Articles tagged “state department”

In the wake of the mass shootings that claimed 31 lives in early August, several authorities have issued travel alerts for travelers headed to the U.S. Whether it's a statement or a matter of safety — or both — it's significant.

In the wake of a tragedy, destinations are hugely beholden to the public perception of how safe it is to travel there, regardless of the reality on the ground. But the United States — which has experienced more mass shootings than there are days in 2019 — is unfairly exempt from that struggle.

It's a complicated world and the State Department is trying to make it a little less complicated for U.S. travelers wondering if it's safe to travel somewhere. There will likely be a learning curve to understand the new system and how other countries respond to them.

The surge in passport renewals won't affect U.S. applicants too severely.

The State Department has made big improvements in cutting visa wait times and streamlining the application process abroad so it's good to the government also improving the process for U.S. citizens, especially online.

The travel alerts and warnings which used to be simply posted online, are a lot more instant with Twitter. Savvy foreign offices like the ones in U.S. and UK are taking over a lot of minor functions that embassies did in the past.

Twitter has already proven to be a lifeline for people caught in the middle of a disaster. Limiting alerts to public organizations may help curb the spread of misinformation, but the alerts will still only reach Twitter users who sign up for the service -- a relatively small number of citizens.