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Bureau of Consular Affairs

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The mission of the Bureau of Consular Affairs (CA) is to administer laws, formulate regulations and implement policies relating to the broad range of consular services and immigration. As of 2005, the bureau is headed by the Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs, Maura Harty.

Contents

1 Passports

2 Citizen support

3 Visas and immigration

4 External links

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Passports

The Bureau of Consular Affairs is responsible for issuing passports to U.S. citizens. In fiscal year 2002, Bureau of Consular Affairs, through sixteen U.S. passport agencies and two processing centers, issued over 7.4 million U.S. passports to American citizens planning to travel overseas.

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Citizen support

The Consular Affairs Office of Overseas Citizens Services advises and supports U.S. citizens and U.S. embassies and consulates around the world in such matters as:

Deaths
Arrests
Robberies
Citizenship and nationality
Federal benefits
Notarization of documents
International parental child abduction
International adoptions

To assist the traveling public, the bureau issues consular information sheets, travel warnings, and public announcements concerning conditions in countries where Americans may be planning to visit or reside.

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Visas and immigration

Following regulations established by Congress in the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), consular officers overseas, under the guidance of the Bureau's Office of Visa Services, are responsible for issuing all non-immigrant and immigrant visas. (Over 5.7 million non-immigrant visas and approximately 390,000 immigrant visas were issued in fiscal year 2002.)

The Bureau of Consular Affairs also administers the provisions of the INA as they relate to the Department of State in coordination with the U.S. Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services in the Department of Homeland Security.

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