What is a U.S. Consulate?
Inside the residence of the U.S. Consul General of
Casablanca, Morocco. (© Elizabeth Gill Lui)
If you are an American citizen traveling abroad, a U.S. consulate is where you go when you need help.
Lose your passport, break a law, or have a birth or death in the family while abroad? Go to a consulate.
Need a lawyer or a doctor while overseas? Ask the consulate for a list.
If you are unlucky enough to be the victim of a crime in a foreign country, find the nearest consulate.
One of the primary jobs of American consulates is helping and protecting Americans abroad.
Each embassy has a consular section.
The United States has only one embassy and one ambassador in the capital of any foreign country, but in large countries it may have several consulates. They are typically located in the main cities of provinces or states, and each is led by a consul general.
An exterior shot of the U.S. Consulate General in Shanghai, China which was built in 1921. (© Elizabeth Gill Lui)
Consulates carry out many of the same functions in provincial or regional capitals that the embassies do in national capitals. Consulates help U.S. businesses to find partners and customers in foreign countries. They bring American scientists, scholars, and artists to foreign countries and promote other educational and cultural exchanges.
A U.S. citizen visa applicant is fingerprinted by a visa clerk at the U.S. Consulate in Tijuana, Mexico. (© AP Photo/Denis Poroy)
Consulates work with U.S. and foreign law enforcement agencies to combat international crime. Some consulates also have reference centers where foreign citizens can come to learn about foreign policy, business, politics, art, and education in the United States. Consulates help citizens of foreign countries obtain visitor or immigration visas to the United States.