UNCLASSIFIED (U)

.7 FAM 120 

EMERGENCY FAMILY MESSAGES

(CT:CON-967;   03-15-2023)
(Office of Origin:  CA/OCS)

7 FAM 121  Summary

(CT:CON-484;   09-13-2013)

In an era of cellular phones, email and Internet cafes, the consular function of relaying emergency family messages regarding deaths in the family or serious illness or injury arises less frequently.  Nevertheless, it is still an important consular function.  Too often, families do not have a specific itinerary for a relative traveling abroad, and your skill in trying to locate the citizen or national may be the family’s only hope of reaching the loved one in a timely manner.  You should handle reasonable requests thoughtfully and expeditiously insofar as local conditions permit.  The Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) (see 7 FAM 040) may be a useful tool for you in trying to locate individuals in these circumstances.

7 FAM 122  Obtaining Information From the Family

(CT:CON-967;   03-15-2023)

You may receive requests to pass emergency messages directly from a U.S. citizen/U.S. non-citizen national in the United States or abroad, an interested Congressional office, another Foreign Service post, or the Department.  After confirming whether the caller would like the Department to provide information to the individual for purposes of establishing contact or passing a message, you should take the following actions:

(1)  Obtain the following information:

(a)  Caller’s full name, address, phone number, email if available, and relationship;

(b)  Name, date and place of birth of the person abroad;

(c)  Passport number of person abroad;

(d)  Last known address, itinerary (including airline and flight number if known/applicable), and phone number of person abroad;

(e)  Reason for travel/residence abroad;

(f)   Date of last contact;

(g)  Other points of contact abroad;

(h)  If ill, where hospitalized and, if relevant to current hospitalization, the name and phone number of attending physician in the U.S.; and

(i)   In cases of a family emergency:

Nature of the emergency

What the caller wants you to tell about the emergency when you locate the person abroad;

Name, address, telephone number, and relationship of the person whom the person abroad should call after you relay the message

(2)  Evaluate the information above to determine the most likely method of locating the intended recipient and delivering the message directly.  Do not rely on local mail to deliver your message.

(3)  If the information you obtain is not complete but you have an itinerary, you may locate the person indirectly by leaving a message at one or several hotels, hostels, ashrams, etc., at which this person would likely stay.  You could ask immigration or customs officials to convey a message at likely border crossings.

(4)  If the person abroad has left your district for another, you should pass that information along with the identifying information that you received to the appropriate post for its action, with an information copy sent to the Department.

(5)  If you locate the person and deliver the message, anticipate that you may also need to help the U.S. citizen or national return quickly to the United States or respond to the message.

(6)  Request written consent to disclosure under the Privacy Act from the person to whom you have delivered the message if the subject has asked you to contact anyone on their behalf (and no routine use applies, see 7 FAM 060).

7 FAM 123  REPORTING ON EMERGENCY MESSAGES

(CT:CON-936;   10-20-2022)

a. In most, if not all, emergency message cases that the Department refers to a post for action, the post will also receive instructions on how to notify the inquirer of the results of the search.

b. If you receive instructions to respond to the U.S. citizen or national directly, include only the minimum agreed to between the inquirer in the United States and the consular officer to whom they made the request (either at post or in CA/OCS/ACS).  e.g., in a case involving the death of a family member in the United States, you generally will be instructed to advise the individual that the family has asked that they call home.

c.  If you receive instructions to reply to the Department, you must provide full details regarding the search efforts and results.

7 FAM 124  PRIVACY ACT CONSIDERATIONS

(CT:CON-705;   03-29-2017)

The Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a; Public Law 93-579) prohibits consular officers from releasing any "record" about an individual U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident  from our system of records without the prior written consent of the individual in question or an applicable exception.  See 7 FAM chapter 060 Privacy Act guidance.

7 FAM 125 THROUGH 129  UNASSIGNED

UNCLASSIFIED (U)