U.S. Citizen Emergency Services
Assistance to U.S. Citizens Arrested Abroad
While you are in Latvia, you are subject to Latvian laws and procedures, which are often quite different from those in the U.S. If you are arrested or involved in a dispute with Latvian authorities, you should ask that the authorities notify us.
How the Consular Section of the U.S Embassy in Riga can assist you:
• Help protect your legitimate interests and ensure that you are not discriminated against. Please keep in mind that while our intervention may help, it can take time.
• Provide you with a list of attorneys who practice in Latvia and who speak English.
• Visit you, and, if you choose, contact your friends and relatives on your behalf.
• Assist your family and friends in transferring money, food and clothing to prison authorities.
What we cannot do:
• Provide American Citizen services to U.S. Resident Aliens (green card holders).
• Provide legal advice or represent you in court.
• Serve as an official foreign language interpreters or translators in legal proceedings.
• Pay legal fees or other expenses for you.
• Request preferential treatment for U.S. citizens in Latvian legal proceedings.