PHOENIX — When traveling internationally, U.S. citizens can receive relevant information from an embassy or consulate nearby if they register on a free program.
The U.S. Department of State has Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) available for U.S. citizens traveling or living abroad.
The STEP program is a free service that provides important information to travelers and allows a U.S. embassy or consulate to reach out to the registered traveler in case of a family emergency.
According to the website, there are benefits of registering for the program:
- Receive important information from the Embassy about safety conditions in your destination country.
- 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.
The first step is to create an account:
- Agree to the terms and conditions.
- Enter username, password, select a security question and the answer to the security question.
- Enter your personal information, name, last name, date of birth, gender, citizenship, optional comment with medical conditions, etc. Also, email and/or phone number and passport number.
- To finish creating the account, you must enter an emergency contact including name, address (not required) email address and/or phone number.
After creating an account, you enter the trip information, place traveling to, dates for departure and return, reason for your visit. You can also enter a phone number and/or address where you can be in case of an emergency.
If you’re not traveling yet, you can create an account, and the program gives you the option to monitor safety conditions in specific countries if you register to receive notifications.
You can also create an account for a group or an organization.
