Policy
It is the obligation of the United States, including local municipalities, to notify foreign authorities when foreign nationals are arrested or otherwise detained.
If a foreign national is arrested or detained, the following must be done:
- Immediately inform the foreign national of his/her right to have his/her government notified concerning the arrest or detention.
- If the foreign national asks that such notification be made, do so without delay by informing the consulate or embassy.
- In the case of certain countries, such notification must be made without delay regardless of whether the arrestee/detainee so wishes. The Operations Development Unit and MECC have a copy of the Foreign Consular Offices in the United States that contains all pertinent phone numbers for Consular/Embassy offices. These are:
- Algeria
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Armenia
- Azerbaijan
- Bahamas
- Barbados
- Belarus
- Belize
- Brunei
- Bulgaria
- China
- Cost Rica
- Cyprus
- Czech Republic
- Dominica
- Fiji
- Gambria
- George
- Ghana
- Grenada
- Guyana
- Hong Kong
- Hungary
- Jamaica
- Kazakhstan
- Kiribati
- Kuwait
- Kyrgyzstan
- Malaysia
- Malta
- Mauritius
- Moldova
- Mongolia
- Nigeria
- Philippines
- Poland (only non-permanent residents)
- Romania
- Russian Federation
- St. Kitts/Nevis
- St. Lucia
- St. Vincent/Grenadines
- Seychelles
- Sierra Leone
- Singapore
- Slovakia
- Tajikistan
- Tanzania
- Tonga
- Trinidad/Tobago
- Tunisia
- Turkmenistan
- Tuvalu
- Ukraine
- United Kingdom
- Uzbekistan
- Zambia
- Zimbabwe
Foreign consular officials have the right to visit their arrested/detained nationals unless the arrestee/detainee objects to such visits.