Foreign Service To a great extent the future of our country depends on the relations we have with other countries, and those relations are conducted principally by the United States Foreign Service. Presently, representatives at 164 Embassies, 12 missions, 1 U.S. liaison office, 1 U.S. interests section, 66 consulates general, 14 consulates, 3 branch offices, and 45 consular agencies throughout the world report to the State Department on the multitude of foreign developments that have a bearing on the welfare and security of the American people. These trained representatives provide the President and the Secretary of State with much of the raw material from which foreign policy is made and with the recommendations that help shape it. The Ambassador is the personal representative of the President and reports to the President through the Secretary of State. Ambassadors have full responsibility for implementation of U.S. foreign policy by any and all U.S. Government personnel within their country of assignment, except those under military commands. Their responsibilities include negotiating agreements between the United States and the host country, explaining and disseminating official U.S. policy, and maintaining cordial relations with that country's government and people. A listing of Foreign Service posts, together with addresses and telephone numbers and key personnel, appears in Key Officers of Foreign Service Posts— Guide for Business Representatives, which is for sale by the Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402. United States Diplomatic Offices— (C: Consular Office; N: No Embassy or Consular Office) United States Diplomatic Offices Foreign Service Continued (C: Consular Office; N: No Embassy or Consular Office) Country/Embassy Holy See Vatican City Jamaica/Kingston Jerusalem Jordan/Amman Kyrgyz Republic/Bishkek Laos/Vientiane Latvia/Riga Lebanon/Beirut Lesotho/Maseru Liberia/Monrovia Lithuania/Vilnius Luxembourg/Luxembourg Madagascar/Antananarivo Marshall Islands/Majuro Mauritania/Nouakchott Mozambique/Maputo Namibia/Windhoek Nauru/Yaren (N) Netherlands/The Hague New Zealand/Wellington Nigeria/Abuja Ambassador Raymond L. Flynn A. Elizabeth Jones Victor L. Tomseth James W. Swihart, Jr. Clay Constantinou Sandra L. Vogelgesang John S. Davison Walter C. Carrington Sao Tome and Principe/Sao Tome (N). Slovak Republic/Bratislava Slovenia/Ljubljana Solomon Islands/Honiara Sri Lanka/Colom.bo Swaziland/Mbabane Sweden/Stockholm Switzerland/Bern Syrian Arab Republic/Damascus Tajikistan/Dushanbe Togo/Lome. Tonga/Nuku'alofa (N) Trinidad and Tobago/Port-of- Turkmenistan/Ashgabat Tuvalu/Funafuti (N) Uganda/Kampala Ukraine/Kiev United Arab Emirates/Abu Dhabi Venezuela/Caracas Western Samoa/Apia Zaire/Kinshasa Zambia/Lusaka Zimbabwe/Harare Elizabeth Raspolic (Vacancy) John L Hirsch Mary Ann Casey E. Michael Southwick David C. Litt William J. Crowe, Jr. Thomas J. Dodd Stanley T. Escudero Jeffrey Davidow Roland K. Kuchel Johnny Carson Sources of Information Audiovisual Materials The Bureau of Consular Affairs has a 12-minute videotape on the safety of international travel. "Traveling Abroad More Safely" provides general practical advice to U.S. citizen travelers on avoiding the hazards of foreign travel. It includes steps to take prior to departure, ways to protect against theft and legal problems, and ways U.S. embassies and consulates can assist U.S. citizens who encounter difficulty abroad. The tape is available for $9 in VHS and Beta and $12.50 in 3/4-inch format, plus a $3 mailing and handling fee from Video Transfer, Inc., 5710 Arundel Avenue, Rockville, MD 20552. Phone, 301-881-0270. Contracts General inquiries may be directed to the Office of Acquisitions (A/ OPR/ACQ), Department of State, Washington, DC 20520. Phone, 703875-6060. Diplomatic and Official Passports Department employees may use diplomatic and official passports only as long as they are retained in the position or status for which originally issued. Section 51.4 of title 22 of the Code of Federal Regulations states that such passports must be returned upon termination of the bearer's diplomatic or official status. In accordance with the Department's Foreign Affairs Manual (3 FAM 784), it is the responsibility of administrative officers to ensure that Form DS-8A includes a record of the disposition of passports issued to separating or retiring employees and their dependents. This includes all diplomatic and official passports, as well as any tourist passports for which the employee has been reimbursed by the Department. Because of the possibility of misuse of these documents, it is important that all offices establish and maintain effective control over passport use. These passports are normally destroyed by Passport Services; however, they may be canceled and returned as mementos if requested. Diplomatic passports may not be used by employees for strictly personal travel. Regulations permit their use for incidental personal travel related to an official assignment if the host government does not object. However, if employees or their dependents prefer to travel on a regular tourist passport in connection with official travel, they may apply by paying the regular passport fees and claiming reimbursement on their travel voucher. Inquiries on these matters should be directed to Passport Services, Diplomatic and Congressional Travel Branch. Phone, 202-955-0200. Employment Inquiries about employment in the Foreign Service should be directed to: PER/REE/REC, P.O. Box 9317, Arlington, VA 22210. Phone, 703-875-7490. Inquiries about civil service positions in the Department of State should be directed to: PER/CSP/ POD, P.O. Box 18657, Washington, DC 20036-8657. The Department's Civil Service Employment Information Office is located inside the D Street north lobby entrance of the Department of State building, Washington, DC. The Civil Service Personnel Office provides a 24hour job information line. Phone, 202647-7284. Freedom of Information Act and Privacy Act Requests Requests from the public for Department of State records should be addressed to the Director, Office of Freedom of Information Privacy and Classification Review, Department of State, 2201 C Street NW., Washington, DC 20520-1512. Phone, 