About the Bureau of Consular Affairs
My success = new challenges + new CULTURES
About the Bureau of Consular Affairs
“We protect the lives and interests of American citizens abroad and strengthen the security of United States borders through the vigilant adjudication of visas and passports.”
Safety. Security. Service. More than 24,000 employees contribute significantly to the United States Government (USG) goal of promoting international exchange and understanding. Our vision is to help American citizens engage with the world. CA issues travel documents that allow Americans to travel worldwide and lawful immigrants and visitors to travel to the United States. We provide essential lifecycle services to Americans overseas, including facilitating adoptions, evacuating American citizens, combating fraud to protect our borders, and fighting human trafficking. Our employees use their problem-solving and managerial skills, along with their sense of public service, to address challenges facing U.S. citizens who are traveling, living or conducting business abroad.
CA has eight different offices, led by the Assistant Secretary for Consular Affairs. These offices recruit and hire for Civil Service and Foreign Service employees and Consular Fellows, and participate in the Department’s internship programs. Opportunities may be found in these areas:
The Consular Fellows Program offers U.S. citizens a unique opportunity to serve their country, utilize their foreign language skills, and develop valuable skills and experience that directly support the U.S. Department of State’s mission to provide overseas consular services that protect American citizens, ensure U.S. national security, facilitate the entry of legitimate travelers, and foster economic growth at home. Using their language skills in Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese Mandarin, or Arabic, Foreign Service Consular Fellows serve in U.S. embassies and consulates overseas, and work together with dedicated professionals to prevent fraud, combat trafficking in persons, and protecting U.S. border security.
As the information and technology arm of CA, CST is responsible for designing, building, acquiring, deploying, and operating a global infrastructure targeted at enabling CA’s mission both domestically and abroad 24/7, 365 days a year. CST operations encompass the entire lifecycle of corporate IT investments: portfolio management, strategic planning, budget, acquisition, security, application development, engineering, architecture, and operations. The following opportunities in the Foreign or Civil Services qualify for the Skills Incentive Program (SIP): Computer Scientists, IT Project Managers, IT Specialists, System and Application Architects, Information Security Engineers, Computer Systems Analysts, Database Administrators, Data Modelers, and Application/Software Developers.
Foreign Service Officers are U.S. Diplomats that work in one of five different career tracks. The consular career track provides opportunities to facilitate adoptions, help evacuate Americans, and combat fraud to protect our borders and fight human trafficking. Consular Officers touch people’s lives in important ways, often reassuring families in crisis. These U.S. diplomats work at one of any of the more than 270 embassies, consulates and other diplomatic missions in The Americas, Africa, Europe and Eurasia, East Asia and Pacific, Middle East and North Africa, and South Asia..
With 27 passport agencies and two passport processing centers located throughout the United States, this group protects the integrity of the U.S. passport as proof of citizenship, and enhances border security. As a Passport Specialist, your role and responsibilities are significant to overall national security, citizenship, and border security. Whether you are helping U.S. citizens to maintain their passports, screening documents to ensure accuracy, or providing exceptional customer service, you can make a difference in someone’s life.
