Working for/with the State Department

2014-11-14T23:06:48-05:00

I have been considering career options lately and was wondering if anyone in the RallyPoint community has left the military and gone to work for the Department of State, most notably the Foreign Service. I would also be interested in hearing any stories about working with US Embassy staff; funny or serious.

Response by SGM Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 15 at 2014 8:09 PM

2014-11-15T20:09:48-05:00

LT Miller, well now, I could relate a lot of interesting adventures. Would love to relate one about a person with a very peculiar name but that would probably result in a lawsuit. Suffice it to say we went several rounds when the Press Secretary wanted to impose a view on our Independent Stars and Stripes newspapers on a very silly thing involving the closing of one hotel, the opening of a new one in Tokyo. While the US Ambassador is the senior US official, and can set policy that our forces had to folllow, Stripes works for DOD under the Congressional Subcommittee on Printing, and is supposed to be free from that kind of censorship. I remember being in her office that could have housed 10 soldiers. I remember her being younger than me (and I was 27). I remember telling her it was a strange irony that our soldiers were stationed around the world to defend democracy, and yet here was our own embassy telling us not to speak about a hotel situation that was in no way controversial. It had already been in the Japanese newspapers which I brought with me. In other adventures, we'd have wonderful visits to Embassies and they always had a great commissary! And pool! In some places like Greece, the Embassy wanted a low key presence but one particularly reckless about to be a BG thought he owned the world and had to learn a lesson.

Response by SGM Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 15 at 2014 8:25 PM

2014-11-15T20:25:10-05:00

Oh--as a National Representative for the Boy Scouts of America, I often worked with local Embassies and Ambassadors too. Some Embassies had their own Scout units, and there were a surprising number of fellow Eagle Scouts (including Ambassadors)! We had a lot of fun. Ambassadors gave high levels of support to Americans overseas, often presenting the Eagle Badges. Sometimes I presented them, such as to a young Australian lad at the Australian Embassy--yes, when a youth lives in another country they can work on another Scout system if their own is not offered. That was an interesting situation that I had to explain to the US Ambassador!

Response by LTC Yinon Weiss made Dec 29 at 2014 2:22 PM

2014-12-29T14:22:09-05:00

Thomas,

This might help... there are over 80 RP members currently working at the Department of State. You can connect with them here:

https://www.rallypoint.com/organizations/u-s-department-of-state-washington-dc/current

We also have 10 veterans who are specifically Foreign Service Officers:

https://www.rallypoint.com/positions/foreign-service-officer/current

I'm sure that connecting with some of them would be of great help. Good luck!

Veterans and military members currently working at U.S. Department of State are on RallyPoint

Connect with veterans and military members currently working at U.S. Department of State. Discover career opportunities and get the answers you need from others with your experience.

Response by 1LT Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 30 at 2014 8:31 PM

2014-12-30T20:31:37-05:00

LT Private RallyPoint Member. There are four major routes into the foreign service life

(1) Foreign Service Officer - take the FSO Written Assessment and FSO Oral Assessment

(2) Foreign Service Staff - apply directly with specialized skills like radio communications

(3) USDOS/INR - Bureau of Intelligence and Research ( http://www.state.gov/s/inr/ )

(4) Resident Agency - CIA, USAID or US Agency with presence in the embassy compound

If you are interested in any of these options, please send email address for offline discussion.

Warmest Regards, Sandy ( [login to see] || http://www.linkedin.com/in/armynurse )

Bureau of Intelligence and Research

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 31 at 2014 12:56 PM

2014-12-31T12:56:26-05:00

I recommend reading this book: http://www.afsa.org/inside.

The chart here is helpful: http://suitupfso.blogspot.com/2011/07/csfs-compared-to-military-rankings.html.

