Summary
Germany updated its travel advice for the US after three German nationals were detained despite holding valid visas or entry waivers.
The Foreign Office clarified that holding a US visa or ESTA approval does not guarantee entry, as border authorities have the final say.
Recent detentions include a green card holder held at Boston airport and two others detained at the US-Mexico border.
Germany investigates whether these cases reflect a broader policy shift under Trump’s tighter immigration policies.
I recently vacationed in Germany and the immigration polizei agent asked me, in English, “what’s the purpose of your visit here?” and I said something like “Urlaub machen und Bier trinken, naturlich!” He applied the stamp and waved me through without incident.
So… Thanks for being cool, Germans!
As a non-German speaker, I’m fairly sure this says: “Lubing machinery and beer drinking, naturally!”
As a dual EU/US citizen, I cannot get over how fucking dumb this whole thing is.
As a US citizen, I can’t get over how envious I am of your EU citizenship.
For those looking to emigrate away, just remember that you’re not expected to pay US Taxes as a resident of another nation under several very specific circumstances such as spending 330 full days during any period of 12 consecutive months in a foreign country, but you may otherwise be expected to.
One method to avoid the attention of the IRS which might seem enticing is to renounce US Citizenship, which is intentionally not an easy task, but there are plenty of foreign earned income exemptions you could claim instead.
As a US citizen, I cannot get over how fucking dumb this country is.
Not that they owe my country any favors or anything, but given their own history I would have hoped this German government agency could do something a little stronger than “this is not a travel warning, just reminding all you plebs to listen to border guards if you don’t want to be tortured”
