Consulate in Chiang Mai

Overview:The US Consulate General in Chiang Mai is the sole US consular presence outside Bangkok. The original Consulate was established in Chiang Mai in 1950 and was upgraded to a Consulate General in 1986. In addition to Department of State employees, staff from the Drug Enforcement Administration and the US Air Force's Technical Application Center are stationed in Chiang Mai associated with the Consulate; the Centers for Disease Control operates a field station in Chiang Rai. Approximately a dozen Peace Corps Volunteers work in northern Thailand, primarily in projects concerning education.

Key officers:
Principal Officer: Kenneth L. Foster, Consul General
Management Officer: Todd Bate-Poxon
Political/Economic/Public Diplomacy Officer: Marc Miller
Regional Security Officer: Michael Megeath
Consular Chief: Richard Whitten (TDY)

District: The Chiang Mai consular district covers fifteen provinces: Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Kamphaengphet, Lampang, Lamphun, Mae Hong Son, Nan, Petchabun, Phayao, Phichit, Phitsanulok, Phrae, Sukhothai, Tak, and Uttaradit.

Other Americans: The US community of north Thailand numbers in the thousands; US citizen residents and long-term visitors are encouraged to register with the Consulate at http://bangkok.usembassy.gov/embassy/acsregform.htm. The U.S. community in Chiang Mai dates to 1867, when American missionaries, doctors and teachers first started efforts that led to the establishment of medical and educational institutions in the north. Today those institutions include McCormick Hospital, McKean Rehabilitation Center (formerly a leprosy asylum), Prince Royal's College, Dara Academy, Chiang Mai University medical school and Payap University.

Diplomats: The consular presence in Chiang Mai includes Chinese and Japanese Consulates General as well as an Indian consulate. France, United Kingdom, Germany, Canada, Austria, Finland, South Africa, Australia, Peru, Bangladesh, Sweden and Italy have appointed Honorary Consuls. An honorary consul for Belgium resides in Lampang.

Major activities: In addition to American citizen services and non-immigrant visa adjudication, the Consulate promotes educational and cultural exchange, environmental partnerships, and efforts to combat trafficking in persons. The US Government has made substantial contributions to and continues to support Royal Thai Government programs to eradicate opium cultivation and to encourage opium growers to cultivate substitute crops. The Consulate General closely monitors developments along the Thai-Burma border, including the welfare of over 150,000 displaced persons from Burma, and actively promotes US economic interests, including potential participation by US firms in the Greater Mekong Subregion. A US Air Force detachment monitors seismic activity in conjunction with the Royal Thai Navy.