Look at this chart/read this book: https://books.google.com.cy/books?id=gPat0nCTbIUC&pg=PA121&lpg=PA121&dq=comparison+of+%22foreign+service+officer%22+and+military&source=bl&ots=yuhwhI7aAp&sig=hvbuKF35cs37tjOaNOayR5jiq40&hl=en&sa=X&ei=GzikVPPqJ4f4ygOYk4LIDA&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=comparison%20of%20%22foreign%20service%20officer%22%20and%20military&f=false

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made May 3 at 2016 12:01 AM

2016-05-03T00:01:27-04:00

Don't expect anyone to show up to meetings 10 minutes early... If the schedule says 10. They show up at 10.

Drove me bonkers...

Response by Glenn Morales made Oct 26 at 2019 10:40 PM

2019-10-26T22:40:28-04:00

..The Visa Refusal - Revocation Of Aliens Involved In International Parental Child Abduction Cases.

As we well know, if a child is being abducted internationally by a family member and is not yet abroad, one of the parents should contact the Prevention Branch, Office of Children´s Issues of the U.S. Department of State.

If an alien has a visa renewal refusal problem out of the context of a Visa refusal under INA 214 (B) (Consular Officer´s immigrant presumption at any U.S. Consulate abroad is because:

1.- the Department of State International Parental Child Abduction application – IPCA- is the database that CA/OCS/CI uses to record and monitor a possible intent of child abduction case in connection with nonimmigrant - immigrant visa applications in the visa line.

2.- As per INA 212(a)(10)(C) “CONSULAR OFFICERS DO NOT ISSUE A U.S. VISA TO A PERSON WITH ANY KNOWN INVOLVEMENT IN A CHILD ABDUCTION CASE UNTIL THE OFFICER CONSULT WITH THE VISA OFFICE”.

3.- U.S Consulates –ACS- abroad can address individual - IPCA - International Parental Child Abductions cases and during the act of the consular interview of aliens applying for nonimmigrant or immigrant visas, Consular Officers can review IPCA derogatory information listed on the IPCA - International Parental Child Abduction application and refuse the visa application - renewal..

4.- The DS 160 nonimmigrant visa application collects information from aliens seeking visa to the U.S. based on information provided in this online form. The information and those obtained during the act of the consular interview would enable Consular Officers determine if an applicant is eligible for a U.S. nonimmigrant visa. The cited Department´s DS 160 online nonimmigrant visa application addressed the following question to visa applicants:

“Have you ever withheld custody of a U.S. citizen child outside the United States from a person granted legal custody by a U.S. court?”

The reasons of this cited “Department´s DS 160 question“ to foreign visa applicants, and the reason of a visa refusal is because the following laws and the following federal Agencies administrative procedures have been enacted to refuse – revoke visas of aliens involved in IPCA cases and to combat international parental child abduction by aliens, LPRs or U.S. Citizens:

a.-18 U.S.C. § 1204. As required by Title III of the International Child Abduction Prevention and Return Act 6 U.S.C. 241, a U.S. Federal law that prohibits a parent from removing a child from the United States or retaining a child in another country with intent to obstruct another parent´s custodial rights.

b.- the Parental child abduction is a felony in every U.S. state and a federal crime under the International Parental Kidnapping Act, 18 U.S.C. 1204, and the perpetrator ( whether an alien or visa applicant - NIV holder - U.S. legal permanent resident or a U.S. Citizen) must be charged with a crime, and these laws are often enforceable within the U.S., and they have a clear impact on the status of a child and a taking parent outside the U.S. just as stated in the Department´s Foreign Affairs Manual.

.

c.-the Sean and David Goldman International Child Abduction Prevention and Return Act of 2014 (ICAPRA), 22 U.S.C.S. §§9101-9141’s first line of defense are :

- our U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officers at ports of entry –POE-,

- our U.S. Consular Officers checking IPCA cases dropped by CA/OCS/CI in CCD – CLASS.

- the amended Homeland Security Act of 2002 who requires that CBP, the U.S. Department of State, Consular Officers, Attorney General, and FBI adopt an “interagency program” on child abduction.

Glenn R. Morales Dalrymple