The Department of State announced on Sunday that the U.S. Embassies in Kuwait , Damascus and Tel-Aviv, and the U.S. Consulate General in Jerusalem have been placed on ordered departure status. Under ordered departure status, all non-emergency personnel and family dependents must immediately depart the country. The State Department said it took this action as the result of an overall assessment of the security situation in the region due to the threat of military action in Iraq .

As a result of the move to ordered departure status, it is likely that only emergency visa operations will be available for non-American citizens at the affected consular posts.

Country-specific announcements were given in a series of Travel Warnings dated March 16, 2003 .

The Travel Warning for Kuwait can be found at: http://travel.state.gov/kuwait_warning.html

The Travel Warning for Syria can be found at: http://travel.state.gov/syria_warning.html

The Travel Warning for Israel , the West Bank and Gaza can be found at: http://travel.state.gov/israel_warning.html

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