation of recovery from COVID-19 must show the sample was taken within the 90 days before the flight.
Information that identifies the person (full name plus at least one other identifier such as date of birth or passport number)
Test result
Before boarding a flight to the U.S., you will need to show a paper or digital copy of your test result for review by the airline and may be requested to show to public health officials after you arrive in the U.S.

HundredMilesAnHour · 28/01/2022 23:37

@willowstar

I have just seen the post above. No, the antigen test doesn't have to be witnessed. I sat at home alone and did mine. The company I used had an app which you use to scan your test code, then, within 30 minutes, you upload a photo of the test on a form they provide with your name on it. Within minutes they validate it and send confirmation of negative result.
This is incorrect. The test has to be supervised (either via Zoom etc or in person). There are plenty of stories of people who have been denied travel because their test wasn't supervised. It also needs to be a U.S. approved test (of which Flowflex is one). Your test provider should know but best to double check.
bert3400 · 28/01/2022 23:41

My son was there last week, he got tested at Heathrow - Collinson. Or book a C19 to be divered to your home , they do fast delivery I believe ,
you can upload your results via the app/ photo and they send you the certificate via email. Took about 15 mins . Very good service for £20

lljkk · 28/01/2022 23:48

The fit-2-fly test was certified but not truly supervised when we flew to USA last month. good luck, OP. It's all a total headache!

Grytviken · 06/03/2022 13:55

Jumping on this thread as we are travelling to the US at Easter. It seems that our unvaccinated 7 year old will need a day 3-5 viral test once we are in the US, I think this will be a lateral flow that we can have done at a pharmacy, but I was wondering if anyone knows how you report these results and if you have to have the test prebooked before you travel?

NauseousNancy · 06/03/2022 18:06

@Grytviken - we took a test with us, we ordered an unsupervised one from prenetics. We just did in our hotel room, you don’t have to go to a pharmacy. You don’t report to anyone, and no one checked!

Grytviken · 06/03/2022 18:15

[quote NauseousNancy]@Grytviken - we took a test with us, we ordered an unsupervised one from prenetics. We just did in our hotel room, you don’t have to go to a pharmacy. You don’t report to anyone, and no one checked![/quote]
Thanks so much for this, that's how I was thinking it must work! Seems strange 🤷🏻‍♀️

NauseousNancy · 06/03/2022 19:16

It’s so strange! I did the report to prenetics, so got the certificate but no one ever asked for it!

You do have to say on your attestation form that you will do it.

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