The Foreign Service Journal, February 2006

Rethinking the Consular Function Consular Issues. Bouquets to McKinsey for zeroing in on an issue I believe the department has shoved under the rug: consular assignments. Extending the time entry- level generalists spend in consular sections to three years is not the solution to maintaining the flow of visa work. (What message would adopting this practice send about the department’s commitment to the new Career Development model?) I understand that the requirement to interview all applicants poses a crushing burden on finite resources. However, it is a fact that the demand for visas won’t slack- en. As China and India’s middle class expands and opts for more overseas travel, will the department be able to satisfy the demand for visas so Indians and Chinese can visit New York or Disneyland on their vacations? Absolutely not. ( The Economist recently predicted that India’s middle class would number a quarter-billion [!] at current growth rates by 2015.) Mexico alone currently accounts for 20 percent of all visas issued, and demand is expected to double between 2008 and 2012. The department cannot hire enough staff or build enough secure interview windows to meet rising visa demand. So the time has come for the department to take a very hard look at the consular function. It should solicit innovative alternatives to enhance the current sys- tem. One option is simply to restrict the issuance of visas, but even in the post-9/11 climate, that is likely a non- starter. Another solution might be to conduct “remote” interviews via some sort of television hookup, with adju- dicators based elsewhere working various shifts. Here’s another option. Is there a way to link the need for good, remunerative, professional employment for spouses with the need for augmented consular staffing? It’s worth a serious look to see if we can create jobs to ful- fill spouses’ need for income, Social Security earnings and a 401(k) plan plus professional advancement, and at the same time satisfy the need for more consular officers to adjudicate visas. The department was perhaps too hasty in downgrading the Consular Associates program F O C U S F E B R U A R Y 2 0 0 6 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 41