202-6478484. Individuals are requested to indicate on the outside of the envelope the statute under which they are requesting access: FOIA REQUEST or PRIVACY REQUEST. Any identifiable Department of State document can be requested under the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552). Requesters should provide as much. identifying information as possible about the document to assist the Department in locating it. Include subject matter, timeframe, originator of the information, or any other helpful data. Only persons who are U.S. citizens or aliens who are lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent residence can request information under the Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552a). Under this act, individuals may request access to records that are maintained under the individual's name or some other personally identifiable symbol. Descriptions of record systems from which documents can be retrieved by the individual's name are published in the Federal Register, copies of which are available from the Director, Office of Freedom of Information, Privacy and Classification Review. To expedite processing of requests, individuals should specify the system of records they wish to have searched and should provide the following identifying information: full name; aliases (if any); date and place of birth; and circumstances, including approximate time period, which would have led to the creation of the record. A public reading room, where unclassified and declassified documents may be inspected, is located in the Department of State, 2201 C Street NW., Washington, DC. Phone, 202-647-8484. Directions to the reading room may be obtained from receptionists at public entrances to the Department. Missing Persons, Emergencies, Deaths of Americans Abroad For information concerning missing persons, emergencies, travel warnings, overseas voting, judicial assistance, and arrests or deaths of Americans abroad, contact the Office of American Citizen Services, Department of State. Phone, 202-6475225. Correspondence should be directed to: Overseas Citizens Services, Bureau of Consular Affairs, Department of State, Washington, DC 20520. Inquiries regarding international parental child abduction or adoption of foreign children by private U.S. citizens should be directed to the Office of Children's Issues, Overseas Citizens Services, Bureau of Consular Affairs, Department of State, Washington, DC 20520. Phone, 202-647-2688. Passports For information concerning the issuance of U.S. passports, contact Passport Services, Bureau of Consular Affairs, 1111 19th Street NW., Washington, DC 20522-1705 (phone, 202-647-0518), or any of the field offices. Additional information concerning passport applications is available for sale by the Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402. supplements documenting the foreign policy of the Eisenhower administration (1953-1960). Publication of 32 print volumes and supplements on the foreign policy of the Kennedy administration (1961-1963) will be completed in 1996. The American Foreign Policy annual volumes contain current official public expressions of policy that best convey the objectives of U.S. foreign policy. The series includes texts of major official messages, addresses, statements, reports, and communications by the White House, Department of State, and other Federal agencies involved in the foreign affairs process. Microfiche supplements, which include additional public documents, accompany the 1981 and subsequent annual volumes. The Department's weekly magazine, Dispatch, offers a diverse compilation of speeches, congressional testimony, policy statements, fact sheets, and other foreign policy information. Background Notes provide brief, factual summaries concerning the people, history, government, economy, and foreign relations of about 180 countries (excluding the United States) and of selected international organizations. A free index is available. Dispatches, Background Notes, and other materials—including reports to Congress--are carried over the Government Printing Office's (GPO) Federal Bulletin Board Service. This information can also be accessed through the Department of Commerce's National Technical Information Service's FedWorldR network, as well as through other data base services. A GPO deposit account may be opened by calling 202512-0822. For information on these and other Department publications, write to Public Information, Bureau of Public Affairs, Department of State, Room 5831, Washington, DC 20520. Phone, 202647-6575. Reading Room To review declassified Department documents, contact the receptionists at the public entrance to the Department of State, 2201 C Street NW., Washington, DC, for the specific location. Phone, 202-647-8484. Your Trip Abroad contains basic information on passports, vaccinations, unusual travel requirements, dual nationality, drugs, modes of travel, customs, legal requirements, and many other topics for the American tourist, business representative, or student traveling overseas. A Safe Trip Abroad contains helpful precautions to minimize one's chances of becoming a victim of terrorism and also provides other safety tips. Tips for Americans Residing Abroad contains advice for more than 2 million Americans living in foreign countries. Travel Warning on Drugs Abroad contains important facts on the potential dangers of being arrested for illegal drugs abroad and the type of assistance that U.S. consular officers can and cannot provide. This booklet is free from the Department of State, Consular Affairs/Public Affairs Staff, Room 5807, Washington, DC 20520. The Bureau of Consular Affairs also publishes a series of brochures on travel to specific areas of the world. Depending on the region, the brochures cover topics such as currency and customs regulations, entry requirements, dual nationality, and restrictions on the use of photography. Copies are available from the Government Printing Office for $1. Currently available are: Tips for Travelers to the Caribbean; Tips for Travelers to Eastern Europe; Tips for Travelers to Mexico; Tips for Travelers to the Middle East and North Africa; Tips for Travelers to the People's Republic of China; Tips for Travelers to South Asia; |