caberham posted:

Hey guys anyone here worked with or know about American Citizen Services? I'm actually curious if you guys help Americans abroad deal with travel insurance hassles/policies. I just had dinner with some people from the Hong Kong immigration services and they had a few stories to share. This might not be applicable to US citizens but I'm sure you guys can draw some parallels. Basically, go for Blue Cross travel insurance, it's hassle free, very lenient in payouts, reimburses you when there's any change in travel warning status and most importantly provides full medical escort. Apparently, AIA act like dicks all the time and try to weasel out from reimbursing tourists from travel tragedies and throw the fine print.

There was a spontaneous powder explosion in a Taiwan water park a few months back - http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-33300970 One of the victims was a teenage HK girl and suffered serious burns. She was luckily stabilized and deemed fit to be evacuated from the authorities but her insurer AIA refused to pay for medical escort expenses. AIA sent its own medical professional and assessed the girl as not fit for travel. AIA threw the book and fine print at the burn victim.

HK immigration tried to pressure the insurers to compensate but when they failed the press release stated the facts and situation. The public was pissed and at the end AIA relented to avoid further PR damage. You can argue that AIA in retrospect the PR damage was already done so AIA should have stuck to its guns.

There were also stories where the insurer thinks it's ok to evacuate a victim to a nearby medical facility and call it the day instead of moving someone back home. Or buying multiple insurance policies jeopardizes the process of getting your claim as you need to go through bureaucratic hell. Getting a declaration accepted from multiple insurers is just a chore and your status gets examined and passed around by companies as a stalling tactic.

Sorry if this post was more about travel insurance trap falls

caberham posted:

Hey guys anyone here worked with or know about American Citizen Services? I'm actually curious if you guys help Americans abroad deal with travel insurance hassles/policies. I just had dinner with some people from the Hong Kong immigration services and they had a few stories to share. This might not be applicable to US citizens but I'm sure you guys can draw some parallels. Basically, go for Blue Cross travel insurance, it's hassle free, very lenient in payouts, reimburses you when there's any change in travel warning status and most importantly provides full medical escort. Apparently, AIA act like dicks all the time and try to weasel out from reimbursing tourists from travel tragedies and throw the fine print.

There was a spontaneous powder explosion in a Taiwan water park a few months back - http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-33300970 One of the victims was a teenage HK girl and suffered serious burns. She was luckily stabilized and deemed fit to be evacuated from the authorities but her insurer AIA refused to pay for medical escort expenses. AIA sent its own medical professional and assessed the girl as not fit for travel. AIA threw the book and fine print at the burn victim.

HK immigration tried to pressure the insurers to compensate but when they failed the press release stated the facts and situation. The public was pissed and at the end AIA relented to avoid further PR damage. You can argue that AIA in retrospect the PR damage was already done so AIA should have stuck to its guns.

There were also stories where the insurer thinks it's ok to evacuate a victim to a nearby medical facility and call it the day instead of moving someone back home. Or buying multiple insurance policies jeopardizes the process of getting your claim as you need to go through bureaucratic hell. Getting a declaration accepted from multiple insurers is just a chore and your status gets examined and passed around by companies as a stalling tactic.

Sorry if this post was more about travel insurance trap falls

caberham posted:

Not everyone is a lawyer, but I'm glad to know that when I travel my government looks out for me a lot more compared to ACS caring for Americans

caberham posted:

Getting shot by terrorists and have difficulty claiming travel insurance ? Yeah call my lawyer, got it.

Bruxism posted:

I've seen officers working on ACS go to extraordinary lengths to help American Citizens in all kinds of crazy rear end situations - especially when people are being shot by terrorists. But, yea, sometimes you have to exercise some personal responsibility. I tell FSO's the same thing during security briefings, security is first a personal responsibility. What a concept, huh?

Shageletic posted:

Just submitted my QEP, fingers crossed! Thanks to everyone in the thread that helped me out with it. 1300 characters have never seemed so much of a hurdle.

It takes three months or so to find out whether you go on to OA, right?

quote:

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (Calif.), the ranking Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, on Thursday will introduce legislation blocking visa waivers for European citizens traveling to the United States who spent time in Syria or Iraq over the past five years. The legislation is co-sponsored by Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.).

“Let’s say France has had 2000 people leave to go and fight [in Syria.] They’re a visa waiver country so the people come back to France and then they come into the United States. The bill we would propose would strictly limit that,” she said.

She added the legislation would tighten the fingerprinting requirements for visitors who qualify for visa waivers.

