When traveling abroad, do you register with the local U.S. embassy?

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whutupmydude@reddit

Only have done it myself 2 times (perhaps more if you count my parents doing it for me when I was a kid) if the state department has atravel advisory on it.

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tsukiii@reddit

No, but I’ve never traveled somewhere with increased risk travel advisories

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paramoist@reddit

Funny enough the UK also has the same warning for visiting the US right now.

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timewarp33@reddit

I wonder if the Brits go on a lot of school tours here. /s

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Dr_Watson349@reddit

I hope they do. Then they could learn about this fancy technology called air conditioning. For every one American killed in a school shooting roughly 500-1000 Brits die due to heat exposure.

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Except we don't run the air conditioning. That always frustrated me. We got A/C 1 week per year during finals. Didn't even matter if it wasn't the hottest week of the year. Sweat all through May and June for one week of A/C.

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tsukiii@reddit

Looking again, pretty much all of Western Europe has an increased caution due to terrorism risk warnings. UK was just updated most recently so I saw it at the top

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RespectableBloke69@reddit

This is a big reason why the STEP program is useless. They issue travel warnings over basically nothing. It's security theater like the TSA. Traveling within the US is a lot riskier than traveling in most other countries.

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DoctorPepster@reddit

I see this all the time on Reddit, but the STEP program is not about comparing the danger in other countries to danger in the US. They're just warnings that stand on their own.

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vikingmayor@reddit

False

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Savingskitty@reddit

This is a bizarre take.

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nowhereman136@reddit

"You be careful when out there today; we're at terror alert orange! Which means something could go down somewhere in some way at some point in time, SO LOOK SHARP" - Stan Smith (American Dad)

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pigeontheoneandonly@reddit

In fairness I traveled to LA once for business, and I got an email from our travel service letting us know there was a UK travel advisory to that location (I work for a US division of a UK company).

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fromwayuphigh@reddit

The State Dept. (its STEP program) is typically pretty hair on fire with its travel alerts. I look at the ones from the UK FCO as well - they tend to be a bit more measured.

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grimm1111@reddit

No, but I can't say that's a bad idea. Never done it though.

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citytiger@reddit

No i've never been to any country with a travel warning.

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therealdrewder@reddit

There's no reason not to, and it could potentially save your life. Emergencies can occur very quickly, and the government tends to be very interested in rescuing Americans overseas.

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The_Griffin88@reddit

No.

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Arrival_Departure@reddit

For what it’s worth, my coworker is a former consular officer (the diplomats at Embassies that are specifically charged with helping American citizens in trouble abroad), and he strongly recommends every American register.

Think about Covid evacuations in perfectly safe touristy countries - places you’d not think to register. The Americans who registered in STEP were the ones who were contacted first.

Also, it doesn’t matter what passport you enter on. If you’re an American, you’re under their mandate if you want to be.

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ManpreetDC@reddit (OP)

Would an immediate relative be helped by the local U.S. embassy if they were Canadian and traveling with me?

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Background-Passion50@reddit

Short answer no, long answer maybe. Former Embassy guard here. If you call on weekends or before 8AM or After 5PM M-F you will talk to a Marine guard, like I was, they will even say “Good morning/afternoon/evening, American Embassy (Insert City/ Country) Marine Guard Post 1.” We do not have the information on who to contact unless you tell us and even then unless you are a high ranking diplomat we will tell you to call back Monday morning during business hours. My point is don’t call the embassy before or after business hours on holidays or weekends we are given specific instructions to only call people from the Embassy in case of emergencies like notifying the ambassador if someone chucked a bomb over the fence line. Don’t even call for a transfer the RSO officer is very specific about us not being the embassy call center.

And yes it’s the buisness hours of the country it’s in so if you call Beijing at 2PM Eastern Standard Time it’s 2AM there and the only person available to talk to will be the Marine Guard.

Lastly please don’t take it personally if the Marine Guard says “sorry can’t help you” we are only embassy security we don’t handle the day to day tasks of the employees we only guard them and the compound we aren’t even allowed to speak on basic embassy activities like Visas except to tell you where the Visa office is and what it’s hours are. Please don’t take it personally and whatever you do, do not call back multiple times to argue or complain to us. When I was in Beijing we had a man arrested in Washington cause he kept calling to complain. It is still an American government compound and every phone call is logged, recorded, and annotated in our log books and they take that seriously.

