Going to Cozumel from NYC in August

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michshlomo

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Hi all,

My husband and I were supposed to dive in Cozumel in April but had to cancel.
We're debating whether we should go in August (next week actually).
I'm worried we might have to be quarantined when back in NYC. Also we are both on a working visa here, and who knows what will happen in the airport when we come back...
However this might be our last chance to dive or even just go on a vacation during the next year's to come.

I know ppl here aren't experts, but I'd still be happy to hear your point of view.
 
I’d be more worried about getting back in than anything...particularly on your visas, it could be risky. People who are currently in weeklong liveaboards in the Bahamas are in a bit of trouble as they announced today that they are stopping flight from the US on wed and they may hit land on Saturday to find their flights cancelled and them stuck..so it can all happen pretty quickly..although they could likley transit through Canada..

personally I wouldn’t be worried about Cozumel itself depending on which hotel you are in. Mine was like a hazmat ward for the most part. No staff came within 10 feet of me... I was on the first flight from Toronto and was happy to quarantine for 2 weeks when I got back....I followed protocols and I don’t mind taking the risk of getting stuck somewhere... You really should be quarantining on return Though.....
 
My brother is on a working visa in NYC. His companies advice was for him not to leave the US until the next year when there is more clarity on the visa situation because he may have trouble getting back in. They have employees with existing work visas that are currently not in the US that are on hold in the home country (Japan) because of concerns about entry.
 
People will give you their opinions here but if your company allows you to travel and there’s no restrictions on your visa, then it’s your call. I was just there for a week and got back on Saturday and felt very safe while I was there. We flew on Delta to Cancun to avoid the crowded American flights, took the ferry over and sat outside. All the locals are wearing masks and the restaurants check your temperature and spray your hands with antibacterial before you come in. There are very few people at restaurants and the tables are very spread out. We wore masks in between dives and my operator (Aldora) sprayed regs before and after dives with disinfectant and made you take your regs with you. I was very surprised that they didn’t ask us any covid questions flying back into JFK. I live alone and work from home and decided to be safe and not see anyone for the next 2 weeks.
 
I second Ministry of Giraffes and Jcp2’s thoughts. I wouldn’t travel on a visa at this point in time. I knew people that ran into random visa issues entering the US even before the pandemic, before the recession , before the current administration which is hostile towards immigration. Too many variables that potentially have a disastrous outcome.

If you do travel , you need to plan on quarantining when you get home. Mexico as a country has quite a few cases (when you adjust for the ridiculously low level of testing ) and it wouldn’t shock me if NY quarantines travelers from there at some point

Note I am essentially in favor of tourists coming to Cozumel. Your specific situation worries me though. I think you would probably be OK, but there is a chance the visa issue could go disastrously wrong. It sounds like a two week quarantine upon return would also be a problem for you. I don’t believe NY is making Mexico travelers quarantine now , but I think as a country Mexico has the same level of true cases as some of the states they are restricting so logically there is a chance they could restrict in the future (if it is legal, I doubt there is a lot of precedent for this stuff).

In a somewhat related tangent , US immigration asked me if I had been to China when I went through last week. I almost laughed , because I think their daily case per capita is 1/10,000th the US at the moment. They are running 20 cases a day we are running 60,000 even they we are 1/4th their size. I assume this question started back in January or February and made sense at the time , but utterly ridiculous now
 
In a somewhat related tangent , US immigration asked me if I had been to China when I went through last week. I almost laughed , because I think their daily case per capita is 1/10,000th the US at the moment. They are running 20 cases a day we are running 60,000 even they we are 1/4th their size. I assume this question started back in January or February and made sense at the time , but utterly ridiculous now

Same happened to me in DFW last week in return from Coz. I have Global Entry and went to kiosk and got my slip. Then had to cue in a short line. Officer asked where I’d been, how long and if I’d been to China recently. Lol. Usually I just get the slip and walk right out so some extra screening but not the right questions perhaps? Heard the same questions of the two in front of me.
 
Thanks everyone for your tips. I am leaning towards not going, because not being able to enter NYC is too big of a risk, and we've been waiting to live here for 15 years, and loving every minute, even now.
Take care everyone.
 
A friend returned to NYC and I thought he had to do the 14 day quarantine, maybe I misheard him.

why not call immigration or customs and maybe get something from them - you have a visa, I’d think you have virtually the same travel rights as a citizen.
 
A friend returned to NYC and I thought he had to do the 14 day quarantine, maybe I misheard him.

why not call immigration or customs and maybe get something from them - you have a visa, I’d think you have virtually the same travel rights as a citizen.
Thanks. Being an immigrant here in these times is a strange status, things feel uncertain and my friend's immigration lawyer advised her not to leave the country. I don't know if you heard but Trump has been talking about canceling visas (without notice) in order to give more jobs to the American people. Not that I want to bring politics into this nice group.
 
There are two separate issues here: a) your visa and the possibility of the federal government denying you re-entry; and b) the possibility of being quarantined by the New York state government.

If anything were to happen with your visa, it would probably come up at whatever airport through which you return to the U.S. If you fly to and back from Cozumel via other U.S. airports, such as on connecting American Airlines flights via Dallas and Charlotte, it would probably happen there, not in New York (unless you fly back directly to New York on JetBlue from Cancun).

Are you Israeli, by any chance (judging by your username)? I would think that keeping out Israelis, out of all nationalities, would not be a priority for the Trump Administration. I would be more concerned for citizens of other countries, however.

New York state has been mandating quarantine for people coming from other U.S. states with high infection rates, but not from other countries. I think that the reason for not extending that policy to foreign countries is that foreign travel is under the jurisdiction of the federal government and beyond the legal authority of New York state, even if it would make sense from a statistical perspective for Mexico. So I would not worry about it unless Trump decides to put Mexico on the federal list (along with China, Europe, Iran, and Brazil). I would have expected Trump to jump on any excuse to keep Mexicans out, and I am surprised that he has not done so yet. Perhaps he has other priorities.

Also, the New York state quarantine policy does not apply to connecting flights through U.S. states. So, for example, if you fly to and from Cozumel on American Airlines via connecting flights to and from Dallas or Charlotte, no quarantine is required, as long as you spend less than 24 hours in those U.S. states.
 
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