San Ysidro Border Crossing

The entire Baja Peninsula today is feeling the effects of Hurricane Kay today. Best to just stay put and ride this out - stay safe...

For more weather information on the Baja peninsula along with extended forecasts and live satellite and radar imaging, go to:
https://talkbaja.com/baja-mexico-weather/

Baja Mexico Weather and Storm Forecasts Latest weather for Baja Mexico including daily forecasts, storm and hurricane tracking and information with live satellite and radar images for the Eastern Pacific Ocean

Upcoming Changes to Travel Restrictions

Scheduled to begin on November 8

SAN DIEGO – U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials are asking for preparedness and patience as travelers are able to take advantage of the first stage of re-opening following pandemic travel restrictions.

Beginning in March 2020, to prevent the further spread of COVID-19, travel across the land border into the U.S. has been restricted to essential travel only. While U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents of the U.S. were able to cross the border, travel by visa holders from other nations was not permitted for non-essential reasons, such as tourism or family visits.

On November 8, fully vaccinated foreign nationals with appropriate documents for entry will be permitted to cross into the U.S. from Mexico at land border crossings for non-essential reasons again. These travelers are required to be prepared to attest to vaccination status and to present proof of vaccination to a CBP officer upon request. By January, foreign nationals traveling across the land border for both essential and non-essential reasons will be required to be fully vaccinated.

This includes individuals who have previously been crossing the border for essential travel, such as work or medical appointments. U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents of the U.S. will not be required to provide proof of vaccination when crossing into the U.S. The requirements also do not apply to those ages 17 and under.

Information about what is acceptable as proof of vaccination, including which vaccines are permissible, is available on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website: Requirement for Proof of COVID-19 Vaccination for Air Passengers | CDC. Please note that to be considered fully vaccinated, 14 days must have passed since your final shot for your vaccine.

“Even before November 8, our traffic volumes at California ports of entry have risen to almost the same levels they were pre-pandemic,” said Pete Flores, Director of Field Operations for the San Diego Field Office. “While we have pulled officers wherever possible from other duties and re-assigned them to processing in our primary and secondary inspection areas, we do predict that we will reach a limit to what we at CBP are able to do to help make crossings more efficient, especially during the first weeks after these changes. We are predicting longer wait times, and are asking for travelers to help us speed the process as much as possible.”

For the ports of entry along the California/Mexico border, CBP officials are suggesting the following steps that travelers can take to try and help speed processing for entry into the U.S.:

If you are a visa holder traveling for non-essential reasons, you can verbally attest or declare to the officer that you have been vaccinated, without waiting for the officer to ask the question. Have your proof of vaccination ready, in case the officer asks to see it. (Not every individual will be asked to show their proof at every crossing, but they are required to have their proof of vaccination with them in case they are asked to provide it to the CBP officer as a part of their inspection for entry into the U.S.)

If you are traveling for non-essential reasons, travel at off-peak times. At local ports of entry, our peak times with the highest traffic volumes are Sundays, beginning at about 2 p.m. and continuing until about midnight. Each weekday, peak volume times are in the mornings from about 4 a.m. until about 9 a.m. To help alleviate bottlenecks, CBP is recommending that those who can, decide when to cross choose off-peak hours for their travel times.

For travelers in need of an I-94 permit or permiso, use the CBP One mobile app to apply and pay in advance of your crossing, up to seven days before you cross. Travelers can use the app on their phone to complete the application, receive conditional approval, and pay the fee for the permit. They can then complete the final step with the officer in the primary booth during their inspection for entry to the U.S. Using the app significantly improves the individual traveler’s crossing experience, as they do not need to go to secondary inspection for completion and can instead continue on their way. And using the app helps save time for everyone at the border crossing.

For travelers who do not apply electronically, they should expect long wait times for processing.

Use the Correct Lane

Traffic at our local ports of entry is segmented into three different lanes. The SENTRI lanes are only for those traveling in a vehicle with all of the occupants registered in the low-risk Trusted Traveler program; the vehicle itself must also be registered with SENTRI. The Ready lanes are only for those who have a document equipped to use the Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology available to help speed processing into the U.S.

