Are you unsure if you can travel to Germany this summer? What about your partner, a US citizen? Can he/she enter Germany? What about quarantine? How about leaving the USA if one is a non-immigrant visa holder? Can I return to the US after visiting family in Germany?
Questions and more questions. Covid-19 has for sure much impacted our lives these days. Apart from social distancing and shelter in place orders, it has also greatly impacted travel!
We have invited Petra Korn from pKorn Law, who has offices in Berlin and Los Angeles, to give us some advice as well as clarify some immigration issues regarding naturalization and green card applications that have been put on hold during the Covid-19 shutdown.
Find out what you should know about traveling in terms of visa issues and immigration, and much more in our video.
If you have any additional immigration questions or would like to see a completely different topic discussed here, please contact us and let us know!
Notes: Expired green card holders, in the process of naturalization, are still legally in the country and their permanent resident status is still in place as long as they stay in the US!
Helpful Links: USCIS Response to COVID-19 https://www.uscis.gov/about-us/uscis-response-covid-19 (Naturalization notices & other important facts); Special Situation Page https://www.uscis.gov/humanitarian/special-situations ; USCIS Field Offices https://www.uscis.gov/about-us/uscis-office-closings ; Germany- Federal Foreign Office-Traveler advice https://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/en/einreiseundaufenthalt/coronavirus ; Tool to find information on relevant public health office in Germany to inquire regarding 2-week quarantine https://tools.rki.de/plztool/ ;
BMI – Information for Germany https://www.bmi.bund.
Link for US citizens returning from or transiting through Europe: https://travel.state.
Travelers with dual nationality: https://travel.
General travel/Coronavirus information: https://faq.
Screening & Quarantine upon returning to the US (Department of Homeland Security): https://www.dhs.
LEGAL DISCLAIMER: The information on this website, within this article and within the video is for general information purposes and entertainment only. Nothing on this site, article, or video should be taken as legal advice for any individual case or situation. Readers of this website should contact their attorney to obtain advice with respect to any particular legal matter. Any links to other third-party websites are only for the convenience of the reader, and user of the website.
Image: Pixabay
Anne-Kathrin Schulte, is a contributor for CaliforniaGermans.com. She writes on her personal experience of the American Dream as well as on working as an au pair in CA. She was born and grew up in Düsseldorf, Germany, where she completed her degree as a state-approved Kindergarten teacher. After her au pair engagement in the US and a quick return to Germany she decided to attend university in California and moved back to the United States. She has been living in Southern California since 2011.
The entrance to the various displays starts with one of Gunther von Hagens plastinated bodies holding his skin folded over his arm like an overcoat. Info boards teach you about the skin being our heaviest and largest organ that has vital functions. Next the visitor learns about the skeleton and sees first hand how fractures, implants and prostheses look like. As you move along “through the body” you’ll learn about the central nervous system and see stunning displays. 
In one von Hagen isolated a whole body’s central and peripheral nervous system and instead of a traditional skeleton one sees a “skeleton of nerves”. Amazing!
We found that the whole show including the displays were put together and presented very esthetically. We were intrigued and captivated throughout. I can’t think of any other exhibit that brings you in such close encounter with your own body. We were awed and so were many other visitors we observed. From families with much younger children than our son, to a group of doctors, who were teaching their college class right on site.
Together with the Central Library and the Union Station, the Bradbury Building is listed in the 
surprisingly normal.”
American newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst. The landmark offers a variety of different tours, and I would recommend anyone planning on visiting to reserve a tour in advance. We didn’t do so, and we were lucky that they had still open spots for the “Designing the Dream Tour,” which guides you through the guest houses and castle bedrooms. Visitors of this tour also get to see the beautiful gardens and the amazing indoor pool, where real gold is embedded in the grounds. For $30, the price of the tour was totally appropriate for what you get to see up on the hill and along the beautiful green hills. Tourists also receive a wonderful coastal view. All in all, I can recommend anyone to visit and take a tour.
After we marked Hearst Castle off our bucket list, we were really excited to continue driving along the coast to Big Sur. I have visited Big Sur many, many years ago, and I remembered it being incredibly beautiful. But once we actually reached the scenic part, it was beyond breathtaking. I can’t describe it; you actually have to see it. Even the pictures I took don’t do the real image any justice. I am sure anyone of you who has taken a trip to Big Sur can relate. We made countless stops along the road to take pictures, film, and just enjoy the beautiful scenery. At some point, we had dinner at a little cute restaurant with view over the ocean, in the middle of nowhere. After dinner, we watched the sunset over the coast while we enjoyed amazing chocolate fudge we had bought at Hearst Castle (I can definitely recommend their deserts too, great stuff!). We then made our way up to Monterey, where we fell totally exhausted but happy into our beds.
The next day, we decided to do the 17-Mile Drive, which leads along Pebble Beach. It took us about 40 minutes from Monterey to get there. Park admission by car is $10, bikes and pedestrians get in for free. What didn’t come to our advantage that day were some pretty strong winds, which is a little bit of an understatement. I mean, it was still worth it, even though we mainly just jumped out of the car at a couple of the many view points to take some quick pictures. The water up in Northern California, especially in this area, is just plain gorgeous. It has the turquoise twist we don’t really get to see out here in the south. After we made it through the “storm,” we started making our way back to Huntington Beach. We got to enjoy the beautiful Big Sur coast once more, until we finally arrived back in Orange County.
Anne-Kathrin Schulte, is a contributor for CaliforniaGermans.com. She writes on her personal experience of the American Dream as well as on working as an au pair in CA. She was born and grew up in Düsseldorf, Germany, where she completed her degree as a state-approved Kindergarten teacher. After her au pair engagement in the US and a quick return to Germany she decided to attend university in California and moved back to the United States. She has been living in Southern California since 2011.