The Postal Service™ will temporarily suspend international mail acceptance for certain destinations due to service impacts related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Effective April 3, 2020, the Postal Service will temporarily suspend international mail acceptance to destinations where the foreign postal operator has indicated that they are unable to process or deliver international mail or services originating from the United States. Customers are asked to refrain from mailing items addressed to any of the following countries, until further notice:
1. Botswana
2. Cayman Islands
3. Chad
4. Ecuador
5. Fiji
6. French Polynesia
7. Honduras
8. India
9. Kuwait
10. Libya
11. Madagascar
12. Maldives
13. Mongolia
14. New Caledonia
15. Panama
16. Peru
17. Samoa
18. Saudi Arabia
19. South Africa
20. Bolivia
21. Sri Lanka
22. Zimbabwe
Effective April 7, 2020, the Postal Service will temporarily suspend international mail acceptance to destinations where air and sea transportation is unavailable due to widespread cancellations and restrictions into the area. Customers are asked to refrain from mailing items addressed to any of the following countries, until further notice:
1. Angola
2. Benin
3. Bosnia and Herzegovina
4. Cameroon
5. Cook Islands
6. Costa Rica
7. Gambia
8. Guatemala
9. Kyrgyzstan
10. Laos
11. Lebanon
12. Malawi
13. Moldova
14. Mozambique
15. Papua New Guinea
16. Paraguay
17. Republic of the Congo
18. Senegal
19. Seychelles
20. Solomon Islands
21. Sudan
22. Tajikistan
23. Tanzania
24. Timor-Leste
25. Tonga
26. Uganda
27. Uruguay
28. Vanuatu
29. Venezuela
These service disruptions affect Priority Mail Express International®, Priority Mail International®, First-Class Mail International®, First-Class Package International Service®, International Priority Airmail®, International Surface Air Lift®, and M-Bag® items.
For already deposited items, other than Global Express Guaranteed®, Postal Service employees must endorse them “Mail Service Suspended — Return to Sender” and then place them in the mail stream for return.
For any returned item bearing a customs form, the Postal Service will, upon request, refund postage and fees on mail returned due to the suspension of service.
For all other returned items not bearing a customs declarations form, the Postal Service will, upon request, refund postage and fees on mail returned due to the suspension of service, or the sender may remail them with the existing postage once service has been restored. When remailing under this option, customers must cross out the markings “Mail Service Suspended — Return to Sender.”
Unless otherwise noted, service suspensions to a particular country do not affect delivery of military and diplomatic mail.
For the most up-to-date information, visit our International Service Alerts page at about.usps.com/newsroom/service-alerts/international/?utm_source=residential&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=res_to_intl
— Strategic Planning and Business Analytics,
Global Business, 4-9-20
