Podcast: American Citizen Services

Hi, I'm Lewis Gitter, a Vice Consul and Public Liaison Unit Chief here in Kyiv. Today I'd like to talk a little bit about American Citizens Services at the Embassy. The U.S. Embassy in Kyiv provides a wide range of services to Americans living or traveling in Ukraine. The Consular Section is staffed by American and Ukrainian employees who can assist American citizens with a variety of issues they may confront while abroad.

Much of what we do involves providing routine services to Americans living or traveling here. For example, we issue passports to American citizens living here and officially document the birth of American citizen children born in Ukraine. We notarize documents for use by American citizens in the United States or Ukraine. We also provide information on a variety of topics including federal benefits and taxes, voting, Ukrainian attorneys that are willing to assist Americans resolve legal issues, medical providers and evacuations, travel insurance providers, and translators. Within certain limits, we can also help with children's issues such as custody disputes and/or parental abduction cases.

We're here especially to help American citizens in emergency situations, such as replacing a lost or stolen passport and helping out in cases of arrest, hospitalization, destitution, or death abroad. We can help destitute Americans contact family and/or friends at home who might be able to assist them, and, in certain cases, may be able to arrange an emergency loan for direct return to the United States and basic dietary, hygienic, and medical needs for a limited amount of time. We also try to locate American citizens who have gone missing in Ukraine and make sure that they are safe.

While we can do certain things to help American citizens living or traveling here, there are other things that we cannot do. Most importantly, we cannot get Ukrainian laws waived because you are an American. The law does not allow us to provide legal advice or representation or intervene in private legal matters. We don't provide money or financial guarantees, cash checks, authenticate signatures and seals from the U.S., trace missing persons in the U.S. or act as a travel agent, interpreter, or translator. We're not a post office, although we will mail voter registration and election ballots only to the United States. Unfortunately, we also cannot provide many routine or emergency services to U.S. Resident Aliens ("Green Card" holders).

We would like to ask that all American citizens living or traveling in Ukraine register with the Embassy. This lets us know you are here and where we can find you in an emergency. Registering also puts you on our list for important announcements, such as security related messages. Registering is easy and can be done at travelregistration.state.gov/ibrs.

The American Citizen Services (ACS) unit can be reached by telephone at 044-490-4445 from 8:00 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The Consular Section is closed on American and Ukrainian holidays. American citizens experiencing an emergency may reach the Embassy duty officer at any time by calling 044-490-4000.

For more detailed information about the services we provide, public hours, and additional contact information, please visit the ACS page on the Embassy website.