The Foreign Service Journal, May 2011

36 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / M A Y 2 0 1 1 be difficult to ascertain whether some- one’s interest in you is truly an interest in you, or if it is motivated by the hope for a free ticket to America as your spouse and, eventually, U.S. citizenship. While this makes trusting one’s in- stincts even more important, the oppo- site side of the coin can also be true: singles, particularly single men, who have had trouble socializing in the States, may find that dat- ing overseas comes more easily. But as students in the con- sular training course are cautioned: “Remember, we don’t get better-looking just because we move overseas.” Contact Reporting: Know the Rules One consideration for single officers interested in dating while overseas (and, indeed, for all Foreign Service em- ployees) continues to be the reporting requirements on contact with foreign nationals (including dating, cohabitat- ing and marrying). Single employees should keep contact reporting issues in mind when bidding on assignments. For many years the reporting re- quirements for the contact policy in the Foreign Affairs Manual were confusing and out of date, based on ColdWar–era threats. But in 2009, the regulations were rewritten and made clearer. “For more than five years, AFSA undertook vigorous efforts to bring about a long-overdue update of the regulations governing the reporting of foreign contacts, co- habitation and intent to marry foreign nationals,” explains AFSA General Counsel Sharon Papp, “including multiple démarches and letters to State Department management, collaborationmeetings and Foreign Service Journal articles. The bureaus of Diplomatic Security andHuman Resources worked closely with AFSA lawyers on these rules and ac- cepted many of our suggestions.” The new regulations can be found in 12 FAM260 and 12 FAM 270. The rules on marrying a foreign national can be found in 3 FAM 4190. This set of regulations spells out the latest security reporting requirements. Although there are strict requirements for contacts with foreign nationals at crit- ical-threat posts, the new rules have eliminated the require- ment to report relationships involving continuing romantic or sexual intimacy with foreign nationals from non–critical- threat countries, unless the employee has SCI access. All clearance holders, however, must report all close and continuing contact with foreign nationals of all countries each time they update their SF-86 to renew their security clearance. In addition, DS may still ask about such rela- tionships if they are perceived as a security vulnerability for the employee. The list of critical-threat posts is still classified, but avail- able to employees when they need it. A good rule of thumb is that if you think a country might be a critical-threat post, it probably is. More details about contact reporting are spelled out on the AFSA Web site at www.afsa.org/for eign_contact_reporting.aspx. Overall, the new regulations are an improvement in the sense that they are clearer on the reporting requirements. Yet they have not entirely kept up with the new realities of social media and the wide variety of “friends” FS employ- ees may have online. For instance, while some security of- ficers have told employees they must report all of their foreign Facebook friends, DS has confirmed that this is not, in fact, a requirement. F O C U S Singles must seek out new support networks at each post, and it pays to do this early in a tour. Suggestions from FS Singles for FS Singles B eing a Foreign Service single overseas can offer great possibilities to meet and socialize with some of the most interesting people on earth. But at times, it can be very lonely. To help make the most of the unique Foreign Service lifestyle, here are some suggestions from single colleagues: • Speak up at post. Let your needs be known. • Get to know people from other missions. • Know your neighbors. • Always let someone know where you are. • Ask for help, for example with pack-out. Hire help. Trade help. • Team up with other singles to explore and/or to co- host social or representational events. • Remember that you cannot supervise a spouse/part- ner, so aim to date outside your cone. • Take up personal or “extracurricular” projects like vol- unteering or an artistic endeavor — create a life for yourself outside the office. • Connect with international organizations and groups outside the embassy community. • Take advantage of networking opportunities through your alumni association. — Shawn Dorman