Last updated on July 21st, 2026

Countries that have issued recent travel advisories for travel to the US include: Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, Denmark, Belgium, Finland, France, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Venezuela and China.

Reasons for US Travel Advisories

Detention: Non-US Citizens have been handcuffed and put in detention centers over documentation that is considered inadequate.

Searching Phones: US Citizens born in foreign countries have had their phones searched in an effort to find information on friends and relatives. Also, there are an alarming number of cases where entry is denied based on phone searches that find comments critical of Trump and his administration.

LGBTQ: Transgender travellers have experienced increased scrutiny and have been denied entry for passports from countries that don’t clearly identify gender as male or female.

In the current political climate, it’s a good idea to avoid all travel to the US. There are lots of friendly countries to visit instead.

If you feel the need to visit the US, bring a burner phone and leave your laptop at home. Don’t enter the US through a land crossing unless you are prepared to be detained without explanation – if it’s a school trip to the US, that’s a terrible idea. Enter instead through an airport in Canada or Mexico where US Immigration and Customs are located on Canadian or Mexican soil. That way if things get weird, you can simply withdraw your application to visit and avoid detention.

Here’s the list of Canadian airports that provide this added security for your entry to the US: Vancouver, Toronto (Pearson and Billy Bishop), Montréal, Winnipeg, Halifax, Québec City, Calgary, Ottawa, Edmonton, and Victoria. 

Here’s the list of Mexican airports that provide this added security for your entry to the US: Mexico City, Cancun, Cozumel, Los Cabos, and Puerto Vallarta.

Visit the United States – Destinations

Best Time to Visit the United States

The weather in the United States varies greatly. Southern states are hot in summer and comfortable in winter. Northern states experience extreme cold in winter. The Atlantic and Pacific Oceans moderate the winter temperatures. Tourists find California and Florida to be attractive destinations in winter. Skiers prefer the Rocky Mountains and Cascade ranges at that time of year. In the summer the national parks such as the Grand Canyon, Yosemite and the Glacier Park are popular. Las Vegas is perfect in spring and fall, but with its air conditioned inter-connected buildings, it is popular year round. New York is exciting regardless of the weather. Meanwhile Hawaii is roughly the same temperature all year long, so anytime is the best time to visit Hawaii.

Visit the United States – Visa Requirements

Travel visa requirements to the United States are not straight forward, because travel bans issued in 2017 have been challenged in the courts. So, visa requirements are very confusing. The US Department of State web site indicates countries that are eligible for their Visa Waiver Program. The web site also has the Nonimmigrant Visa Application online application form for those requiring a visa or check your specific country at VisaHQ. For a list of exempt countries, visit Project Visa.

Canadians who plan to stay in the U.S. for 30 days or longer must now register with the U.S. government, as of April 11, 2025. This applies to Canadian citizens and permanent residents who are at least 14 years old. Canadians should check if they have an active I-94 form and register if they don’t.

US Healthcare

People who travel to the United States from other countries are well aware of the higher cost of healthcare in the United States. Costs for doctors, medical facilities and prescription drugs are all significantly higher in the United States. On average, costs are twice as high in the US when compared to other developed nations. Insurance companies immediately increase their rates for any vacation that includes time spent in the US. So, if you travel to the United States, you need to purchase additional medical coverage.

Studies consistently rank the United States healthcare system poorly. In addition to high costs, poor coverage is a problem. According to PBS, 38 million people in the US have inadequate coverage and 44 million people have no coverage at all. That means 1 person out of 4 in the United States is at risk of financial ruin from unexpected health problems.

In 2017 the Commonwealth Fund assessed the healthcare systems for 11 developed countries and rated the United States last. The countries with better healthcare included the UK, Australia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland, Sweden, Germany, Canada and France. Meanwhile Bloomberg posted a 2018 study on the efficiency of healthcare systems for 56 different countries. The United States ranks tied for next to last place.

Don’t confuse a poor healthcare system with the quality of care found at individual US hospitals though. The Mayo Clinic and Johns Hopkins Hospital consistently rank as the best hospitals in the world. The issue is that many people in the United States don’t have access to quality healthcare. Make sure to top up your medical insurance if you travel in the United States.

U.S. Education System Ranking

The United States Education System ranks 14th in the world. Finland consistently ranks the highest. Finland does not use the charter school approach which is popular in the United States, so all children in Finland all have equal access to a quality education. Parents in Finland don’t have to search for the best school for their children because the country concentrates on making all their schools equally good. College education is free in Finland. The United States ranks at the top in perception based surveys, because it does have the best universities in the world. Yale, Harvard and MIT dominate world rankings. Here are the top 10 education systems in the world according to World Top 20:

1. Finland
2. Russia
3. South Korea
4. Japan
5. Norway
6. Latvia
7. Lithuania
8. Hong Kong
9. Sweden
10. Slovenia

Gun Related Deaths

According to the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, in 2016 the United States ranked second in the world in the number of gun related deaths. Death rates in the United States are about 10 times higher than most countries in the world, including Canada, Australia, New Zealand and all of Europe. The countries with lower death rates typically have tougher background checks, restrict concealed carry weapons and prohibit high capacity military style assault weapons. Here are the countries with the most gun related deaths:

Brazil 43,200
United States 37,200
India 26,500
Mexico 15,400
Venezuela 13,300
Colombia 12,800

When you adjust for population size, the United States ranks 20th in the world for most gun deaths. The other 19 countries are in Central America, South America and the Caribbean.

The Dictator’s Playbook – by Rick Steves

1. Establish a Supreme Leader who demands public rituals of loyalty, requiring praise and punishing disrespect.

2. Simple solutions to complex problems. I will end this war in one day. No one has ended more wars than me.

3. Cripple society. Go after the unions, non-profits, watchdogs. Label protest groups as enemies of the state. Pastors in the streets are domestic terrorists.

4. Control the bureaucracy. Purge the deep state. Fire career experts and military generals. Replace them with loyalist ideologues.

5. Create a class of scapegoats and then dehumanize them, so that no one cares when they disappear. (Jews, immigrants, vermin, little more than animals)

6. Use fear to create a permanent emergency that justifies high levels of detention and surveillance. (Gestapo, ICE).

7. Manufacture a law and order crisis in order to provoke unrest and then use that as an excuse for a crackdown. (Stasi, Minneapolis).

8. Attack and discredit elections. Unless I win, elections are rigged.

9. Shut down the serious press, control the media (Fox – Murchoch, X – Musk, Truth Social – Trump, Facebook – Zuckerberg, TikTok – Oracle. Target broadcast journalism (PBS, 60 Minutes). Ensure the news is controlled.

10. Take advantage of a tragedy or an emergency to consolidate power. Suspend voting rights. (Reichstag, Enabling Act, Insurrection Act)

11. Seek retribution, lock up political opponents. (Navalny, Comey, Chaney, Schiff, L James, Kinzinger, Bolton …)

12. Weaponize the Department of Justice to protect allies and punish enemies. (Bondi)

13. Build a private para-military force wearing masks but not uniforms that is loyal to the Supreme leader and not to the constitution. (ICE is the best funded police force in the USA.)

14. Target education and history. Attack universities and professors.

15. Intimidation through publicity stunts – hellish prisons (concentration camps), innocent victims of ICE videoed in the streets being tear gassed and dragged into the snow half clothed. These are intentional acts to intimidate and warn everyone who doesn’t support the Supreme leader.

Visit North America – Plan Your Trip