The Foreign Service Journal, July-August 2010

A F S A N E W S 2010 AFSA CONSTRUCTIVE DISSENT AWARD WINNERS Profiles of award winners written by Francesca Kelly W hat happens when an American citizen needs to renew a passport overseas? The process might go smoothly — or it might leave that American in a for- eign country without a passport for days, even weeks. Kathryn Kiser, an FS-4 working in the American Citizen Services section in Amman, Jordan, decided that the current policy was not acceptable, and took action. In her daily consular work, Kiser adjudicated applications fromU.S. citizens seeking to renew or add pages to their pass- ports, or to document newborn U.S. citizens born in Jordan. Part of this process requires that applicants’ names be run through a database and compared against law enforcement information. If a match cannot be ruled out, the department guidance is to suspend consular services and confiscate the U.S. passport until the possible match is resolved by the Legal Hits U.S. office in the Bureau of Consular Affairs. This clearance process typically takes from one to four weeks. In nominating Kiser, Deanna Hanek Abdeen, chief of con- sular services in Amman, says, “The policy not only is an incon- venience to those it affects, but also leaves them extremely vul- nerable by essentially making them undocumented aliens.” She goes on to explain, “During this interim period, the U.S. citizen is trapped in a foreign country with no internationally recognizable iden- tity documentation and no means of returning to the United States.” Without a passport, an American citi- zen faces potential disaster in an emer- gency. If arrested or even just questioned by foreign police for any reason, the indi- vidual would have no means of proving U.S. citizenship. This process also affects those traveling overseas on business or tourism, as well as school staff members expecting to travel during a school vacation. Even checking into a hotel requires a passport in some countries. Kiser began by speaking with consular management at post. She then raised the issue with the Bureau of Consular Affairs to ascertain that post procedure was in line with department poli- cy. She briefed both the ambassador and the deputy chief of mission on her concerns. When department and post policy did not change, Kiser made the decision to draft and submit a dissent cable. She not only detailed the problem, but outlined solutions and recom- mendations for the name check process, a mechanism to deal with emergency cases, and a request to streamline the system so that hits that are not a match would not be reviewed again each time the U.S. citizen renews or applies for a passport. Abdeen points out that Kiser “could have easily done what the vast majority of officers do: follow department guidance without question. But her overwhelming concern was for the welfare of U.S. citi- zens placed at risk due to U.S. government actions, and she believed that our process could be improved without compro- mising law enforcement interests.” State Department management has been open to change. As a result of Kiser’s Dissent Channel message, management is reviewing policies with the idea of changing certain aspects of the passport renewal process for American citizens abroad, and revising the Foreign Affairs Manual accordingly. Kiser herself is simply glad that the department appears to be poised to take action. “While I appreciate the recognition, see- ing the department take the matter seriously is more gratifying to me than any award. The thoroughness and earnestness of State’s response — and the concrete follow-through on promised action—were far beyond my expectations.” ❏ The W. Averell Harriman Award FOR AN ENTRY-LEVEL FOREIGN SERVICE OFFICER Kathryn A. Kiser 64 F OR E I GN S E R V I C E J OU R N A L / J U L Y - A UGU S T 2 0 1 0 Kiser in Petra, Jordan, Apr. 23, 2009. Below: In Wadi Rum, Jordan, April 24, 2009. JOHN WARD JOHN WARD