United States Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs
Seal of the United States Department of State
Incumbent Rena Bitter since August 12, 2021
Reports to	The Under Secretary of State for Management
Nominator	The President of the United States
Inaugural holder	R. W. Scott McLeod
Formation	1953
Website	travel.state.gov

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.^[1]

List of the Assistant Secretaries of State for Security and Consular Affairs, 1953—77

Name	Assumed office	Left office	President(s) served under
R. W. Scott McLeod	March 3, 1953	March 9, 1957	Dwight D. Eisenhower
Roderic L. O'Connor	May 28, 1957	December 29, 1958	Dwight D. Eisenhower
John W. Hanes III	January 1, 1959	October 4, 1962	Dwight D. Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy
Abba P. Schwartz	October 5, 1962	March 6, 1966	John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson
Barbara M. Watson	August 12, 1968	December 31, 1974	Lyndon B. Johnson and Richard Nixon
Leonard F. Walentynowicz	January 2, 1975	March 7, 1977	Gerald Ford

List of the Assistant Secretaries of State for Consular Affairs, 1977–present

Name	Assumed office	Left office	President(s) served under
Barbara M. Watson	April 13, 1977	August 17, 1980	Jimmy Carter
Diego C. Asencio	August 29, 1980	November 21, 1983	Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan
Joan M. Clark	December 22, 1983	October 18, 1989	Ronald Reagan
Elizabeth M. Tamposi	October 18, 1989	November 10, 1992	George H. W. Bush
Mary A. Ryan	May 12, 1993	September 30, 2002	Bill Clinton and George W. Bush
Maura Harty	November 20, 2002	February 29, 2008	George W. Bush
Janice L. Jacobs	June 10, 2008	April 4, 2014	George W. Bush and Barack Obama
Michele T. Bond	April 4, 2014	January 26, 2017	Barack Obama and Donald Trump
David T. Donahue (acting)	January 26, 2017	August 11, 2017	Donald Trump
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	Joe Biden
Rena Bitter	August 12, 2021	Incumbent	Joe Biden

References

External links

United States Assistant Secretaries of State (and equivalent ranks)

United States Assistant Secretaries of State (and equivalent ranks)
Reporting to the Under Secretary for Political Affairs	African Affairs East Asian and Pacific Affairs European and Eurasian Affairs International Organization Affairs Near Eastern Affairs South and Central Asian Affairs Western Hemisphere Affairs
Reporting to the Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment	Economic and Business Affairs Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs Energy Resources Chief Economist of the Department
Reporting to the Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security	Arms Control, Verification, and Compliance International Security and Nonproliferation Political-Military Affairs
Reporting to the Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs	Educational and Cultural Affairs Global Public Affairs
Reporting to the Under Secretary for Management	Administration Consular Affairs Diplomatic Security Chief Information Officer of the Department Chief Medical Officer and Designated Agency Safety and Health Official Comptroller of the Department and Director of Global Financial Services Director General of the Foreign Service and Director of Global Talent Director of Budget and Planning Director of Overseas Buildings Operations Director, Foreign Service Institute Director, Office of Foreign Missions, with the rank of Ambassador Director, Office of Management Strategy and Solutions
Reporting to the Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights	Conflict and Stabilization Operations Coordinator for Counterterrorism, with rank and status of Ambassador-at-Large Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs Population, Refugees, and Migration Director, Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking (Ambassador-at-Large) Global Criminal Justice (Ambassador-at-Large)
Reporting directly to the Secretary	Intelligence and Research Legislative Affairs Special Assistant to the Secretary and Executive Secretary of the Department Inspector General Legal Adviser Director, Policy Planning Staff Director, Office of Foreign Assistance Director, Office of Civil Rights and Chief Diversity Officer Chief of Protocol of the United States, with the rank of Ambassador Global Women's Issues (Ambassador-at-Large) Coordinator of United States Government Activities to Combat HIV/AIDS Globally (Ambassador-at-Large)