U.S. Consular Services to Innocents--And Others--Abroad: A Good Job Could Be Better with a Few Changes

摘要

Every year some 1.8 million Americans in foreign countries seek help from U.S. consulates. To enhance the ability to consular officers to respond, the Government should: increase the authority and resources of the Foreign Service to help Americans in emergencies; reduce the consular workload by waiving visa requirements for selected countries; establish a number of positions for the consular function more nearly commensurate with the workload; update and extend U.S. consular conventions; and take affirmative action against perceived inequities between the consular and other career 'cones' of the Foreign Service.