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ManpreetDC@reddit (OP)

Ok - so that didn't answer my question.

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Background-Passion50@reddit

I did at the very beginning “Short answer no” as in no, negative, and not yes. The American embassy will not help people who are not American citizens or not American visa recipients. “Long answer maybe” as in maybe if they are a dependent such as what a previous user said or they are a minor or an invalid in your care for whatever reason. Their may also be other cases such as if they’re a foreign national who is under the protection of the U.S. Government. They may also be willing to help if, big if, you are traveling with someone from another country. Their are a lot of maybes. Their are a lot of maybes. No that’s not a typo I typed it twice on purpose. Some political officers are better than others just like every job.

A Political or Visa case officer may be willing to listen to your request for assistance and do the leg work for you but, it’s dependent on which country you are in and what your trouble is. The RSO may even be willing to send someone or several someones out to collect the individual. This is on a case by case basis. The embassy functions on politics and bureaucracy both of which have steps and procedures and cover a broad range of topics that do not always have a clear cut answer much like politics and bureaucracy always does. Think of it like the DMV or the IRS.

Countries where you can expect more assistance are 1st world Allied ones such as most of Europe, parts of Asia, South America, and maybe some of Africa. If you’re in a jam in Bangladesh or Djibouti at best they’ll transfer you to the Canadian Foreign affairs office and at worst they’ll simply tell you they can’t help you.

To answer your question more thoroughly since you didn’t hear me the first time. Your answer does not have a clear cut, answer it is dependent on a host of factors. That’s why foreign policy is so complicated. No two countries are the same, not two embassies, are the same, and no member of the staff is gonna give you the same answer nor give you the same level of help.

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ManpreetDC@reddit (OP)

Yes, I was looking for a thorough answer, I did forget to mention that - and thank you for answering thoroughly now! Now to critique you: I never asked you about your job as a marine guard. That information was not needed in my question about asking if a Canadian could get help from a U.S. embassy. As a marine guard, you answers should be on-point.

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FlyAwayJai@reddit

As a marine guard, you should be able to recognize subtle differences in questions and provide answers on point.

First: As a human, you should be able to recognize subtle differences in interpersonal discourse and know when critiquing someone who is going out of their way to help you makes you a jackass.

Second: Fuck off. What a shitty international ambassador of the US and Canada you’ll be. Ugh.

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ManpreetDC@reddit (OP)

Chill. Deep breaths. Y

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Arrival_Departure@reddit

It depends on whether they’re your dependent or not (spouse, unmarried minor child, elderly parent, etc.) and what the “help” is.

If they are your dependent, then they are typically included under you for things like emergency evacuations (for pandemics, natural disasters, civil unrest, etc.).

And, of course, any emergency info you receive from the Embassy, you can share with them. (For example, in March, the U.S. Embassy told Americans in Moscow to avoid large events. Shortly thereafter, there was a massive terrorist attack at a concert venue that killed 145 and injured 551 people. They could only directly contact the Americans who had registered in STEP in advance - that’s how they (1) know you’re in the country and (2) have your email/phone/address.)

Caveat that, logically, there are certain things they can’t do for non-citizens (prison visits, emergency passports, repatriation of remains, etc.).

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ManpreetDC@reddit (OP)

Gotcha, thanks for the info!

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MaggieMae68@reddit

Yeah, I was going to mention something like this.

It's not just about the current conditions in that country which the State Dept is sometimes pretty "hair on fire" about, as someone mentioned elsewhere in this thread. It's about the potential for ... anything. Covid turning into a full-blown pandemic happened pretty quickly and took a lot of people by surprise. The 9/11 attacks meant that a lot of people needed help getting home from overseas. That kind of thing.

You just never know what weird outside event might be something that you need to be aware of and you might not hear if you're on vacation or travelling and not paying attention to your usual news sources.

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HurlingFruit@reddit

I was about to reply, "No, of course not", but then remembered that years ago, when I first got here that I did register with the Embassy. But I am here permanently and not travelling. I have had to contat them a couple of times about official business, so I figured it wouldn't hurt if someone knew who I was if I popped up asking for help.

