Great article on ACS services!

This week, the Washington Post published a wonderful article  on American Citizen Services at embassies abroad. I hope everyone who wonders what I do and everyone hoping to become a consular officer reads this article! Consular officers work long hours helping Americans abroad, especially in an emergency/disaster.

I am glad the article mentions STEP, a program that allows travelers to receive emails and information about their destination. For example, if there is a hurricane coming while you are visiting the Dominican Republic, you would receive periodic emails with information on what to do.

The ONLY thing I think it missed was a mention of travel insurance. In the DR, many Americans called us because they wanted us to pay their hospital bills, something we couldn't do. Anyone can get into an accident or become ill while abroad, and the financial and medical consequences can be disastrous. We had tragic cases where the family members felt their loved one was not getting adequate care in the DR, but they could not afford the $50,000 to evacuate their loved one to the U.S. Please, next time you travel, be sure to purchase travel insurance. I thought this NY Times article was very informative.

Overall, very pleased to see this positive coverage!