Germany has updated its travel advisory for the United States, emphasizing that visa waivers or entry approvals do not guarantee admission for its citizens after several Germans were recently detained at the border, according to a spokesperson from the foreign ministry.
The ministry updated its travel advisory website on Tuesday, clarifying that neither approval through the US ESTA system nor a US visa grants automatic entry.
“The final decision on whether a person can enter the US rests with the US border authorities,” the spokesperson stated on Wednesday.
However, the spokesperson highlighted that this update is not a travel warning.
Since President Donald Trump’s inauguration on January 20, he has issued a series of executive orders related to immigration, focusing on stricter border policies, tougher visa verification procedures, and crackdowns on undocumented immigrants in the United States.
Germany’s Foreign Ministry mentioned earlier this week that it is monitoring any changes to US immigration policy after three German nationals were arrested. Two of the cases have been resolved, with the affected citizens being returned to Germany, while the remaining case is being handled with assistance from the General Consulate in Boston.
According to public broadcaster WGBH in Boston, a German citizen with a green card was detained by immigration authorities earlier this month at Boston Airport and is being held in a detention facility.
The German Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for information about the current whereabouts of the citizen.
