GN 00904: Jurisdiction and Contacts
TN 15 (02-06)
A. Introduction
1. General
The different laws, customs, languages and conditions abroad, together with the difficulties which can arise in dealing with claimants and beneficiaries abroad by mail, often make it difficult to administer the Social Security program effectively outside the U.S.
To assist SSA in this, on-the-scene assistance from U.S. personnel abroad is provided by:
U.S. Foreign Service posts (FSPs);
SSA representatives stationed in Great Britain (London), Greece (Athens), Italy (Rome), Mexico (Mexico City), Costa Rica (San Jose), the Philippines (Manila) and Germany (Frankfurt);
FOs servicing the British Virgin Islands, Canada and Samoa; and
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The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT).
NOTE: Although not an official diplomatic post, AIT performs the functions of a FSP. AIT employees have authority (Public Law 96-8) to receive evidence and certify copies of documents for SSA purposes. Requests to the AIT are sent in the same manner as requests to any other FSP.
2. SSA representatives abroad
The SSA representatives stationed abroad:
provide expert on-the-scene management of the Social Security program;
train personnel in their assigned areas;
coordinate Social Security operations in their assigned areas and assure the procedures used in their areas are adequate and effective;
undertake studies; and
provide a continuing analysis of the program needs in their areas.
The Social Security representative assigned to Manila supervises the SSA Division of the Veterans Affairs Regional Office (VARO) and has the title of Technical Advisor.
The other SSA representatives are assigned to the U.S. Foreign Service Reserve. Each is a consular officer with the title of Federal Benefits Officer (FBO) and is in charge of the Federal Benefits Unit (FBU) in the office in which he/she is assigned. The Technical Advisor and FBOs are referred to as Regional Federal Benefit Officers (RFBOs).
The Center for Program Support – International Support Branch (CPS-ISB) in OCO coordinates the activities of these SSA representatives.
B. List of geographical areas of responsibility
The RFBOs have responsibility for geographical areas as follows:
1. RFBO, Athens
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Afghanistan Armenia Azerbaijan Bahrain Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Comoros Croatia Cyprus Egypt Georgia Greece Iraq |
Israel Jordan Kazakhstan Kuwait Lebanon Macedonia Mauritius Moldova Oman Qatar Romania Saudi Arabia |
Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles Slovenia Sudan Syria Tajikistan Turkey Turkmenistan United Arab Emirates Uzbekistan Yemen |
2. RFBO, Frankfurt
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Austria Belarus Czech Rep. Estonia Germany Hungary |
Iran Latvia Liechtenstein Lithuania Poland Russia |
St. Helena and Dependencies Slovakia Switzerland Ukraine |
3. RFBO, London
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Belgium Botswana Denmark Finland Gambia Ghana Greenland Iceland Ireland |
Kenya Lesotho Liberia Luxembourg Malawi Namibia Netherlands Nigeria Norway |
Sierra Leone South Africa Swaziland Sweden Tanzania Uganda United Kingdom Zambia Zimbabwe |
4. SSA technical advisor, Manila
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Australia Bangladesh Bhutan Brunei Burma Cambodia China Fiji Hong Kong India Indonesia Japan Kiribati Laos |
Macao Malaysia Marshall Islands Micronesia, Fed. States Mongolia Nauru Nepal New Caledonia New Zealand North Korea Pakistan Palau Papua New Guinea Philippines |
Samoa Singapore Solomon Islands South Korea Sri Lanka Tahiti Taiwan Thailand Tonga Tuvalu Vanuatu Vietnam Wake Island |
5. RFBO, Mexico City
Mexico
6. FBO, Rome
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Albania Algeria Andorra Angola Benin Burkina Faso Burundi Cameroon Cape Verde Central African Rep. Chad Congo, Demo. Rep. of Congo, Rep. of Cote D’Ivoire Djibouti |
Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Ethiopia France Gabon Gibraltar Guinea Guinea Bissau Italy Libya Madagascar Mali Malta Mauritania Monaco |
Morocco Mozambique Niger Portugal Reunion Rwanda San Marino Sao Tome & Principe Senegal Somalia Spain Togo Tunisia |
7. RFBO, San Jose
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Anguilla Antigua & Barbuda Argentina Aruba Bahamas Barbados Belize Bermuda Bolivia Brazil British Virgin Islands Cayman Islands Chile Colombia Costa Rica |
Cuba Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador El Salvador Falkland Islands French Guiana Grenada Guadeloupe Guatemala Guyana Haiti Honduras Jamaica Martinique |
Montserrat Netherlands Antilles Nicaragua Panama Paraguay Peru St. Kitts & Nevis St. Lucia St. Vincent & the Grenadines Suriname Trinidad & Tobago Turks & Caicos Islands Uruguay Venezuela |