What Are Travel Warnings, Consular Information Sheets & Public Announcements?

Travel Warnings are 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 are a means 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 any time there is a perceived threat and usually have Americans as a particular target group. In the past, Public Announcements have been issued to deal with short-term coups, bomb threats to airlines, violence by terrorists and anniversary dates of specific terrorist events.

Consular Information Sheets 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." On limited occasions, the State Department also restates in this section any U.S. Embassy advice given to official employees. 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.

For a complete list of travel warnings, public announcements, and consular information sheets issued by the U.S. State Department, click here.

This information is provided by WTA as a source of travel safety information for web visitors and our members. It includes Travel Warnings and Public Announcements issued by the State Department since September 11, 2001. It does not include all of the Travel Warnings or Public Announcements that the State Department issued prior to September 11, 2001. WTA encourages you to visit the U.S. State Department website to review all relevant safety information for a particular foreign destination. WTA assumes no responsibility for consequences that arise from acting on the information that is provided here.