For Immediate Release
September 5, 2025
Contact: Communications Director Nikki Gamer | Cell #: (978) 884-0003 | gamer@afsa.org

Washington, D.C. – The American Foreign Service Association (AFSA) strongly objects to the State Department's new requirement that all candidates currently on the Foreign Service Officer register must retake the Foreign Service Officer Test (FSOT) to remain eligible for selection. This abrupt, retroactive change — framed as modernization — abandons merit-based principles while putting an unfair burden on those who have already satisfied all the requirements to get into the service.

If the department truly values merit, it will not invalidate achievement. Instead, this decision sends a clear message: Even perfect compliance offers no protection. Rules change without warning. Merit matters only when convenient.

The department claims to seek reform, but genuine reform requires transparency and stakeholder input. Retroactively altering its processes betrays trust and exposes the department's disregard for consistency and fairness. As our nation seeks to continue its tradition of developing a nonpartisan diplomatic corps, one that delivers for the American people, these processes must be trustworthy, not capricious.

One thing is certain: At a time when institutional credibility hangs in the balance, this decision, like too many others made recently, will inflict lasting damage on recruitment and retention. AFSA demands the department honor its commitment to stability, transparency and actual merit — not the hollow performance of it.

The American Foreign Service Association (AFSA) is the professional association and labor union of the men and women of the United States Foreign Service.