Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs

Last updated

United States
Assistant Secretary of State
for Consular Affairs
U.S. Department of State official seal.svg
Seal of the United States Department of State
Rena E. Bitter.jpg
Incumbent
Rena Bitter

since August 12, 2021
Reports toThe Under Secretary of State for Management
NominatorThe President of the United States
Inaugural holder R. W. Scott McLeod
Formation1953
Website travel.state.gov

The Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs is the head of the Bureau of Consular Affairs within the United States Department of State. The Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs reports to the Under Secretary of State for Management. From 1953 to 1977, the position was called Administrator of the Bureau of Security and Consular Affairs. The bureau is "responsible for the welfare and protection of U.S. citizens abroad, for the issuance of passports and other documentation to citizens and nationals, and for the protection of U.S. border security and the facilitation of legitimate travel to the United States" as described by the bureau's website. [1]

Contents

List of the Assistant Secretaries of State for Security and Consular Affairs, 1953—77

NameAssumed officeLeft office President(s) served under
R. W. Scott McLeod March 3, 1953March 9, 1957 Dwight D. Eisenhower
Roderic L. O'Connor May 28, 1957December 29, 1958
John W. Hanes III January 1, 1959October 4, 1962Dwight D. Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy
Abba P. Schwartz October 5, 1962March 6, 1966John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson
Barbara M. Watson August 12, 1968December 31, 1974Lyndon B. Johnson and Richard Nixon
Leonard F. Walentynowicz January 2, 1975March 7, 1977 Gerald Ford

List of the Assistant Secretaries of State for Consular Affairs, 1977–present

NameAssumed officeLeft office President(s) served under
Barbara M. Watson April 13, 1977August 17, 1980 Jimmy Carter
Diego C. Asencio August 29, 1980November 21, 1983Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan
Joan M. Clark December 22, 1983October 18, 1989Ronald Reagan
Elizabeth M. Tamposi October 18, 1989November 10, 1992 George H. W. Bush
Mary A. Ryan May 12, 1993September 30, 2002 Bill Clinton and George W. Bush
Maura Harty November 20, 2002February 29, 2008George W. Bush
Janice L. Jacobs June 10, 2008April 4, 2014George W. Bush and Barack Obama
Michele T. Bond April 4, 2014January 26, 2017Barack Obama and Donald Trump
Carl Risch August 11, 2017December 22, 2020 Donald Trump
Mora Namdar (acting)December 22, 2020January 20, 2021
Ian G. Brownlee (acting)January 20, 2021August 12, 2021 Joe Biden
Rena Bitter August 12, 2021

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References

  1. "Bureau of Consular Affairs". U.S. Department of State. Retrieved October 24, 2021.