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U.S. State Department Issues Level 4 Do Not Travel Advisory

by Steve Case
Last updated March 20, 2020

UPDATE 20 March 2020 @ 9:30 AM PDT

The Trump Administration is instituting travel restrictions to and from Mexico.  You can read that story here.

URGENT UPDATE 19 March 2020 @ 4:00 PM PDT

All  Americans currently abroad are being told to immediately return to the United States unless they are prepared to stay abroad for an extended period of time.

Failure to return timely may result in a delayed entry back into the United States and that delay may be at your expense.

THIS MESSAGE IS FROM THE STATE DEPARTMENT:

“Many countries are experiencing COVID-19 outbreaks and implementing travel restrictions and mandatory quarantines, closing borders and prohibiting non-citizens from entry with little advance notice”.
“Airlines have canceled many international flights and several cruise operators have suspended operations or canceled trips,” it said. “If you choose to travel internationally, your travel plans may be severely disrupted, and you may be forced to remain outside of the United States for an indefinite timeframe.”

Visa Services Are Suspended

Routine visa services and requests are now suspended by the State Department.  Exceptions will be made for a qualified life or death emergency or travel with 72 hours.

Passports

Routine issuance of passports will be delayed past the eight-week time frame for the delivery of passports.  Expedited passport services are suspended indefinitely.

Thursday, 19 March 2020

The U. S. State Department raises travel advisory to Level 4 advising United States citizens to avoid global travel during this COVID-19 outbreak.

a blue and red map with white text
Image credit: U. S. Dept. of State.

The Level 4 travel advisory is the highest advisory level that can be issued by the federal government.

The European Union had also instituted a 30-day travel ban on nonessential travel for its 26 member countries to the rest of the world.

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Here is the link to U. S. Department of State travel website.

Travel To/From Canada

Yesterday, the U.S./Canada border was closed by mutual agreement for nonessential travel.  Those who commute across the border for work and health care workers will be allowed to enter Canada.

Canadian airport operations that will accept international flights have been restricted to four airports:

  • Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ)
  • Montreal- Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport (YUL)
  • Vancouver International Airport (YVR)
  • Calgary International Airport (YYC)

Flights arriving from the U.  S., Mexico and the Caribbean are exempt from this limitation.

Travel To/From Mexico

At this time, Mexico has not instituted any travel restrictions.

Travel To/From The United States

Canadian nationals commuting to the U. S. for employment will be exempt from the nonessential Canada/U.  S. border travel ban.

The current ban on foreign nationals entering the United States from the following countries is still in effect:

  • Austria
  • Belgium
  • China
  • Czech Republic
  • Denmark
  • Estonia
  • Finland
  • France
  • Germany
  • Greece
  • Hungary
  • Iceland
  • Iran
  • Ireland (added 3/16/20)
  • Italy
  • Latvia
  • Liechtenstein
  • Lithuania
  • Luxembourg
  • Malta
  • Netherlands
  • Norway
  • Poland
  • Portugal
  • Slovakia
  • Spain
  • Sweden
  • Switzerland
  • United Kingdom (added 3/16/20)

American citizens and legal permanent residents returning from high-risk areas required to return through 13 designated airports:

  • Boston-Logan International Airport (BOS)
  • Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD)
  • Dallas/Ft. Worth International Airport (DFW)
  • Detroit Metropolitan Airport (DTW)
  • Daniel K Inouye (Honolulu) International Airport (HNL)
  • Hartsfield-Jackson (Atlanta) International Airport (ATL)
  • John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK)
  • Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)
  • Miami Internation Airport (MIA)
  • Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR)
  • San Francisco International Airport (SFO)
  • Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA)
  • Washington-Dulles (Virginia) International Airport (IAD)

Final Thoughts

This pandemic is a fluid situation changing day-by-day and hour-by-hour.  Travel Codex will continue to monitor and update travel conditions as the situation changes.

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About Steve Case

Steve is a life-long avgeek and a points and miles player. The photo is from my first premium, international award flight in 2012. That is all it took, I was hooked. I used my airline mile and hotel points to travel well and cheap. I am truly an "out-of-the-box" traveler which has enriched my travel experiences.

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scott@travelcodex.com

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