Travel Alerts & Information
Passports: Information on US Passports can be found at the US Department of State (DOS) website at http://www.travel.state.gov/passport/passport_1738.html. To check the status of a recently submitted passport, click http://www.travel.state.gov/passport/get/status/status_2567.html.
Please refer to Note on Passports at the end of this section for the latest developments in passport requirements.
Warnings and advice covering travel and health issues in countries can be found at the Department of State (DOS) homesite at http://travel.state.gov.
-- Travel Warnings are issued when the State Department recommends that Americans avoid a certain country. The countries currently listed can be found at http://www.travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/tw/tw_1764.html -- The State Department issues Public Announcements at http://www.travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/pa/pa_1766.html to disseminate information quickly about terrorist threats and other relatively short-term conditions that pose significant risks or disruptions to Americans.
A branch of DOS, the Office of American Citizens Services and Crisis Management (ACS) exists to serve Americans traveling or residing abroad. ACS supports the work of our overseas embassies and consulates in providing emergency services to Americans in cases of arrest, death, crime victimization, repatriation, medical evacuation, temporary financial assistance and welfare-and-whereabouts cases. The ACS also assists in non-emergency matters of birth, identity, passport, citizenship, registration, judicial assistance, and estates. ACS can facilitate the transfer of funds overseas to assist US citizens in need, repatriate the remains of loved ones who have died overseas, assist with medical bills, assist victims of crime, and help U.S. citizens who are detained in foreign prisons. ACS also administers a repatriation loan program to bring home destitute Americans and operates a 24-hour Duty Officer Program and Crisis Response Teams who work on task forces convened to deal with natural or man-made disasters. Website: http://www.travel.state.gov/travel/travel_1744.html
-- Information on countries can be found in the Consular section of the DOS website at
http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1765.html. The website also provides information on Avian Flu per country and any other endangerment issues such as child abduction.
NOTE: With trouble flashpoints erupting around the world, Americans are urged to record their out-of-country trip itineraries/residences along with passport details and email addresses with the State Department to receive assistance in case of emergency. Visit the Travel Registration Service/DOS at https://travelregistration.state.gov/ibrs/ui.
For more information on security measures implemented at airports and other travel venues, visit the US Transportation Security website at http://www.tsa.gov/311/index.shtm or the US Dept. of Homeland Security website at http://www.dhs.gov/xtrvlsec.
NOTE: Citizens from Canada, Mexico and Bermuda Citizens from Canada, Mexico, and Bermuda are required to present a passport or other WHTI-compliant documentation to enter the United States when arriving by air from any part of the Western Hemisphere. Beginning January 31, 2008, Citizens from Canada, Mexico, and Bermuda traveling to the United States by land or sea could be required to present a valid passport or other documents as determined. Website: http://www.dhs.gov/xnews/releases/pr_1200669485238.shtm
Visitors Traveling under the Visa Waiver Program International travelers entering the United States under the Visa Waiver Program now need to present an e-Passport if their passport was issued on or after October 26, 2006.
Travel Health Warnings can be obtained from the US Government Printing Office Health Information for International Travel by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which gives a global rundown of disease and immunization advice and other health guidance, including risks in particular countries. The CDC maintains the international travelers’ hotline at 1-877-FYI-TRIP (1-877-394-8747), an automated faxback service at 1-888-CDC-FAXX (1-888-232-3299) and a website at http://www.cdc.gov. More travel advice is at http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/default.aspx.
For information about outbreaks of infectious diseases abroad as well as medical inoculations, as well as other travel-health information, consult the World Health Organization’s (WHO) website at http://www.who.int/en.
NOTE ON PASSPORTS
DOS has restored passport service to the standard six to eight week processing time for routine passport applications, and no more than three weeks for expedited service. (Note: At the moment, passport renewals are expedited in less than three weeks using the standard processing but that could change.)
As early as January 2008, the departments will begin to implement WHTI at land and sea ports of entry. A Notice of Proposed Rulemaking outlining a phased implementation is expected to be published in the Federal Register within the next two weeks.
Travel document security remains a top priority for the U.S. Government. Both the 9/11 Commission and the U.S. Congress urged strengthening of travel documents to prevent entry of terrorists across our borders, reduce use of fraudulent documents, and speed up entry procedures.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is reminding air carriers and the traveling public that the temporary Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) accommodation allowing U.S. citizens to travel by air within the Western Hemisphere using a Department of State (DOS) official proof of passport application receipt will end as scheduled at midnight on Sept. 30, 2007. U.S. citizens who departed the country under this travel accommodation prior to Oct. 1 with a Department of State official proof of passport application receipt and government-issued identification will be readmitted with these same documents if returning to the United States AFTER September 30.
Effective Oct. 1, 2007, U.S. Citizens traveling by air to Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Bermuda must present a passport or other WHTI-compliant documentation to enter or depart from the United States. It is always strongly recommended that U.S. Citizens verify the specific documentary requirements for their destination country.
For more information about WHTI approved travel documentation, please visit our website at www.dhs.gov. For information on obtaining a U.S. passport please go to www.travel.state.gov.
For those traveling on cruise ships, no exact date is set but passports will be required for “sea” or cruise passengers entering or re-entering the U.S. on the same deadline as for land border crossings - some time before June 1, 2009. And in conjunction with the cruise deadline, a passport or other qualified travel document will be required at all land border ports-of-entry prior to June 1, 2009.*
If you would like to request the status of your application by email, please go to the National Passport Information Center - Passport Status Inquiry website http://www.travel.state.gov/passport/get/status/status_2567.html.
A new website, www.GetAPassportNow.com was established by the American travel industry to inform travelers about new passport requirements and to help them get passports.
*NOTE: With regard to Cruise Travel, the Department of Homeland Security has issued new requirements with regard to embarkation of a cruise vessel, requiring cruise lines to provide a passenger manifest 96 hours before entering into any US port. To avoid delays, cruise lines are offering passengers the opportunity to provide their personal information well in advance of embarkation. It is best to check with the cruise line of choice about embarkation requirements when finalizing your cruise trip.
-- May 2008