I do not register with anyone when I travel other than the people at border control stations.

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RespectableBloke69@reddit

I did when I went to SE Asia but it was basically a waste of time. I probably would if I were going somewhere that is on the precipice of war or something.

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RickAstleyletmedown@reddit

Any precaution is a waste of time until it suddenly isn’t. It’s like having car insurance. 99.9% of the time, you don’t need it. But in that .1% of the time, it can be life changing.

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Arrival_Departure@reddit

Exactly. And also if you don’t need it, then you’ve only “wasted” 5-10 minutes. I feel like my life is worth 5-10 minutes of filling out a free, easy online form.

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RespectableBloke69@reddit

Lol they are not going to send James Bond to rescue you if you get kidnapped or something. It is a basically useless program.

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MaggieMae68@reddit

IT's not. I mentioned in my post that I know someone who had a heart attack while travelling overseas and being registered with the Embassy in that country allowed my friend and her parents to get diplomatic help in basically evacuating her family (her father was the one who had the attack) back to the US extremely quickly and able to bypass a lot of the nuisance steps.

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RespectableBloke69@reddit

You do not need to register with STEP to get emergency help from the embassy.

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MaggieMae68@reddit

No but it makes it go faster.

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SuddenBookkeeper4824@reddit

How so thought?

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RespectableBloke69@reddit

I am not that afraid of life.

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RickAstleyletmedown@reddit

Who said anything about being afraid? No one said not to travel. Just take a few minutes to be prepared.

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RespectableBloke69@reddit

Why would you register with STEP everywhere you go if not for a sense of fear and a desire for a false sense of security? I don't need the US government to keep tabs on me everywhere I go anymore than they already do.

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RickAstleyletmedown@reddit

I don’t do it everywhere I go. I just do when going places susceptible to natural hazards and/or that have poor infrastructure if something goes wrong (like parts of SE Asia). It’s no different from getting insurance, taking multiple forms of payment, etc. It’s just being prepared. So far, I’ve never needed it, but I’ve known multiple people who have had to be evacuated due to sudden unexpected events while travelling—including one with life threatening injuries—where consulate assistance was literally life saving.

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RespectableBloke69@reddit

Consulate would've helped you even if you hadn't pre-registered with STEP.

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jgeoghegan89@reddit

I went to Europe years ago and we never did that

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The_Real_Scrotus@reddit

No, but I wasn't aware of the program before right now. It seems like a good idea though, I just enrolled for a trip to Mexico next year.

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Confetticandi@reddit

I do in developing countries

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Taiwandiyiming@reddit

I’ve registered in Taiwan because I live here. The embassy emails me various news related to Taiwan or how to vote from abroad. It’s pretty nice

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barbiemoviedefender@reddit

Yes, I do. They didn’t do crap for us when we had to be evacuated from Hong Kong tho

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Mmmmmmm_Bacon@reddit

No, never.

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sgtm7@reddit

No. Have never done it in any of the countries I have lived or visited. However..... Since I have conducted business at the embassy in Manila, and any time I have mail coming from the government(the VA or the IRS), they always send it to the embassy first. So they know I have a residence there.

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RollinThundaga@reddit

I've seen mentions about how Canadians are generally treated more favorably abroad, so Americans will frequently pose as Canadians, particularly in less secure countries.

You don't even have to pose. Use the Canadian one.

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ManpreetDC@reddit (OP)

Socially speaking, and don't take this personally, but I look ethnically Indian - so, even by Africans, I wouldn't be confused for a Canadian or an American. They'd know I'm of Indian descent, who just happened to be born in the US/Canada. However, legally speaking, I would 100% want to enter on the U.S. passport because the U.S. government has more tools to use for helping American citizens in the event of a national emergency. I always tend to think of the extreme possibilities, and make my decision based on it - not always, but for traveling, I kinda do. That's why I buy travel insurance, even if I were to visit Australia or Europe.

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LoudCrickets72@reddit

Typically, I don't. But if you're visiting a country where you feel the need to ask this question, then why not do it?

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Ok-Importance9988@reddit

I do.

