22 U.S.C. § 4081b
Verified against govinfo.gov as of June 20, 2026View official text on govinfo.gov ↗
- (a)
- (1)The Secretary shall require that to be eligible for payment of travel expenses for initial arrival at the assigned post, a chief of mission must arrive at the post not later than 60 days after the date on which the chief of mission was confirmed by the Senate.
- (2)The restriction under paragraph (1) shall not apply to a chief of mission who arrives later than 60 days after confirmation by the Senate if the delay was caused by one or more of the following:
- (A)A flight delay that was outside of the control of the chief of mission or the Department.
- (B)A natural disaster, global health emergency, or other naturally occurring event that prevented the chief of mission from entering the country of the assigned post.
- (C)Delay or refusal by the government of the host country to accept diplomatic accreditation.
- (D)Family or medical emergency.
- (E)Extenuating circumstances beyond the control of the chief of mission.
- (3)The Secretary may waive the requirement under paragraph (1) upon a determination that extenuating circumstances warrant such a waiver and upon submission of a brief description of the determination to the appropriate congressional committees.
- (4)Not later than 90 days after December 23, 2024, and in each case that a chief of mission arrives at an assigned post more than 60 days after confirmation, the Secretary shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report identifying any chief of mission who arrived at the assigned post more than 60 days after confirmation by the Senate, and includes a description of the justification.
- (b)Beginning on April 1, 2025, for 5 years, the Secretary shall notify the appropriate congressional committees of any chief of mission who has permanently departed from the assigned post within 90 days of the departure.