For U.S. citizens, that’s a passport card, rather than the blue passport book. It also includes Legal Permanent Resident Cards and the Border Crossing Cards held by local B1/B2 visa holders. All others must have their correct documentation ready to show that they have the legal status to enter the U.S., and use the general traffic lanes.

“With the lifting of travel restrictions, we are expecting an increase in travelers. Everybody should expect longer wait times. That’s the reality of what we’re going to see,” said Flores. “At San Ysidro alone, we process about 50,000 cars daily into the U.S. For every traveler that can help save a few seconds by being prepared in advance, those seconds add up into real time savings for all travelers at our local border crossings.”

To prepare for the anticipated increase in traffic volume, CBP recently announced changes back to standard hours of operation at the California/Mexico border crossings. San Ysidro, Otay Mesa, and Calexico West will continue operations 24 hours a day, with all pedestrian processing at the San Ysidro port of entry taking place at he Pedestrian East Facility.

On November 7, hours at the Andrade and Tecate ports of entry will return to 6 a.m. until 10 p.m. daily. At the Calexico East port of entry, hours will return to 6 a.m. until 10 p.m. daily on November 8.

https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/local-media-release/resumption-hours-operation-california-ports-entry

Resumption of Hours of Operation at California Ports of Entry

San Ysidro, Otay Mesa and Calexico West will continue to operate 24 hours a day while Tecate, Calexico East and Algodones expand their schedule.

PedWest remains closed for now.

SAN DIEGO - U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials, anticipating that there will be increased traffic volumes at local ports of entry, are announcing the resumption of standard business hours at three ports of entry between California and Mexico.

Hours were temporarily limited in response to decreased traffic volumes because of COVID-19 and restrictions against non-essential travel.

Beginning November 7, hours will resume to the following:

6 a.m. – 10 p.m. at the Tecate port of entry
6 a.m. – 10 p.m. at the Andrade port of entry
Beginning November 8, hours will resume to the following:

6 a.m. – 10 p.m. at the Calexico East port of entry

Hours at the San Ysidro, Otay Mesa, and Calexico West ports of entry will continue to be 24 hours. All pedestrian processing at San Ysidro will continue at the Pedestrian east facility (the original pedestrian crossing area at San Ysidro.) There continue to be no changes to cargo/commercial processing.

Anticipating increased traffic volumes, CBP will scale staffing based on anticipated workloads in an effort to expeditiously process permitted travelers into the U.S.

US to reopen land borders to non-essential travel beginning in November - an exact date will be announced soon...

Following guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other public health experts, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas announced that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will amend Title 19 regulations to allow non-essential travelers who have been fully vaccinated for COVID-19 and have appropriate documentation to enter the United States via land and ferry ports of entry (POEs) across the U.S. border.

“In alignment with the new international air travel system that will be implemented in November, we will begin allowing travelers from Mexico and Canada who are fully vaccinated for COVID-19 to enter the United States for non-essential purposes, including to visit friends and family or for tourism, via land and ferry border crossings,” said Secretary Mayorkas. “Cross-border travel creates significant economic activity in our border communities and benefits our broader economy. We are pleased to be taking steps to resume regular travel in a safe and sustainable manner.”

The modifications to the Title 19 regulations will occur in two phases over the next few months. First, in November, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will begin allowing fully vaccinated travelers from Mexico or Canada to enter the United States at land and ferry POEs for non-essential reasons. Travelers will be required to have appropriate paperwork that provides proof of vaccination. Individuals who have not been fully vaccinated for COVID-19 will not be allowed to travel for non-essential purposes from Canada and Mexico into the United States via land and ferry POEs.

Second, beginning in early January 2022, DHS will require that all inbound foreign national travelers crossing U.S. land or ferry POEs – whether for essential or non-essential reasons – be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 and provide related proof of vaccination. This approach will provide ample time for essential travelers such as truckers, students, and healthcare workers to get vaccinated.

This new travel system will create consistent, stringent protocols for all foreign nationals traveling to the United States – whether by air, land, or ferry – and accounts for the wide availability of COVID-19 vaccinations.

Border crossing closure extended to September 21...

The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) today, Friday August 20, 2021 extended the closure of its land borders with both Canada and Mexico through September 21

Non-essential border crossing traffic will be restricted for another month until at least September 21st as a precautionary measure to address the spread of COVID-19 and specifically now the Delta variant.