JulieVikmanis

I have a fuzzy recollection of having notified the State Department of planned trips to various European destinations at one time. Is that something they request if you're traveling to an "at risk" destination, or do they have a service where you can routinely register your trip as a safety measure in case anything untoward happens in any foreign destination where they may need to be able to answer inquiries about US citizens abroad? I went on the State Department website and was unable to find anything.

JulieVikmanis

Oops. No more than pushed the send button on the above message when I recalled that it's the STEP program--Smart Traveler Enrollment Program. Memory fog lifted and I'm off to enroll my latest trip.

Christina

I've never done that and am not sure I see the point, but I guess no harm if it is easy to do it. I don't travel to dangerous destinations, but they know where you entered anyway by your passport.

What kind of inquiries would they have to answer that you would want them to about you? Don't you give friends/families a copy of your detailed itinerary and contact info, anyway? I always do, I'm sure they would notice more than the State Dept. about potential problems in a certain country where I was, and they know exactly where I am. If you want to read the typical State Dept warnings about a place, which I gather they send you based on your location, you can do that online anyway in advance.

I don't really see any harm in this, but I wouldn't really expect the State Dept to track everybody down traveling in a country if there was some problem, either.

NewbE

<I wouldn't really expect the State Dept to track everybody down traveling in a country if there was some problem, either.>
Actually, it's their job to do that, in theory. How well that would work in practice is anybody's guess. The STEP program was designed to help, but I don't know anyone who uses it and haven't seen it publicized, ever.

bvlenci

When I lived in the Netherlands, in 1986, US citizens were strongly urged to keep the State Department informed of their movements when abroad. I never did it, and have never been in a situation, on four continents, where it would have been useful. My closest relatives and friends know where I am.

By now, we're all connected by phone. If there's a major earthquake or something, I think the phone networks will be operating before the State Department gets around to finding me.

Underhill

How much the State Department can/could do now is anybody's guess, given the extremely severe under-staffing.

marvelousmouse

I actually have seen it publicized but now can’t remember where. Maybe it was on campus.

Like Bvlenci- in the modern age of cell phones and internet, I think I will find help or contact family/embassy before the SD even starts looking. At any rate it always struck me as odd, because in theory the SD can just ask that country for a list of Americans currently residing or visiting. I don’t think that method would be any less accurate.

NewbE

<because in theory the SD can just ask that country for a list of Americans currently residing or visiting.>

Perhaps some countries wouldn't cooperate (in case of political turmoil, say) or couldn't cooperate (if the natural disaster is bad enough)?

I'm not sure that I understand what good using your cell phone to call your relatives at home would do!

TravelParis23

Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP)

Stay Informed, Stay Connected, Stay Safe. Enroll in STEP!

What is STEP?

The Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) is a free service that allows U.S. citizens traveling or living abroad to enroll with the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate.

Benefits of enrolling in STEP:

Receive the latest safety and security information for your destination country, helping you make informed decisions about your travel plans.
Help the U.S. Embassy contact you in an emergency, whether natural disaster, civil unrest, or family emergency.
Help family and friends get in touch with you in an emergency.
Stay Informed.

When you enroll in STEP, you will automatically receive the most current information we have about your destination country, including:

Security and Emergency Message updates from the U.S. Embassy
Travel Warnings and Travel Alerts
Just sign up once, and then add trips later for all your future travel plans!

Stay Connected.

Enrolling in STEP will help the U.S. Embassy to contact you and provide assistance to you in an emergency. The information you provide in STEP will make it easier for consular officers at U.S. embassies and consulates around the world to contact you and your loved ones during an emergency — including situations where your family or friends in the U.S. are having difficulty contacting you with important news.

I always register trips

yestravel

I signed up when we went to Turkey to receive their notifications. I know I had a hard time getting the alerts to stop.

bvlenci

<i> I'm not sure that I understand what good using your cell phone to call your relatives at home would do! </i>

I could tell them I'm not dead! And if I were dead, I'm not sure what good the STEP program would do.

quokka

Errrmmm... WHAT?

