US Allows Citizens with Expired Passports to Return Home Until March Next Year

[Asia Economy Reporter Seulgina Jo] The U.S. Department of State announced on the 28th (local time) that it will extend the temporary authorization measure until March next year to allow U.S. citizens holding expired passports overseas to return to the country.

This measure comes in response to the increasing number of U.S. citizens experiencing inconvenience due to delays in administrative work at embassies and other offices caused by the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic.

U.S. citizens residing overseas with passports expired after January 1, 2020, can use those passports to enter the United States until March 31 of next year. However, these passports cannot be used for travel from the U.S. abroad or when transiting through other countries to the U.S.

The Department of State stated, "We will provide the highest level of service to facilitate overseas travel," adding, "This is to alleviate difficulties caused by the global COVID-19 pandemic."

Meanwhile, on the same day, President Joe Biden announced that starting from the 31st, travel restrictions on eight countries in the southern Africa region, where the new COVID-19 variant Omicron was first reported, will be fully lifted. The countries subject to the travel lift are South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique, and Malawi.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.