A Little Piece of America!

Yesterday I was in the United States! Actually I visited the United States Embassy here in Singapore but while I was there I was on US soil. We had a very interesting tour with a representative from Consulate services and the Head of Security. Here are some of the things I learned:

There are approximately 20, 000 US citizens in Singapore including men, women and children.

The Embassy helps US citizens with things like: Adding passport pages, securing passports for children of US citizens who are born in Singapore, passport applications for non-US spouses, helping with estate matters when an US citizen dies abroad, and notarial services.

Most people who work at the Embassy are not US citizens but Singaporeans.

There are over 28 languages spoken at the Embassy.

Those US Citizens working for the State Department are assigned to a specific Embassy for 2 to 3 years.

All the materials used to build the Embassy were brought over from the US. The marble and granite in this embassy are from New Hampshire and Minnesota.

If the police are chasing you, don’t run to the Embassy gates shouting “I’m an American, I’m an American!” The Embassy will turn you over to the police. That’s just a scene from a movie.

US citizens when travelling or living abroad should register with the State Department. Consulate Services stated that Singapore keeps an immigration record and informs the Embassy with to the number of Americans either living or visiting but not who and where we are.
They encourage all US citizens who travel to register and list their trips on the State Department website so in case of a disaster, natural or man-made, they would know where you are and could look for you to get you back to the US. Otherwise, you have to make your way to an Embassy to receive assistance.
https://travelregistration.state.gov/ibrs/ui/