Judicial Assistance
Judicial Assistance/Serving Legal Papers & Process
U.S. consular officers are prohibited by federal regulation from serving legal process upon foreign nationals or companies, and are not allowed to appoint others to make such service.
We are required to serve certain forms of legal process, such as subpoenas and show cause orders issued by Federal courts, upon U.S. citizens or permanent residents of the United States who are temporarily abroad, but we may do so only in the limited circumstances indicated by 28 USC 1783 and 1784 (see also Rule 45(e) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure).
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