 |
|
|
Travel Overseas - Information for American Citizens
Traveling out of Seattle and overseas can be a lot of work and stress, especially if they decide to contain you because they thought they found some traces of contraband on your ID. Not that that happened to me, but you can imagine. Anyway, do your homework so you don't end up in that small room as soon as you get off the boat.
The United States Department of State (DOS) has issued the following statement regarding American citizens traveling abroad:
The Department of State does not have the legal authority to tell any American citizen whether or not they can, or cannot, travel outside the U.S. We provide factual information, as given to us by the U.S. Embassies abroad, so that each individual American citizen can decide whether or not they wish to travel based on that information. We do not, however, tell you if you should or should not go to another country.
However, it should be noted that travel to Cuba by U.S. citizens is restricted by U.S. law, and only permitted with a license issued by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) at the United States Department of the Treasury. It should also be noted that the U.S. government has imposed sanctions for other countries, which may restrict the types of activities that U.S. citizens may engage in while in those countries.
International travel requires the traveler to hold the necessary travel documents, which include a valid passport. Individuals who currently do not have a passport, or whose current passport is close to/already expired, must obtain one or renew it as soon as possible to ensure the document is received in time.
The DOS has developed a checklist for travelers, and suggests that individuals use it to ensure that they are fully prepared for their trip. They also recommend that travelers register their trip online using the Internet Based Registration Service (IBRS), or contact the U.S. Embassy or Consulate in each country being visited. Additionally, individuals should review each country's entry requirements before beginning the trip as these requirements may include the need to obtain an entry visa. Entry requirement information may be found in the Country Specific Information (CSI) documents published by the DOS for each country, or through the country's embassy or consulate.
The Bureau of Consular Affairs (CA) is the DOS agency most directly involved in travel related matters. It is responsible for issuing passports to U.S. citizens, and is actively involved in the process for issuing visas to foreign citizens wishing to enter the United States. In addition to the CSI documents, CA also offers a number of other resources for travelers, including Travel Alerts, Travel Warnings, and brochures containing useful information for travelers.
Finally, the USA.gov web site has links to a broad array of topics, which are of interest to Americans currently living and/or traveling abroad.
Additional Resources:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|