Editor in chief at IamExpat Media
Germany has updated its travel advisory for the United States, warning travellers that a visa or entry waiver does not guarantee entry into the country. The change comes after several German citizens were detained at the US border.
Last week, the Federal Foreign Office in Germany updated its travel advisory for Germans travelling to the US, following a number of incidents of its citizens being held at the US border, despite having visa waivers or even US Green Cards.
As participants in the US Visa Waiver Program, German citizens benefit from visa-free travel to the US, so long as the purpose of their stay is tourism, business or transit, they have a valid passport, a valid Electronic System for Travel Authorisation (ESTA), and a valid return or onward ticket.
Since the beginning of March, however, in the wake of President Donald Trump announcing a number of executive orders focused on tightening US borders, at least four German citizens have been held by US border officials. Similar incidents have been reported by other countries with visa-free travel to the US, including Canada and France.
The Federal Foreign Office has therefore updated its advice - and confirmed to DW that the change is connected to the incidents - to warn potential travellers that “neither a valid ESTA authorisation nor a valid US visa constitutes a right to entry into the USA. The final decision regarding entry is made by the US border official… There is no legal recourse against this decision.”
The warning comes after the cases of four German citizens being held in the US hit the headlines. Fabian Schmidt, a German citizen with a US Green Card, was detained at Logan Airport on March 7 after returning from a short holiday visiting family in Germany. His mother told DW that he was interrogated for “hours” before being taken to a detention centre in Rhode Island. He is still in custody, pending an immigration hearing that has been set for June.
25-year-old Lucas Sielaff spent two weeks in detention before being allowed to return to Germany, The Independent reports. He apparently answered a question about his place of residence incorrectly - due to misunderstanding it - when attempting to re-enter the US from Mexico.
Jessica Brösche is another German citizen who was detained in the US. The Guardian reports that she was held for six weeks, including eight days in solitary confinement, after border officers found tattoo equipment in her bag when she entered the US, and were led to believe that she was trying to work unlawfully in the US.
Celine Flad also got held up at the border. The German student told SPIEGEL that, despite having a valid German passport and an ESTA waiver, she was held for 24 hours in the US after being told there was a “problem” with her passport. Although she showed officials proof of her hotel bookings in New York and Miami and an onward flight to Cancún in Mexico, she was told she was being sent back to Germany as soon as possible.