USA Lifts Level 4 "Do Not Travel" Advisory

Last Updated 2 years ago

On Thursday August 6, The US State Department lifted its Level 4 “Do Not Travel” advisory, warning American citizens against traveling abroad.

The Level 4 advisory was first put into place on March 19, and is the highest level of travel advisory the government issues. The advisory urged all US citizens not to travel internationally because of the uncertainty due to Covid-19.

Now, more than 4 months later, the US government has finally lifted the global travel advisory. However, there are still individual advisories in place for each country an American citizen is looking to visit, of course if they are permitted to at this time.

With health and safety conditions improving in some countries and potentially deteriorating in others, the Department is returning to our previous system of country-specific levels of travel advice (with Levels from 1-4 depending on country-specific conditions), in order to give travelers detailed and actionable information to make informed travel decisions. This will also provide U.S. citizens more detailed information about the current status in each country. We continue to recommend U.S. citizens exercise caution when traveling abroad due to the unpredictable nature of the pandemic.

– Direct quote from the press release made earlier today.

American Tourists Still Not Welcome in Many Nations

American travelers went from having one of the most powerful passports in the world, to finding themselves locked out of many countries. The EU still has their ban in place for US residents and is not welcoming any American tourists at this time.

Many other nations worldwide have also followed suit with banning Americans, leaving only about 30 countries that US residents can currently travel to.

Individual Travel Advisories Still Hold

While the general Level 4: Do Not Travel advisory has been lifted, individual advisories for each nation are still in place. US citizens are urged to always check what level of advisory the US State Department has issued for a specific country before traveling. Each travel advisory by country is available on the travel.state.gov website.

The Canadian/US Border Remains Closed

The land border between the USA and Canada still remains closed, until at least August 21.

The border was shut on March 21 and the decision to extend the closure has been reviewed monthly, with the latest extension set to expire August 21. At that time, it will either be removed, or extended for another 30 days.

Passport Offices May Start Reopening

Following the removal of the global Level 4: Do Not Travel advisory, the US State Department has also announced more passport offices and services will start reopening.

As of August 6, there are 6 passport agencies and centers in phase two and 12 agencies and centers in phase one of the reopening plan. Eager travelers can go to the governments Passport Agency and Center page for more information.

While they are still in Phase 2 of reopening passport services (meaning passport agencies are only open to assist customers who need a passport in the next 72 hours for a life-or-death emergency), they are rumoured to soon be moving into Phase 3. Phase 3 will see the general resumption of passport services, including applications.