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Bureau of Consular Affairs
Practical Law Glossary Item 4-506-0609 (Approx. 3 pages)
Glossary
Bureau of Consular Affairs
A branch of the US State Department that is responsible for:
- Issuing international travel documents, including:
- passports, passport cards, or other documents for US citizens traveling internationally; and
- visas for foreign nationals traveling to the US temporarily or permanently (see Practice Note, Applying for a Nonimmigrant Visa to the US, Key Nonimmigrant Visa Classifications Chart and Key Immigrant Visa Classifications Chart).
- Facilitating international travel for US citizens (see Practice Note, Best Practices for Transferring US Employees Overseas: Immigration Issues).
- Security and judicial assistance for US citizens abroad.
- Child and family matters for US citizens and foreign nationals in the US, including:
- intercountry adoption assistance (for information about adoptive parents leave rights under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), see Practice Note, Pregnancy and Parental Leave: Adoption or Foster Care Leave Rights Under the FMLA); and
- responding to international abductions from and to the US.
For more information, see the Bureau of Consular Affairs' website.