Consular Corner

Prepare Yourself for International Travel
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) recently published a booklet entitled “Know Before You Go,” intended to prepare U.S. residents for international travel. The guide includes a helpful traveler’s checklist and tips on registering items before leaving the United States.

Frequent travelers should review the Global Entry program, which expedites and simplifies re-entry to the United States. U.S. citizens and U.S. Lawful Permanent Residents aged 14 years and older are eligible to apply.

To view the full booklet, please visit:
http://www.cbp.gov/linkhandler/cgov/travel/vacation/kbyg/kbyg_regulations.ctt/kbyg_regulations.pdf.

U.S. Passport Card:

The Department of State began production of the U.S. Passport Card. This card facilitates entry and expedites document processing at U.S. land and sea ports-of-entry (may not be used to travel by air) when arriving from Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean and Bermuda.

International Travel:

In planning international travel, all foreign nationals must ensure that they carefully review their current immigration documentation to make sure that they have all of the appropriate travel documentation required to return to the United States. If in non-immigrant status, individuals typically must have a valid visa in their passport for that category. Advance planning can make the visa application process smooth and relatively painless. Most visa applicants will be required to have an in-person interview at the U.S. embassy or consulate. Therefore, we suggest that foreign nationals carefully review the current visa wait times for information on interview appointment availability and timeline for visa issuance at the embassy or consulate. In advance of travel, all supporting documentation should be carefully reviewed and instructions regarding the on-line application forms and visa fee payment should be closely followed to avoid delays.

As some U.S. embassies and consulates have significant visa appointment scheduling and issuance delays, advanced planning is critical. Currently, the U.S. consular posts with the longest visa wait times are: Havana, Caracas, Dhahran, Port-au-Prince and Bogota.

Please consult with a GT attorney for further information and prior to traveling outside of the United States.

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