In a move that may bode well for re-opening the southbound American land border to Canadians, the US government is taking the first steps toward requiring nearly all foreign visitors to the US to be vaccinated for the coronavirus.

According to a White House official, the requirement would come as part of the administration’s phased approach to easing travel restrictions for foreign citizens to the country, though no timeline has yet been determined, as interagency working groups study how and when to safely move toward resuming normal travel. Eventually all foreign citizens entering the country, with some limited exceptions, are expected to need to be vaccinated against COVID-19 to enter the US.

The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to preview the policy under development.

The Biden administration has kept in place travel restrictions that have severely curtailed international trips to the US, citing the spread of the delta variant of the virus. Under the rules, non-US residents who have been to China, the European Schengen area, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Brazil, South Africa and India in the prior 14 days are prohibited from entering the US.

All travellers to the US, regardless of vaccination status, are required to show proof of a negative COVID-19 test taken within three days of air travel to the country.

The Biden administration has faced pressure to lift some restrictions from affected allies, the air travel industry and families who have been kept separated from loved ones by the rules. Many have complained that the travel restrictions don’t reflect the current virus situation — particularly as caseloads in the US are worse than in many of the prohibited nations, such as Canada.

The latest effort came this week from a group of US and Canadian business leaders, who wrote a letter to senior members of US Congress pushing for a plan to ease restrictions at the land border with Canada.

The group, led by the North American Strategy for Competitiveness, wants senior congressional leaders to demand a detailed strategy from the Department of Homeland Security. Specifically, the coalition is worried about what it calls “tremendous delays’’ as border agents struggle to process vaccination status and COVID-19 test results from inbound travellers.

Their letter urges the department to explain how it plans to deal with an influx of visitors from Canada when the travel ban is finally eased.

Fully vaccinated US citizens and permanent residents will be allowed to cross into Canada beginning Monday. The US, however – citing concerns about the Delta variant – has extended its own restrictions at land crossing points until Aug. 21.

Meanwhile, Airlines for America, a trade group for major US airlines, said it was pleased by reports that the administration plans to make it easier for more foreign travellers to enter the country if they have been vaccinated.

At the same time, US Travel similarly welcomed the report (in part) and urged the administration to implement it as quickly as possible.

“Every week that travel bans on the UK, EU, and Canada remain in place, our economy loses $1.5 billion in spending, which would support 10,000 American jobs,” says US Travel Executive VP Tori Emerson Barnes, adding, “The UK, much of the EU, and Canada, have all taken recent similar steps to reopen their borders to vaccinated travellers and rebuild their economies.”