State

The department that conducts American diplomacy, runs the embassies, and issues passports and visas.

Bureau of Consular Affairs

The State Department bureau that issues passports and visas and helps Americans in trouble abroad

Bureau of Diplomatic Security

The State Department's law enforcement and security arm, protecting diplomats, embassies, and visiting foreign dignitaries

Foreign Assistance After USAID Reorganizing

How U.S. foreign aid is organized after the 2025 dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development

Policy Planning Staff

The Secretary of State's in-house strategy office, created in 1947 to think beyond the daily crisis

The Department of State Reorganizing

The oldest cabinet department: American diplomacy, the embassies, passports, and visas

The Foreign Service

The career corps of diplomats who staff American embassies and consulates around the world

U.S. Embassies and Consulates

The network of diplomatic posts that represents the United States in nearly every country in the world