Consular Career Track

Consular Officers provide emergency and non-emergency services to American citizens and protect our borders through the proper adjudication of visas to foreign nationals and passports to American citizens. They adjudicate immigrant and non-immigrant visas, facilitate adoptions, help evacuate Americans, combat fraud, and fight human trafficking. Consular Officers touch people’s lives in important ways, often reassuring families in crisis. They face many situations in their careers as Consular Officers which require quick thinking under stress. They develop and use a wide range of skills, from managing resources and conducting public outreach to assisting Americans in distress. Following is an overview of a potential progression in your career track:

  • Supervise several locally-hired employees
  • Adjudicate visas
  • Assist American citizens living or visiting overseas who find themselves in emergency situations involving arrests, hospitalization and major accidents and provide non-emergency services, such as reports of birth, passport applications and notarial services
  • Respond to inquiries from a range of sources including attorneys, congressional offices, business contacts and host government officials
  • Combat consular fraud

  • Manage a small consular section or part of a large one, such as the American Citizen Services (ACS), anti-fraud, or visa unit
  • Supervise American entry-level officers and Locally Engaged Staff (LES)
  • Make complex decisions regarding visas and services for American citizens and resolve challenging management issues involving workflow and human resources
  • If posted to Washington, D.C., you will support Consular Officers in the field on visa, ACS, fraud and management issues

  • Manage a large consular section, supervise a number of American officers and local staff members and be part of the embassy’s senior management
  • Serve as an office director or part of the senior staff within the Consular Affairs Bureau in Washington, which advises on all consular matters
  • Engage in a variety of public outreach functions, such as speaking to the press or to American organizations
  • As with senior officers in other career tracks, you may be a Deputy Chief of Mission or Ambassador, or a Principal Officer at a large U.S. consulate