Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP)
The Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) is a free service provided by the U.S. Government to U.S. citizens who are traveling to, or living in, a foreign country.
STEP allows you to enter information about your upcoming trip abroad so that the Embassy and the Department of State can better assist you in an emergency.
STEP also allows Americans residing abroad to get routine information from the Embassy.
Please click here to enroll.
Frequently Asked Questions about STEP:
Why have you renamed the Registration with Embassies program to the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP)?
Our goal is to encourage all U.S. citizens traveling or residing abroad to let us know their contact information so that, in an emergency, we can contact them. By changing the name of the link and designating it the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP), we hope to encourage more U.S. citizens to utilize the service. If you have utilized the registration service before, you will notice that the change of the name to STEP will not affect your ability to continue to utilize the service. We are working to improve the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program to serve you better. Please feel free to e-mail us with your feedback at CAIBRS@state.gov .
How do I enroll in STEP?
Enrollment (or registration) is done entirely online now. You no longer need to visit the Embassy in person to enroll.
Please click here to enroll.
First you will create an account by clicking on the "Create an Account" link and following the instructions provided. The account creation allows you to select a username and password so that you can access your travel data at any time. The account will also contain your personal information so that it can be saved and used again whenever you travel abroad. The personal information section will include basic information about yourself, and also for an emergency contact that is not traveling with you.
Once you have created an account, you will view your profile and add trips or overseas residences to register with a specific U.S. Embassy or Consulate. Click the "Add Trip" button or "Add Residence" button to add this information. Follow through the pages, and complete as much information as you have available. There are very few required fields, but thorough information enables the U.S. Embassy to help you more efficiently if needed. You will receive a confirmation email to ensure that you are registered correctly.
How can the Embassy assist me while I am in Trinidad and Tobago?
U.S. consular officers assist Americans who encounter serious legal, medical, or financial difficulties. Although consular officers cannot act as your legal counsel or representative, they can provide information about dangerous conditions affecting your overseas travel or residence. Consular officers also perform non-emergency services, helping Americans with absentee voting, selective service registration, receiving federal benefits, and filing U.S. tax forms. Consular officers can notarize documents, issue passports, and register American children born abroad. Most embassies and consulates have websites with more information.
Enrolling through this website is NOT considered proof of U.S. citizenship. If you apply for any American citizen services from the embassy or consulate while abroad, you will be asked by the consular staff to provide proof of U.S. citizenship, such as a U.S. passport or American birth certificate.
Where do I enroll my trip to the USA?
Please note that Smart Traveler enrollment is intended for U.S. citizens to enroll with a U.S. Embassy or Consulate when traveling or living abroad. If you are not a U.S. citizen and would like to submit your information online to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to receive travel authorization under the Visa Waiver program for visits to the U.S.A., please visit https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/esta/esta.html .
Smart Traveler Enrollment Program and Privacy
The Embassy is committed to ensuring that any personal information received pursuant to the STEP process, whether in person or otherwise, is safeguarded against unauthorized disclosure. The data that you provided the U.S. Department of State, is subject to the provisions of the Privacy Act (5 USC 552a). This means that the U.S. Department of State will not disclose the information you provide us in your STEP application to any third parties unless you have given us written authorization to do so, or unless the disclosure is otherwise permitted by the Privacy Act.
AUTHORITY: 22 U.S.C. 2715 and 22 U.S.C. 4802(b)
PURPOSE: To notify U.S. citizens in the event of a disaster, emergency or other crisis, and for evacuation coordination, the information solicited on this form may be made available as a routine use to appropriate agencies whether federal, state, local, or foreign, to assist the Department in the evacuation or provision of emergency service to U.S. citizens, or for law enforcement purposes. The information is also made available to private U.S. citizens, known as wardens, designated by U.S. embassies to assist in communicating with the American community in an emergency.