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burg_philo2@reddit

No, but I might consider it if going to a place where things might get unpredictable like Africa (that said I haven’t registered when going to India but I have family there who can help)

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sapphireminds@reddit

Only when I was living there. I lived in Spain for a year and registered with the embassy then, just in case.

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Several_Cheek5162@reddit

Depends on the country - Canada no. Eastern Europe South America or the Middle East yes

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HighFiveKoala@reddit

I've been to Vietnam several times as a family and we've never registered at the US embassy/consulate

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notapunk@reddit

If it was a place that had the potential to be spicy or if I was going to be there a while then yeah it's probably a good idea. Less than a week in an EU country? Probably not.

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miss-marauder@reddit

I usually enroll in STEP because it's easy and I like getting the notifications.

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Into-Imagination@reddit

I do if there’s any kind of warning active from the State dept.

It’s fast and easy to do online.

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dutchtyphoid@reddit

You should register with STEP, looks like the Canadians have a similar service.

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zugabdu@reddit

It has never occurred to me to do this in my life.

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anneofgraygardens@reddit

I've never bothered. but it's a good idea to make a copy of your passport and take a picture of it to have on your phone.

Make sure you contact your doctor to ensure you get all of your necessary vaccinations well in advance of your trip though. Some destinations will require proof of some vaccinations (ie yellow fever).

also, submit travel notifications to your bank/credit card companies letting them know you're traveling. I learned this one from annoying experience.

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VeronicaMarsupial@reddit

Email a photo of your passport info page to yourself as well, at an email address you can log into from any computer, in case your phone is lost, stolen, or damaged along with your passport.

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Unusual_Form3267@reddit

You can log into emails without phones? I feel like all the emails I have require double verification when signing in from a new device.

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anneofgraygardens@reddit

if you have Gmail you can use codes. you have to set them up ahead of time though.

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mixreality@reddit

And make sure you don't need a visa, I made that mistake once. lol

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Mad-Hettie@reddit

I've done it every time I've traveled out of the country. It's not onerous and there's not really a downside.

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ialwaysforget44@reddit

I had no idea this was even a thing, but I’ll start doing i5 going forward.

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Assistant_Pig-Keeper@reddit

I’ve been all over and only registered when I lived in Zimbabwe for 6 months. Apart from all the (justified) alerts I received, they invited me to the embassy for a 4th of July cookout!

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catiebug@reddit

Yes, when we visit family in Thailand because 1) the Navy makes us do it, and 2) they have a habit of overthrowing their government regularly.

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VoluptuousValeera@reddit

If you're concerned and want the extra security measure absolutely do it. I haven't, but that has no bearing on whether you should.

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elisabethofaustria@reddit

Always. It only takes 2 minutes.

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G00dSh0tJans0n@reddit

When I was younger I ended up being in a Caribbean country when a hurricane was approaching and we were not able to change our flight to get out before the hurricane shut down the airport. We notified the embassy of who we were and where we were staying in case in the aftermath of the storm if the airport was destroyed there might be some kind of airlift to get Americans out. Turns out the hurricane eye missed a direct hit and damage was minimal on the island so there was no issue and flights resumed as normal.

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RespectableBloke69@reddit

You mean they didn't send in SEAL Team 6 in black hawks to evac you?

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G00dSh0tJans0n@reddit

No, but the last time the area took a direct hit hit from a hurricane back in the 80s power was out for weeks and martial law was declared. Curfew breakers were shot from snipers in helicopters. It was pretty rough, so thankfully that didn't happen again.

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Building_a_life@reddit

When I lived and worked in a foreign country, I registered. I have never registered in a country where I was only spending a few days or weeks.

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_Smedette_@reddit

Nearly all my travel has been to safe countries, but I’ve done it a few times through the State Dept (STEP). No harm in doing it if you have concerns, and make sure people back home have copies of your documents and itinerary.

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SkyPork@reddit

Good God no ... is this something I'm supposed to have been doing?!

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fromwayuphigh@reddit

I've never done it. There's no point unless you're going to be somewhere for a long time, and there is legitimate risk of dangerous civil unrest or war.

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OK_Ingenue@reddit

I never have registered. I think I’ve registered online tho. That is an easy and simple thing to do.

