An official website of the United States government

Worldwide Caution: The Department of State advises Americans worldwide to exercise increased caution.

U.S. Consulate General Barcelona
The Consulate General
Consul General
Sections
History

The Consulate General

Consulate Barcelona

The U.S. Consulate General in Barcelona is responsible for a consular district composed of the Spanish regions of Catalonia, Aragón, and the Principality of Andorra.  Established in 1797, it is one of the oldest U.S. consular presences in the world.

 

Consular Section Business Hours: 

Consular Section hours for the public are Monday through Friday from 9:00am to 12:30pm, except for local and U.S. holidays (PDF 220K). For routine (non-emergency) consular services, you must make an appointment online. Adult passport renewals are done by mail.  More information on the U.S. Citizens Services page.

For U.S. citizen emergencies during business hours, please call +34-93-280-2227. For emergency assistance after hours: U.S. citizens may call (+34) 91 587-2200 and ask to speak to the Duty Officer. No documentary or passport services are available on evenings, weekends, or holidays.

 

Contact:

For U.S. citizens: please use our U.S. Citizens Services Assistant to contact the ACS Unit at the U.S. Consulate General Barcelona.

For questions related to our cultural and education programs and media-related questions: pdbarcelona@state.gov.

Consul General

Consul General Lia Miller big home

Lia Miller assumed the role of U.S. Consul General in Barcelona in August 2024. She is a career Foreign Service Officer with extensive experience in the Middle East, North Africa, Eastern Europe, Latin America, and Spain. She has demonstrated leadership and innovation in communications, democratic reform, building and promotion of commercial and economic ties, identifying and implementing technological solutions, and other foreign policy priorities. Most recently, Lia served as a Faculty Advisor at the U.S. Naval War College’s working in an interagency capacity.

Lia’s previous assignments within the U.S. Department of State include roles in the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, the Operations Center, the Bureau of Global Public Affairs, the Office of Middle East Transitions, and the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs. She has also served at U.S. Embassies in Armenia, Bolivia, Tunisia, Nicaragua, and Oman.

Lia holds a Bachelor of Science with honors in Social Work. She also earned two Master’s degrees from the Maxwell School at Syracuse University: one in Public Administration and one in International Relations. Additionally, she holds a Master of Science in Social Work from Columbia University and a Master of Arts in National Security and Strategic Studies from the U.S. Naval War College.

Lia is fluent in Spanish and has studied Arabic, Armenian, French, and Portuguese.

Sections

Consular Section

Consular Affairs Officer:  James Manlowe

The primary responsibility of the Consular Section is to provide assistance to U.S. citizens who reside or are travelling in the Barcelona Consular district.  All U.S. visa services in Spain and Andorra are provided at the U.S. Embassy in Madrid.

For emergency assistance after hours, U.S. citizens may call +34 91 587-2200 and ask to speak to the Duty Officer in Barcelona.  You may also contact the Bureau of Consular Affairs of the US Department of State for assistance at +1 888-407-4747 (US toll free number) or at +1 202 5014444 (from overseas). No documentary or passport services are available evenings, weekends or holidays (PDF 220K).

 

Public Diplomacy Section

Public Affairs Officer: Nicole (Nikki) Finnemann

The Public Diplomacy Section develops programs and activities around U.S. government foreign policy priorities and promotes a better understanding of the values, culture, and history of the United States. Working closely with a broad range of local organizations, we strive to strengthen existing institutional, educational, and cultural ties between the United States and the consular district while also developing new areas of cooperation in fields of mutual interest. The Public Diplomacy section also organizes a series of exchange programs to build bridges between our countries.  The Public Diplomacy section handles all interaction with the media and manages the Consulate’s social media presence on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.

For media inquiries: pdbarcelona@state.gov.

EducationUSA is the official and free academic advising service of the U.S. government. In Barcelona, it is located at the Institute of North American Studies. Its services are aimed at students interested in pursuing undergraduate and graduate studies in the U.S., as well as families, academic counselors and educational staff.

 

Political and Economic Section

Political and Economic Officer: José Ramírez-Rivera

The Political and Economic Section follows important political and economic developments in Catalonia, Aragon, and the Principality of Andorra, maintaining contact and liaison with government officials and civil society and prepares analyses and reports on political and economic developments of significance to the United States.  Additionally, the section compiles information for the State Department’s annual worldwide reports on human rights, religious freedom, and trafficking in persons, among other topics.

History

 

On December 29th, 1797, John Adams, the second President of the United States of America, named William Willis as the first Consul of the United States in Barcelona.  His priority mission was to promote trade between the young American democracy and the prosperous industrial region of Catalonia, known for its textile industry.  As the years went by, the Consulate consolidated, increasing its commercial and consular functions, and becoming a modern operation.  In 1895, shortly before the Spanish-American War, the United States recognized the growing importance of the mission of the Consulate in Barcelona by elevating its status to Consulate General.

The Consulate General remained open during the years of the Spanish Civil War.  In 1937, when the government of the Spanish Republic moved to Barcelona, the Consulate General was authorized to operate as Embassy of the United States from a provisional seat on Tibidabo Avenue at the private residence of American citizen Max Klein.  The Consulate General moved to its present location in the Sarrià neighborhood in June 1992.