U.S. Embassy & Consulates
in Mexico

Embassy Mexico City is seeking Citizen Liaison Volunteers (CLVs) to join its American Liaison Network (ALN). Formerly known as the “Consular Warden Program,” the ALN is a key component of the Embassy’s efforts to safeguard U.S. citizens in Mexico.

CLVs are unpaid volunteer liaisons to the U.S. citizen communities the Embassy serves. CLVs help us identify the needs of the community, proactively communicate information to the Embassy, and partner with us to address security, safety, and health issues affecting U.S. citizens. CLVs play an important role in keeping the U.S. citizen community in our district informed, and, in extraordinary circumstances, helping us deliver emergency services to U.S. citizens in need.

We are looking to recruit new CLVs throughout the Embassy’s district: Chiapas, Mexico City, Estado de México, Guanajuato, Guerrero, Hidalgo, Michoacán, Morelos, Puebla, Querétaro, Oaxaca, Tabasco, Tampico, Tlaxcala, and Veracruz. CLVs in smaller cities and rural areas are uniquely important because those can be the hardest places for us to reach in an emergency.

CLVs must be fluent in English and have a good familiarity with the U.S. citizen community in their region. CLVs do not need to be U.S. citizens.

Actions to Take If you would like to be a CLV, please email ACSMexicoCity@state.gov. Once you notify us of your interest, we’ll get back to you with additional information and further instructions.

What is a CLV?

• A private resident in a foreign country who volunteers to assist U.S. embassies and consulates in disaster preparedness, with U.S. citizens in crisis, and alerting fellow Americans to emergency situations.
• CLVs have close ties to the U.S. expatriate community, are often the fastest and most effective route to distribute information to U.S. citizens, and are essential when traditional communication channels fail.
• CLVs facilitate distribution of routine administrative information (changes in section work hours, procedures, embassy closures, and voting information) of interest to the U.S. citizen community.
• CLVs provide important safety and security information, which could include the times and locations of upcoming local demonstrations, areas of potential unrest due to local celebrations or elections, or information about a specific medical issue.
• CLVs inform the embassy about U.S. community issues, breaking events, and vulnerabilities the embassy might otherwise not be aware of.

CLV Key Roles and Responsibilities

As a CLV you might be asked to:

• Disseminate information as directed by the embassy to the U.S. citizen community in your ALN zone.
• Be an on-the-ground resource to help the embassy understand issues of concern to U.S. citizens and share information that could further post’s consular operations.
• Report on available local resources for U.S. citizens in your ALN zone, identify gaps, and when possible, seek resolutions to these gaps.
• Identify risks for potential crises and security issues in your ALN zone and identify gaps in preparedness for the U.S. citizen community.
• In exigent situations only, and at the embassy’s explicit direction, provide emergency services to U.S. citizens.
• Maintain local contacts in your ALN zone, including U.S. citizen and non-U.S. citizen expatriates, who could be of use to the embassy’s consular operations.
• Engage with other CLVs to share experiences through the embassy’s ALN online media, by email, by meeting in person, or other established communication channels. · Encourage U.S. citizens to enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP).

Assist U.S. citizens to register and vote overseas.

• Identify and help recruit other individuals who might be willing to serve as CLVs for your ALN zone, or as a CLV in another part of the country.
• As a CLV you are:
• Not a representative of the U.S. government.
• Not compensated monetarily.
• Not a government employee, a spokesperson, or a consular officer or agent.
• Required to refer all media or legal inquiries to the embassy.
• Required to refer to the embassy all general requests to explain policies, procedures, or services beyond what is publicly available.
• Required to safeguard the privacy of personal information that is shared with you in the course of your duties. Some of the information that you could receive from the U.S. Embassy in your role as a CLV is subject to the Privacy Act of 1974. You must not use or disseminate this information to others, except as necessary to perform your duties as a CLV.