THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | SEPTEMBER 2023 57 AFSA NEWS Diplomats at Work Event Helping Americans Overseas as a Consular Officer Foreign Service Officer Andrew Byrley joined AFSA for its latest Diplomats at Work event, held virtually on June 20. During the interview, he recounted his time as a consular officer at U.S. Embassy Belize, assisting Americans in crisis. Byrley began by tracing his unconventional path to the Foreign Service: He started out as a security engineer with the Diplomatic Security Service. Two tours later, he converted to an FSO through the Mustang Program and embarked on his first consular tour. This role, he explained, is incredibly important to the United States’ mission overseas. “If you talk to any Foreign Service officer abroad and you ask, ‘What are you guys doing out there?’ the number one thing anyone is going to say is that the embassy’s primary responsibility is the safety and security of U.S. citizens in country. That’s [the job of] consular services,” he said. In addition to issuing immigrant and nonimmigrant (or tourist) visas to citizens of other countries, consular officers at U.S. embassies and consulates are tasked with providing American citizen services, Byrley told the audience. While the embassy can’t spring anyone out of jail or “send in the Marines” upon request, it fulfills a number a vital functions for U.S. citizens. From assisting with passport replacements and visiting Americans in jail to issuing birth and death certificates, consular officers are often the first responders for Americans facing challenges overseas, particularly in a country like Belize, which is a popular destination for tourists and retirees. Byrley recounted one especially harrowing month when, in unrelated incidents, two Americans were killed in the country. After confirming one individual’s identity with the Belizean police, he had to call the young man’s mother to inform her of his death. “I will never in my life forget the emotional reaction and cries that came through the other side of the phone that day,” Byrley said. “That’s something that sticks with me. But it’s not unique to me. Consular officers all over the world are doing these kinds of things. It was just my turn.” Days later, he had to make a similar phone call to another American traveler’s family. “It’s an emotional process,” he said. “You’re trying to be a government official. You want to stay calm, poised, and then you put the phone down and take a moment to process your own feelings. Because after this call, a bunch of people out in the waiting room need to talk to you about their passports or their consular report of birth [abroad]. The days are varied.” Byrley credited his supportive boss with helping him “bounce back” from difficult interactions. He also said the training he received prior to going to post prepared him to handle consular work. Known as “con gen,” this consular course teaches new officers how to conduct visa interviews, adjudicate applications, and manage the legal paperwork. Training also involves role playing the types of “next-of-kin” calls Byrley made in Belize. “It was some of the best training I’ve had at the Department of State,” he said, “because it’s very thorough and forces you to think about—how are you going react to that human being on the other side of your window?” Andrew Byrley currently works as an economic and commercial officer at the U.S. embassy in Riga. In addition to his consular tour in Belize, he previously served as an economic officer in Mauritania, as desk officer for Guinea and The Gambia, and as assistant chief of staff in the bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs. He became an FSO in 2014 after working for the department for four years as a security engineering officer. Diplomats at Work tells the story of the Foreign Service, introducing the important and varied work of diplomats to new audiences as part of AFSA’s outreach efforts. A recording of this event is available at bit.ly/ DaW-Byrley. n Foreign Service Officer Andrew Byrley judges a fish taco contest at an embassy-sponsored event in Placencia, Belize, in June 2015. COURTESY OF ANDREW BYRLEY
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