The Bureau of Consular Affairs (CA) is in charge of issuing passports for American citizens intending to reside, conduct business, study, or travel abroad. It also provides alerts and warnings concerning potentially dangerous conditions in foreign countries, and assists U.S. citizens abroad on a variety of issues, including helping those who want to vote by absentee ballot when they’re out of the country, those who are involved in international adoptions, or those who fall victim to crime, accident or illness. In addition, the Bureau of Consular Affairs provides services to citizens of other countries seeking visas to visit or reside legally in the United States, and conducts research to determine who qualifies for a visa, and which applicants may be attempting to get into the country to engage in harmful activities. A bureau of the U.S. Department of State, the Bureau of Consular Affairs also serves as a liaison between the Department and overseas Embassies and Consulates on visa matters. 

The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) of 1952, in which the basic United States laws governing immigration and naturalization are contained, created the Bureau of Security and Consular Affairs within the Department of State, INA gave responsibility for the administration and enforcement of immigration law to the Secretary of State, as it relates to the duties and functions of diplomatic and consular officers, with the Bureau of Security and Consular Affairs becoming the branch of the Department of State to manage the issuance of passports to citizens, and visas to immigrants seeking permanent residence, and non-immigrants seeking authorization for a temporary stay in the U.S. From March 1 to December 30, 1954, the Bureau was called Inspection, Security, and Consular Affairs. It returned to the name Bureau of Security and Consular Affairs until 1979, when it was renamed the Bureau of Consular Affairs. After the September 11, 2001, attacks, many of the programs and business procedures of the Bureau were re-tailored to address potential new threats; 570 new consular positions were created, and a Border Security Program was developed with a stated mission of denying valid entry into the United States of individuals who might pose a threat to the country; facilitating the entry of legitimate foreign visitors and students; protecting American citizens abroad; and researching and developing automated systems.

• Issuing passports to U.S. citizens
• Issuing visas to eligible foreign citizens
• Serving as a liaison between the Department of State and overseas Embassies and Consulates on visa matters and other services to U.S. citizens abroad.
• Offering, out of its Overseas Citizens Services unit, consular assistance to Americans traveling, living, studying, or conducting business abroad, covering a wide variety of situations, including: advice and support in the case of an accident, severe illness, or death; advice and support to victims of a serious crime; arrangement for notification of a victim’s next of kin; liaison with local police officials in the case of abductions or missing people; distribution of lists of local doctors and lawyers; replacement of lost travel documents; aid in arranging contact with incarcerated nationals; registration of births to U.S. citizens abroad; and guidance with adoption of foreign-born children.
• Development of a remote data collection process to increase the amount of data available to the consular officer prior to a visa applicant’s personal interview, and to permit enhanced domestic prescreening preparation.
• Conducting field inquiries of foreign visa applicants out of the Consular Fraud Prevention Office, including visiting Civil Registries, as well as telephoning employers or schools, and employing electronic search capabilities to check an applicant’s story against available data, or maps and satellite photos to verify information contained in visa applications.
• Taking the lead within the Department of State on continuation of negotiations with foreign governments for the international sharing of terrorist lookout information, through the Consular Lookout Support System (CLASS).
• Continuing to operate its two-way sharing of the CLASS database with the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Treasury Enforcement Communications System (TECS), which is used at ports of entry, and which presently includes approximately 29 million names.
• Transferring fingerprints collected with visas to the DHS IDENT (PDF) system, and data on lost or stolen passports to Interpol.