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SavannahInChicago@reddit

Usually I do just to be safe, but I haven't since I started traveling after lockdown was lifted. Just kinda forgot about it.

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qu33nof5pad35@reddit

No, unless it’s required to, I wouldn’t.

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TokyoDrifblim@reddit

I've been to 50 different countries and never once done this

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RespectableBloke69@reddit

Based citizen of the world

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lsp2005@reddit

When traveling to certain locations, I have registered with the state department using their on line service.

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RickAstleyletmedown@reddit

I’ll usually register if travelling to a less-developed country. Also anywhere with a reasonable natural hazard risk, like in Pacific Islands. I wouldn’t usually bother for somewhere safe and developed like Australia or the UK.

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rilakkuma1@reddit

No but I guess I’ll start doing it, I travel to places with travel advisories.

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lechydda@reddit

Kenya would probably be fine with either passport to enter and leave. Some other countries in Africa have different requirements and different security situations. If you’re just visiting for a week or two, it probably wouldn’t be an issue. If you’re going to a country in Africa without a specific day of return, you might want to make sure you will be able to return on either passport, whether it’s registering with the embassy or STEP.

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ManpreetDC@reddit (OP)

Yep, I'm pretty sure most countries would be fine but I like to act based on possible threats and CMA (cover my ass). If I were visiting Australia, I'd still register with the local embassy.

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lechydda@reddit

If you’ve made the decision to do that, go for it. No one would tell you not to. Most of us are just saying it’s not necessary and we don’t register just for travel (vs moving/living there). I personally have lived in the UK without permanent residency, so I’ve done the travel shuffle. My husband is a UK citizen.

Africa is a big place. If you’re not just going for a week long vacation and the country/countries you want to visit have some travel warnings, or you’re worried even a little bit about the travel, definitely take all precautions you can.

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BaltimoreNewbie@reddit

I have to get my Itinerary approved beforehand, due to the fact that I have a security clearance. Not so much checking in, but I have to get permission to go beforehand.

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ManpreetDC@reddit (OP)

Military?

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BaltimoreNewbie@reddit

No, federal employee. I have a Tier 5 security clearance, so I have to get my itinerary approved before I can go.

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ManpreetDC@reddit (OP)

Wow, FBI!

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BaltimoreNewbie@reddit

Haha, I wish. Nothing that cool, just work with sensitive information

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Proud_Calendar_1655@reddit

Since I’m in the military and my command says we have to register on the step website, I do. It’s not that hard, takes about 5 minutes if you remember your login information. The system occasionally sends you emails with pertinent information, but often it’s stuff I already know about.

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omg_its_drh@reddit

Never

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ericchen@reddit

Not typically, if it’s such a dangerous place that I fear I might need the US government to bail me out, I’m not going in the first place. The only exception of when I registered was when I was stuck in Canada of all places in Mar 2020.

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ManpreetDC@reddit (OP)

Did it help to get registered?

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ericchen@reddit

Not really, since there wasn’t an organized evacuation from Canada like there were from China or from that cruise ship that was stranded in the middle of nowhere.

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PlusAd423@reddit

No. Recently I've only been to fairly stable and safe countries: various countries in Europe, and China.

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DOMSdeluise@reddit

I work in travel security and we always recommend people register with their local diplomatic mission when traveling abroad. But I am a hypocrite because I never do lol. but it's a good idea!

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MillieBirdie@reddit

I do for the notifications, they can be handy sometimes.

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CPolland12@reddit

As an American citizen you can share your trip on the state department website. So you don’t have to go to the embassy or consulate.

The point of sharing your trip is if something happens in the country you’re visiting you are accounted for, or if you go missing, authorities already know where you’re supposed to be staying.

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Free-Veterinarian714@reddit

I didn't do it the last time I went abroad. But that was back in 2000, and it was a school sponsored trip.

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FivebyFive@reddit

I haven't no.

Though the last time I went anywhere with a travel advisory maybe I would have if I'd known it was a thing?

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Expat111@reddit

Only when I’ve moved to a foreign country not when visiting.

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TehWildMan_@reddit

It's been many years since I've traveled outside the US besides Canada/Mexico (to the point where I don't even have a current passport book right now).

So no.

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