Press Releases

U.S. Ambassador William J. Burns To Open U.S. Consular Agency Office in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk

August 21, 2006

The Consulate General of the United States of America in the Russian Far East announces that on August 23 the United States Ambassador to the Russian Federation William J. Burns will officially open a U.S. Consular Agency office in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. This event highlights the interest of American businesses and government in the region and comes as a direct result of the increasing numbers of American businesses and citizens on Sakhalin Island.

The Consular Agency will provide a wide range of services to U.S. citizens. These services include providing passport, citizenship and notarial services, and emergency assistance to U.S. citizens and organizing visits by U.S. government and business representatives. It is important to accordingly note that in spite of their important responsibilities, consular agents can not perform certain services which fall under the purview of the U.S. Consulate General in Vladivostok or the U.S. Embassy in Moscow. In particular, a consular agent is not authorized to issue U.S. visas to Russian citizens.

America began using consular agents not long after the United States was founded -- the first guidelines issued by the State Department concerning consular agent activities were given in 1801. In the beginning, U.S. consuls were given rights to appoint agents in foreign ports distantly located from consulate territories that were frequented by American ships. Today, a growing number of consular agent offices are functioning not only in port cities but also in regions where large numbers of U.S .citizens work and live. The consular agent in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk will become one of 55 U.S. consular agents who work in 29 countries around the world.