Unrest in Yemen

Hello. My name is Janice Jacobs. As Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs, I want to affirm the State Department’s commitment to the welfare and safety of U.S. citizens around the world and especially in Yemen at this time.

Because of ongoing civil unrest and large-scale protests, we are urging U.S. citizens to depart Yemen while commercial transportation is available. We have also set up a Task Force Alert system on our web site, travel.state.gov. With this system, you can enter contact information for yourself or for your U.S. citizen friends and family members in Yemen. This will help us reach you in case of an emergency. You can also contact us at YemenEmergencyUSC@state.gov. When we receive an email, we reply with the most updated information as quickly as possible. 

For those U.S. citizens wishing to stay in Yemen, we urge you to avoid nonessential travel throughout the country and to start making your own emergency plans. I also encourage you to enroll in our Smart Traveler Enrollment Program on travel.state.gov. Enrolling in this program helps us assist you in an emergency. It also provides you with the latest safety and security updates.

If you find yourself in need of embassy assistance, the Consular Section of the U.S. Embassy in Sana’a remains open for emergency American citizen services. You can find the contact information for the embassy on travel.state.gov. I know that many U.S. citizens in Yemen may not be connected to the internet, but still have ties with family in the United States. Therefore, I am asking those of you with family members or friends in Yemen to relay messages about the situation to them. It is also important that your loved ones have proper and current documentation as U.S. citizens if they wish to receive embassy services or to travel to the United States.

Rest assured that the State Department is monitoring events in Yemen very closely. We will update the website with information as it becomes available, so please check back on a regular basis.