About the Foreign Service

My Adventure so far as a Wannabe Diplomat has brought with it many questions from family and friends.

What is the Foreign Service?

The United States Foreign Service is a branch of the Department of State that represents US interests abroad. A Foreign Service Officer (FSO) is a diplomat working in US Embassies and Consulates around the globe. There are a number of steps to becoming a FSO, the first involving the Foreign Service Officer's Test (FSOT). 

Within the Foreign Service, there are a number of Career Tracks which a FSO Candidate must choose from: 

• Consular: Consular Officers protect Americans abroad and strengthen U.S. border security

• Economic: Economic Officers promote economic partnerships, development, and fair trade

• Management: Management Officers run our embassies and make American diplomacy work

• Political: Political Officers analyze political events

• Public Diplomacy: Public Diplomacy Officers explain American values and policies

What career track did you choose?

Each time I have taken the FSOT, I have chosen the Consular Track. 

From the US Department of State Careers Website: Consular Officers make judgments about foreign nationals who want to travel to the United States. They also facilitate adoptions, help evacuate Americans, combat fraud to protect our borders and fight human trafficking. Consular Officers touch people's lives in important ways, often reassuring families in crisis.

As you learn new skills and enjoy outstanding benefits, you’ll handle diverse challenges such as child custody disputes, arrests, travel advisories, and emergencies, in addition to:

• Working with local officials to facilitate legitimate business, educational, and tourist travel, strengthen our border security, and protect Americans
• Acquiring and applying expertise in local laws, culture, and economic and political conditions to make prompt, informed decisions affecting the lives of foreign citizens and Americans abroad
• Helping U.S. citizens with family reunification, in medical emergencies, and evacuations
• Visiting arrested Americans and ensuring access to legal counsel
• Leading a multi-cultural and highly qualified staff in developing innovative practices to protect U.S. citizens and borders
• Combining problem solving and managerial skills with knowledge of U.S. and host country laws/procedures to find solutions to problems American citizens face abroad.
• Applying knowledge of host country and U.S. Immigration law/procedures to facilitate legitimate travel to the United States while applying appropriate measures to protect U.S. borders.
• Reporting to Washington on full range of consular issues, for instance, fraud trends, visa and passport workload, or delicate American citizen cases involving victims of crime or child abductions. Monitoring security issues that threaten the safety of Americans abroad, and ensure Americans have access to timely, accurate information to make decisions concerning travel and activities.

Where will you go?

Once I am offered a job as a FSO, I will relocate to Washington D.C. for a training program called A-100. The program is about six-weeks long and covers the basic training that every FSO will need to base their advance training. At the beginning of A-100, each new class of FSOs receives a list of possible posts for their class' first duty stations, known as a Bid-list. I will work with Career Development officers to determine my preferences on the Bid-List, but ultimately, I will be World-Wide Available, meaning that I will be sent where the State Department needs me. I will find out my assignment around week five in a ceremony called Flag Day.