U.S. Department of State

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For about a 1% investment of the Federal budget, the State Department yields a large return for the American people by advancing U.S. national security, promoting our economic interests, providing services, and reaffirming our country’s exceptional role in the world. Read on for some specific ways that the Department worked to benefit this state’s citizens.

Vermont

• Business/Jobs/Trade

  • In partnership with agencies across the federal government, the Department of State advances U.S. trade policy objectives through trade agreements that open new export opportunities for American businesses and create jobs for American workers. International trade supports more than 93,000 Vermont jobs with customers in 164 countries and territories buying Vermont-grown and manufactured goods and services. This resulted in $4.3 billion in goods exports (2012) and $802 million in service exports (2011). (EB)

  • The Department of State’s Vermont Passport Agency employs 17 government and contract staff. (CA)

  • Vermont hosted 2,064 foreign physicians, teachers, camp counselors, au pairs and others as part of Department of State work and study-based international exchange visitor programs. (ECA)

  • The Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) contributed more than $2 million to the Vermont economy by providing jobs and manufacturing opportunities, yielding products and services that directly supported INL missions. (INL)

  • Retroworks Inc., a company founded by partners from Vermont and Mexico, was among sixty semi-finalists through the Department sponsored La Idea Business Competition. La Idea is a component of the Small Business Network of the Americas that connects Latin America diaspora in the U.S. with entrepreneurs throughout Latin America to help them cultivate and expand their businesses. (WHA/GPI)

  • Click here for more information about Department career recruitment events in your state. (HR)

• Education

  • Diplomat-in-Residence (Evyenia Sidereas): Diplomats in Residence (DIRs) are career foreign service officers located throughout the U.S. who provide guidance and advice to students, professionals and the community about Department careers. (HR)

  • 94 exchange visitors from overseas visited Vermont and 211 Vermont residents travelled overseas, including 25 Scholars, Students and Teachers who were awarded Fulbright Scholarships, as part of Department of State-funded exchange programs. (ECA)

  • 239 Vermont citizens volunteered for the Department’s International Visitor Leadership Program through their local Council for International Visitors. (ECA)

  • 4 Vermont families hosted Department-funded international exchange students. (ECA)

  • Eight Brazilian students studied at Saint Michael’s College in Vermont through the Brazil Scientific Mobility Program. Funded by the Brazilian government and private sector, this program sends 101,000 Brazilian university students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics to study and conduct research abroad. The U.S. is a priority destination for scholarship recipients, and the program strengthens U.S. and Brazilian institutional partnerships, develops a workforce prepared for 21st century opportunities, and contributes to long-term economic growth for both countries. (WHA)

  • Norwich University and the University of Vermont participated in the Department of State’s 2013 International Virtual College Fair to celebrate International Education Week and the $29 billion international student industry in the United States. This event featured colleges and universities from across the United States and had more than 22,000 potential students from numerous countries in attendance that completed nearly 55,000 visits to the virtual university booths. (IIP)

• Partnerships

  • Vermont hosted 2 students from allied and friendly nations for International Military Education and Training. (PM)

  • Vermont welcomed 322 refugees. The Department works with nine domestic nongovernmental organizations and their 350 affiliated offices to place refugees in over 180 communities in all 50 states. These offices work with communities, local volunteers and elected officials to provide a successful start for refugees rebuilding their lives. (PRM)

  • The Department’s Office of Global Food Security entered a public-private partnership with several major companies as part of the Feed the Future program, including Vermont’s Green Mountain Coffee. (S/GFS)

  • The Department facilitates the Vermont National Guard State Partnership Program founded in 2008 with Senegal and founded in 1993 with Macedonia. (PM)

  • Through the Department funded EcoPartnerships initiative, the Institute for Sustainable Communities (Montpelier) and the National Center for Climate Change Strategy and International Cooperation partnered to establish a network of low-carbon “champions” to help translate nation-level clean energy policies into local action. (Click here for more information on EcoPartnerships) (EAP/OES)

  • The New York Regional Office of the Office of Foreign Missions serves Vermont and assists with the Department of State’s regulation of foreign missions in the U.S. in a manner that is in accordance with both foreign policy and the national interests of the United States. Among other duties and responsibilities, OFM regional offices liaise with local, state, and federal government agencies in matters affecting foreign consular representation, immunities, and privileges. OFM regional offices also reinforce the Bureau of Consular Affairs’ message to law enforcement agencies regarding consular notification in the event of arrest, detention, or death of foreign nationals. (M/OFM)

• Travel and Security

  • 24,801 passports were issued to Vermont residents. (CA)

  • The Department has one consular facility in Vermont, the Vermont Passport Agency in St. Albans. The Department also receives passport applications through 58 Passport Application Acceptance Facilities in Vermont. (CA)

  • The Department facilitated 17 overseas adoptions for Vermont families in 2012. The Office of Children's Issues (CI) plays an active role in the intercountry adoption process. Its work is dedicated to assisting parents as they seek to provide a home to orphans abroad. (CA)

  • Vermont welcomed over 59,000 international visitors in 2012, comprising 0.2% of the U.S. market.* (CA)

  • The Department of State’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security’s Boston Field Office serves Vermont and has a Resident Office in St. Albans: In the United States, the Bureau of Diplomatic Security protects the Secretary of State, the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, and foreign dignitaries below the head-of-state level who visit the United States. The Bureau also develops and implements security programs to protect the more than 100 domestic State Department facilities as well as the residence of the Secretary of State. Domestically, the Bureau’s agents focus on investigating passport and visa fraud, conducting personnel security investigations, and issuing security clearances. The Bureau also assists foreign embassies and consulates in the United States with the security for their missions and personnel. (DS)

*Excluding Canada and Mexico, whose land border entries are not included in the methodology for establishing the number of international visitors by State.