Foreign and Domestic Diplomatic Missions
United States' Missions Abroad
The United States maintains diplomatic relations with over 90 percent of the world's countries. To this end, the U.S. Department of State maintains over 250 diplomatic and consular posts around the world, including embassies, consulates, and delegations and missions to international organizations. The staffs of the embassies and other overseas posts are there ostensibly in order to manage diplomatic relations with other countries and with international institutions; to promote peace in volatile regions of the world; to encourage trade rules which will benefit the United States; and to provide certain services to Americans traveling or living abroad.The effective heads of the United States' missions are known as "Chiefs of Missions" and go by the title of Ambassador, Minister, or Charge d'Affaires. The Chief and Deputy Chief of each mission head the mission's "country team," which comprises diplomatic officers representing not only the different interests of the U.S. Department of State, but other United States agencies as well (most often the Departments of Agriculture, Justice, Commerce, and Defense). Foreign Service nationals are also employed for their language and cultural expertise, and to aid the American staff.
The U.S. Department of State maintains this list of the websites of United States Embassies and Consulates Worldwide and a similar website with missions grouped by continent called U.S. Missions Online, which includes some of our missions to international organizations.
The Key Officers of Foreign Posts List of the U.S. Department of State is a list of United States representatives abroad, with the information being slanted toward the person doing business internationally. This is a thorough listing, and is not limited to emissaries with an online presence. There is another contact list, this one for all of the Department of State Country Offices. It lists office phone numbers, and includes offices in dependencies and areas of special sovereignty. The Diplomatic List provides the names of all of the diplomatic staff (those staff having diplomatic rank) of all of the United States missions. The preface to this document discusses the laws of "diplomatic immunity" under the Vienna Convention and lists national holidays of foreign countries.
United States citizens traveling or living abroad may require assistance from one of the U.S. diplomatic missions. Services and Information for American Citizens Abroad helps to explain the regulations surrounding these services. The Federal Register lists the fees for these services.
Foreign Diplomatic Missions
All of the Embassies of Washington, D.C..Foreign countries may maintain diplomatic representation in the United States in cities other than Washington, D.C., just as the United States maintains an official presence in some non-capital cities. The U.S. Department of State maintains this list of Foreign Consular Offices in the United States.
Also see the Embassy World for links to many foreign embassies in other countries.
Consular Notification and Access is a document from the U.S. Department of State explaining the rights of consular officials in assisting foreign nationals in the United States of America, especially in the case of arrest or detainment.
Other Diplomatic Information
The Arts in Embassies Program (AIEP) of the U.S. Department of State was created in 1964 for the purpose of displaying works by American artists in the residences of U.S. ambassadors worldwide.The U.S. Department of State has prepared a web site dealing with careers in the Foreign Service. There is also a site with information about the Foreign Service Exam.
The Institute for Experiential Learning sponsors an "Embassy and Diplomatic Scholars" internship program in Washington, D.C. and the U.S. Department of State offers information on its internship programs, some of which take place at overseas embassies.
The American Foreign Service Association is the professional organization for employees of the U.S. Foreign Service.