“Currently, in most cases, the fingerprints are checked after they arrive in the United States. They should be done before,” said Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (Ill.).

quote:

Flake, a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, struck a similar tone, calling visa waivers “much more of a concern, frankly, than refugees,” as did Foreign Affairs Chairman Bob Corker (R-Tenn.): “The visa waiver program potentially is the place where there’s greater gaps, possibly, than the refugee program itself.”

Sen. Christopher Murphy (D-Conn.) said he sensed “openness” to visa-waiver changes among the Obama administration officials who briefed senators Wednesday. Those briefers included Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson.

“I think there’s bipartisan support that could be found for changes to the visa waiver program in a way it likely won’t be found on a prohibition on refugees from the Syrian conflict,” Murphy said.

Shageletic posted:

Just submitted my QEP, fingers crossed! Thanks to everyone in the thread that helped me out with it. 1300 characters have never seemed so much of a hurdle.

It takes three months or so to find out whether you go on to OA, right?

qwertyman posted:

quote:

"A State Department Diplomatic Security Special Agent was near the hotel when he learned of the attack and rushed to the scene, according to a U.S. Government official, where he met up with two Department of Defense personnel who were part of the State Department Chief of Mission Staff.

A first-floor room was on fire when the trio arrived and the halls were filling with smoke. After getting in touch with the U.S. Embassy, the three learned that several U.S. State Department personnel were trapped inside the building and one was believed to be near the burning room, said the U.S. official.

The Americans went into the hotel, according to the U.S. official, but could not see through the smoke. They called out to a trapped person on the first floor, and in the darkness, they pulled him to safety, said the U.S. official.

The three Americans went back into the building several times to remove trapped Americans who were part of the Chief of Mission staff, the official said, adding that all Chief of Mission personnel are safe and accounted for. They were armed but never fired, according to the official."

Homie S posted:

Hell yea fuckin right

http://abcnews.go.com/International/suspected-isis-supporter-served-lookout-paris-attacks-turkish/story?id=35342474

Homie S posted:

Hell yea fuckin right

http://abcnews.go.com/International/suspected-isis-supporter-served-lookout-paris-attacks-turkish/story?id=35342474

zzonkmiles posted:

Based on my experience with previous candidacies, you'll have your QEP results in mid-January.

qwertyman posted:

Good luck! And yeah, it took me about three weeks as well.

Hungry Hippo posted:

Well looks like all that weirdness with my passing the Final Review Panel and not getting added to the register finally got sorted out. I just received an invitation to the January 2016 FSS Orientation!

Hungry Hippo posted:

Well looks like all that weirdness with my passing the Final Review Panel and not getting added to the register finally got sorted out. I just received an invitation to the January 2016 FSS Orientation!

Hungry Hippo posted:

Well looks like all that weirdness with my passing the Final Review Panel and not getting added to the register finally got sorted out. I just received an invitation to the January 2016 FSS Orientation!

Bruxism posted:

Great! Persistence pays off. What position are you starting again?

Hungry Hippo posted:

IMS.

problematique posted:

You in the 138th or 139th? Where ya heading?

I joined this group not too long ago for IMS https://www.facebook.com/groups/49869028295/ - some interesting updates, mainly from Monic Skinner about stuff around FSI. It's crazy to think I'm already seven classes removed from when I started. Feeling old.

problematique posted:

You in the 138th or 139th? Where ya heading?

I joined this group not too long ago for IMS https://www.facebook.com/groups/49869028295/ - some interesting updates, mainly from Monic Skinner about stuff around FSI. It's crazy to think I'm already seven classes removed from when I started. Feeling old.

Has anyone seen this dumb stuff? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ol3ShvOMPMw

TIL that apparently all U.S Embassies are giant evacuation points for all U.S. citizens. Just head to your local embassy where your friendly chopper on the roof will whisk you away. Apparently its your constitutional right and the Embassies primary purpose to let you in at all times without appointment. Do people not realize how difficult it is to get into any U.S government facility, anywhere, even if you're supposed to be there?

Hungry Hippo posted:

IMS.

problematique posted:

You in the 138th or 139th? Where ya heading?

I joined this group not too long ago for IMS https://www.facebook.com/groups/49869028295/ - some interesting updates, mainly from Monic Skinner about stuff around FSI. It's crazy to think I'm already seven classes removed from when I started. Feeling old.

Bruxism posted:

Check in on here once you get to FSI and I would be up for getting lunch. I'll be at FSI until May.

Tyro posted:

So this is a rookie question but whatever.... Got a group meritorious honor award. Does it actually mean anything? I guess anything that helps with tenure is good.

Bruxism posted:

Make sure they actually add it to your employee profile. Get a copy of the nomination form just in case.

Nutrimentia posted:

Awards don't hurt but they don't really matter either.