Welcome from the San Francisco Consular Corps. We are the Consuls General, Honorary Consuls and heads of post based in the San Francisco Bay Area and representing 69 countries. All of us are appointed by our home governments and accepted to represent them by the U.S. federal government. The Vienna Convention on Consular Relations and customary international law creates the legal framework for the operation of Consulates General and Consulates. The San Francisco Consular Corps presently consists of 69 Consulates—38 career Consulates General and 31 Honorary Consulates. Career Consuls General are full time diplomats sent from the home country, while Honorary Consuls are permanent residents or citizens residing in the Bay Area. In addition to the San Francisco Bay Area, many Consulates have responsibility for Western States, or the Western portion of the U.S.