As a European, it would never occur to me to notify the state of my travels or anything like that, let alone to perfectly normal destinations.

How paranoid are those Americans?

bvlenci

<i> Help the U.S. Embassy contact you in an emergency, whether natural disaster, civil unrest, or family emergency.
Help family and friends get in touch with you in an emergency.
Stay Informed. </i>

I don't understand how this would work. You'd have to update your information every time you moved. If I had a relative traveling and needed to contact them in a family emergency, the State Department is the last place I would call.

Those State Department travel alerts are alarmist in the extreme. I would rather keep informed by a good news service.

NewbE

I'm pretty paranoid and would not use STEP, largely because I'm not sure it would do me any good. It almost sounds like it predates the telephone!

<I could tell them I'm not dead! >
In a genuine emergency, I'd rather call someone who could help me *remain* not dead!

bvlenci

Quokka, hardly any Americans use the STEP program. I don't think they're any more paranoid than any other nationality. I know a lot of hyper-nervous travellers here in Italy, for example.

What's your nationality?

marvelousmouse

When the Berlin Christmas market attack happened, both my roommate and I got panicked texts from friends and family, becasue they wanted to know if we’d been in Berlin at the time. And Facebook sometimes has “check ins” in case of natural disasters. So I think people do that sort of thing already. Step probably does predate smart phones but I do know that they send text/email updates to you. Say you were registered in a country, caught in a natural disaster, they might send you the contact info of the local emergency services or the closest embassy. No idea if it really helps people but it can’t hurt.

And if I was in a real bind- like my cards were stolen or something, I leave banking stuff and a copy of my passport with my mother just in case. I don’t remember numbers well, and she could also wire me money in case of an emergency. It’s really unlikely to happen, but it makes her feel better. And unlikely doesn’t mean never.

CaliNurse

I once registered, but have forgot to do so recently--thanks JulieV for the reminder! It's a free service, correct? Is there a reason NOT to do it? I figure, ya never know--why not?

Having recently experienced the tremendous fear, anxiety, and panic of being unable to contact loved ones who were not heard from for five days, after a natural disaster, I now think, it can't hurt to take a multi pronged approach. You simply do hot know beforehand which m.o. or agency or person will or will not, if something awful happens, be able to help you, and indirectly, loved ones who are worried about you.

Don't assume mobile phones and landlines and internet connectivity will be available to communicate "I'm ok!" (I have many "issues" with Facebook, but thankful for their "Safety Check-In"However, it is only as good as the ability of the "checker-in-er" to access communication!) Could the State Dept get through when others can't? We don't know, and hopefully will not be in a position of finding out. But maybe they have better access to Search and Rescue, military ops, first responder organizations, etc. You do not have to be "paranoid" to think like this---you've only to have lived through one instance.

yestravel

As long as technology is working, there are ways to contact people. But that is not always the case. I've been in places where there were terrorist atttacks and friends do email and text to see if we are ok. If they didn't hear back from me that would be concentring to them. I don't know how the State Dept would help, but who knows? Fortunately I have not been in that type of diaster and hope never to be.

We were in Colombia where we had been advised to keep abreast of events so as not to wander into a bad situation. We didn't sign up and it was not so easy to know what was going on in parts of the country we were headed to. Technology is not always the answer. Again not sure the STEP program would have helped, but it might have.

I agree this has nothing to do with being paranoid. It's common sense to do what you can to protect oneself if traveling to an area with potential trouble be it manmade or a natural diaster.

HappyTrvlr

I would only notify the State Dept if I were traveling to a high risk country, such as in the Middle East.

marvelousmouse

The trouble with the technology failure argument is that 90% of the STEP benefits rely on you having access to the internet.

I was researching it and the descriptions are kind of hilariously vague. The main benefit they tout is that you can receive updates via email or text. And it gives you information about the services the embassy can provide which have little to do with step.

But one benefit is that you register your passport and personal information so if you do need help, the embassy can easily retrieve all of that info. So I may actually register.