Thursday, 8 March 2012

Overseas Travelers Read This - What You Should Know Before Leaving America

By Allan Marsh


Security The Department of State can furnish Country Specific Information for any and every country worldwide. They describe entry requirements, currency regulations, unusual health conditions, the crime and security situation, political disturbances, areas of instability, and special information about driving and road conditions. They also provide addresses and emergency telephone numbers for U.S. embassies and consulates. In short, general inquiries are what Country Specific Information is about. They help travelers make prudent decisions with and on their trips but the information provided thereof is purely general and not specific to any individual traveler.

There are also some countries where the Department of State would issue not only Country Specific Information but also a Travel Warning. Travel Warnings usually come in the form of a recommendation that an American tourist not travel to a certain country in the meantime due to a number of dangerous situations.

Travel Alerts are meant to provide a more compendious update to American travelers regarding significant, but nonetheless short-term risks that they may encounter while overseas. They are issued when there is a perceived threat, even if it does not involve Americans as a particular target group. In the past, Travel Alerts have been issued to deal with coups, pre-election disturbances, and violence by terrorists and anniversary dates of specific terrorist events.

There are many methods in which you could get twenty four-by-seven information such as Country Specific Information, Travel Warnings and Travel Alerts.

Internet These country specific minutiae can be best found on the World Wide Web, particularly on the Consular Affairs web site.

Telephone The people at Overseas Citizens Services will be more than happy to answer general queries on country-specific safety and security. Their hours of operation are from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time, Mondays through Fridays, with the exception of U.S. Federal holidays.

In Person Country Specific Information, Travel Warnings and Travel Alerts are available at any of the regional passport agencies and U.S. embassies and consulates abroad.

Local Laws and Customs When you leave the United States, you are subject to the laws of the country you are visiting. What you would want to do before leaving is to do comprehensive research on local laws, statutes and ordinances of the countries you want to travel to. The Internet is rife with dubious information on local laws, so it is recommended to stick to the old-fashioned means of gathering information, which is either to read up in the local library or personally speak with a travel agent, consulate, embassy or tourist bureau. Also make it a point to watch the news every evening to stay constantly updated about any developments in the countries you shall be visiting.

The Internet and newspapers can also keep you updated on the countries you will visit, so there is simply no excuse to be caught unawares by a sudden development. With that, we wish you safe and happy travels.




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