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Travel Information from the State Department

by Mary Jo Manzanares on August 13th, 2006

If you have concerns about your international travel plans, one of the places you can check is the State Department’s website.  There’s a wealth of information, just a mouse click away.  Check for information before making your plans, and then again before departing.

Here is some of the information that the State Department can provide:

• Travel Warnings:  Issued when the State Department decides, based on all relevant information, to recommend that Americans avoid travel to a certain country. Countries where avoidance of travel is recommended will have Travel Warnings as well as Consular Information Sheets.
• Public Announcements:  Used to disseminate information about terrorist threats and other relatively short-term and/or trans-national conditions posing significant risks to the security of American travelers. They are made when there is a specific threat that cannot be countered, and have been issued to deal with short-term coups, violence by terrorists and anniversary dates of specific terrorist events. 
• Consular Information Sheets:  These are available for every country of the world. They include such information as location of the U.S. embassy or consulate in the subject country, unusual immigration practices, health conditions, minor political disturbances, unusual currency and entry regulations, crime and security information, and drug penalties. If an unstable condition exists in a country that is not severe enough to warrant a Travel Warning, a description of the condition(s) may be included under an optional section entitled “Safety/Security.”  Consular Information Sheets generally do not include advice, but present information in a factual manner so the traveler can make his or her own decisions concerning travel to a particular country.

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POSTED IN: Air Travel, European Travel