The United States Department of State has placed 23 countries under its highest travel advisory category, warning American citizens against travelling to the affected destinations for any reason.

The advisory, issued through the department’s Bureau of Consular Affairs and published on its official Facebook page on Monday, November 9, 2026, cited prevailing security conditions and the US government's limited capacity to provide assistance to its citizens in the listed countries.

In its explanation of the warning, the department stressed that Level 4: Do Not Travel is reserved for destinations considered dangerous because of local conditions or the inability of US authorities to provide adequate support to Americans.

“Level 4 means DO NOT TRAVEL. We assign Level 4 based on local conditions and/or our limited ability to help Americans there. These places are dangerous. Do not go for ANY reason,” the department stated.

The 23 countries affected by the advisory are Afghanistan, Belarus, Burkina Faso, Burma, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Mali, Niger, North Korea, Russia, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Uganda, Ukraine and Yemen.

The US operates a four-level travel advisory system to inform its citizens about potential security and safety risks in foreign destinations.

Level 1 recommends normal precautions, while Level 2 advises travellers to exercise increased caution. Level 3 urges Americans to reconsider their travel plans, while Level 4 is the most severe classification, recommending that citizens avoid all travel to the designated countries.

The department also advised Americans to consult its official travel advisory website for detailed security assessments and country-specific updates before making international travel arrangements.

Citizens can access the travel information through travel.state.gov/destination.