The German Foreign Ministry has advised its citizens regarding travel to the United States, warning them about the reasons why they could be denied entry.
This travel advice followed reports of three German nationals being denied entry and were detained as they tried to enter the US, Schengen.News reports.
A criminal conviction in the United States, false information regarding the purpose of stay, or even a slight overstay of the visa upon entry or exit can lead to arrest, detention, and deportation upon entry or exit.
According to Deutsche Welle, two out of the three detained German nationals have been released – a 29-year-old woman returned to Germany last week after being detained since January, while a 25-year-old German national spent two weeks in detention before being released. Both of the travellers were stopped at the Mexico border with the US.
The third German national, who holds a green card residency permit remains in detention since last week, after he returned from Luxembourg.
Foreign Ministry Reminds German Travellers Over ESTA
The Foreign Ministry has also reminded travellers to have with themselves the travel authorisation document that is mandatory for anyone entering the US, as the daily Der Spiegel reports.
The electronic system for travel authorisation (ESTA) document is an automated system that decides who can enter the EU among those who are visa-exempt.
The final decision on whether a person can enter the United States rests with the American border authorities. But this is no surprise; it is the same in Germany.
However, the authority clarified that this advice was not a travel warning to the US, implying that travellers should be careful but this was not issued for security reasons.
US Plans Introducing Travel Ban on Several Countries
The new US government is considering changes regarding travel to the country, introducing a traffic light-coloured system.
The red list, which represents the countries with questionable safety for the US, consists of 11 countries – Afghanistan, Bhutan, Cuba, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Venezuela, and Yemen. Travelling from these countries is entirely banned by the US government.
Countries in the “orange” category could introduce restrictions on immigrant, tourist, and student visas, with some exceptions. Belarus, Eritrea, Haiti, Laos, Myanmar, Pakistan, Russia, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, and Turkmenistan are on the US’ orange list.
According to Euronews, the countries in the “yellow” category would have 60 days to address concerns raised by the US or risk being moved to the orange or red category.
Countries found in this list are Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Burkina Faso, Vanuatu, Gambia, the Dominican Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zimbabwe, Cape Verde, Cambodia, Cameroon, Congo, Liberia, Mauritania, Malawi, Mali, São Tomé and Príncipe, Guinea, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and Chad.