Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs

{{Use American English|date = March 2019}}

{{Short description|U.S. government position}}

{{Use mdy dates|date = March 2019}}

{{Infobox Political post

| post = United States
Assistant Secretary of State
for Consular Affairs

| body =

| insignia = U.S. Department of State official seal.svg

| insigniasize = 120

| insigniacaption = Seal of the United States Department of State

| image =

| incumbent = John Armstrong

| acting = yes

| incumbentsince = February 27, 2025

| style =

| residence =

| termlength =

| reports_to = The under secretary of state for management

| nominator = The president of the United States

| formation = 1953

| inaugural = R. W. Scott McLeod

| website = [https://travel.state.gov/ travel.state.gov]

| flag = Flag of the United States Assistant Secretary of State.svg

| flagcaption = Flag of an assistant secretary of state

}}

The assistant secretary of state for consular affairs is the head of the Bureau of Consular Affairs within the United States Department of State. The assistant secretary of state for consular affairs reports to the under secretary of state for management. From 1953 to 1977, the position was called Administrator of the Bureau of Security and Consular Affairs. The bureau is "responsible for the welfare and protection of U.S. citizens abroad, for the issuance of passports and other documentation to citizens and nationals, and for the protection of U.S. border security and the facilitation of legitimate travel to the United States" as described by the bureau's website.{{cite web |title=Bureau of Consular Affairs |url=https://www.state.gov/bureaus-offices/under-secretary-for-management/bureau-of-consular-affairs/ |website=U.S. Department of State |access-date=24 October 2021}}

List of the assistant secretaries of state

=Security and consular affairs, 1953—77=

class="wikitable"

!#

!Name

!Assumed office

!Left office

!President(s) served under

1

|R. W. Scott McLeod

|March 3, 1953

|March 9, 1957

|rowspan="2" | Dwight D. Eisenhower

2

|Roderic L. O'Connor

|May 28, 1957

|December 29, 1958

3

|John W. Hanes III

|January 1, 1959

|October 4, 1962

|Dwight D. Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy

4

|Abba P. Schwartz

|October 5, 1962

|March 6, 1966

|John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson

5

|Barbara M. Watson

|August 12, 1968

|December 31, 1974

|Lyndon B. Johnson and Richard Nixon

6

|Leonard F. Walentynowicz

|January 2, 1975

|March 7, 1977

|Gerald Ford

=Consular affairs, 1977–present=

class="wikitable"

!#

!Name

!Assumed office

!Left office

!President(s) served under

7

|Barbara M. Watson

|April 13, 1977

|August 17, 1980

|Jimmy Carter

8

|Diego C. Asencio

|August 29, 1980

|November 21, 1983

|Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan

9

|Joan M. Clark

|December 22, 1983

|October 18, 1989

|Ronald Reagan

10

|Elizabeth M. Tamposi

|October 18, 1989

|November 10, 1992

|George H. W. Bush

11

|Mary A. Ryan

|May 12, 1993

|September 30, 2002

|Bill Clinton and George W. Bush

12

|Maura Harty

|November 20, 2002

|February 29, 2008

|George W. Bush

13

|Janice L. Jacobs

|June 10, 2008

|April 4, 2014

|George W. Bush and Barack Obama

14

|Michele T. Bond

|April 4, 2014

|January 26, 2017

|Barack Obama and Donald Trump

-

|David T. Donahue (acting)

|January 26, 2017

|August 11, 2017

|rowspan=3|Donald Trump

15

|Carl Risch

|August 11, 2017

|December 22, 2020

-

|Mora Namdar (acting)

|December 22, 2020

|January 20, 2021

-

|Ian G. Brownlee (acting)

|January 20, 2021

|August 12, 2021

| rowspan="2" |Joe Biden

16

|Rena Bitter

|August 12, 2021

|January 20, 2025

-

|Julie Stufft (acting)

|January 20, 2025

|February 27, 2025

|rowspan=2|Donald Trump

-

|John Armstrong (acting)

|February 27, 2025

|Present

References

{{Reflist}}