WASHINGTON — Ever since the coronavirus pandemic shuttered global travel one year ago, thousands of Americans have pushed for an exception to U.S. restrictions that would allow unmarried couples separated by borders to reunite.
The restrictions first put in place last March have prevented foreign nationals from visiting their American partners for nearly a year. But an organized movement — known as Love is Not Tourism — is now pushing the Biden administration to consider an exception for these individuals, with no clear end in sight to the pandemic travel bans.
Love Is Not Tourism made some headway overseas last summer, successfully lobbying several European governments to create “sweetheart clauses” that allowed foreign nationals to visit their loved ones during the pandemic.
