Travel Advisories

Levels 1-4

We review Travel Advisories on a regular basis.  

• Levels 1 and 2:  Every 12 months.  
• Levels 3 and 4:  At least every 6 months.  

A Travel Advisory will also be updated any time conditions change substantially.  This includes when the U.S. government changes its staffing levels or restrictions in a country due to security concerns.

The Travel Advisory appears at the top of each destination page, with a color corresponding to each level:

Crime (C)

There is increased risk of U.S. citizens being the victim of violent or organized crime. Should a crime a occur, local law enforcement may not be able to help.

Terrorism (T)

Specific terrorist threats exist, or attacks have recently occurred. U.S. citizens or the spaces foreigners visit may be the target of an attack.

Unrest (U)

U.S. citizen safety may be threatened by political, economic, religious, or other instability and violence. Demonstrations, protests, or armed conflict may threaten your physical safety and prevent you from accessing help or evacuating the area.

Health (H)

U.S. citizen health or ability to receive lifesaving care is at risk due to poor medical infrastructure, outbreak of disease, or other health crisis. Should you need medical help in an emergency, hospitals, doctors, ambulances, and medical supplies may be low quality or unavailable. 

Natural Disaster (N)

There is risk to safety and security due to the aftermath of a natural disaster or because of ongoing risk of natural disasters such as active volcanos, consistently dangerous hurricanes/typhoons, frequent earthquakes, etc. 

Time-limited Event (E)

A short-term event, such as elections, sporting events, or other incidents that may pose elevated safety risks.

Kidnapping or Hostage-Taking (K)

Criminals or terrorists may kidnap or take U.S. nationals hostage to compel someone (usually the U.S. government in the case of hostages) to do something as a condition of release.  If kidnapped or taken hostage, captors may threaten to kill or injure victims and may keep victims for an extended time. 

Wrongful Detention (D)

U.S. nationals are at risk of wrongful detention by the destination’s government.  Detention may be wrongful as determined by the Secretary of State and may be due to a range of factors, including but not limited to, the fact that the detention is arbitrary, due to U.S. citizenship or connection, in response to exercising fundamental rights, or for the purpose of influencing U.S. government policy or action.

Other (O)

Your safety is threatened by other potential risks not covered above. Review the Travel Advisory for details.