Kevin Gowen wrote:
> jwb@csse.monash.edu.au wrote:

> > Do the US states maintain overseas offices?
>
> I don't know, but I would be very surprised to learn if that were the
> case. The states cannot conduct foreign policy, so I don't know what the
> purpose of such an office would be.

Various US States maintain (or in the case of California, used to)
offices in Japan and elsewhere. I assume these are trade and investment
promotion, facilitation of exchange etc. What the visa & legal status
of the representatives is while they're within Japan I do not know.

> > Most of the Australian
> > ones do to a limited extent, e.g. the Agents General in the UK, and
> > offices in New York, Washington, LA, etc.
>
> Aren't those a colonial vestige? We don't have the requisite history.

Not really. The offices of the Oz states perform similar trade &
promotion duties to those of the US offices, and the majority were
established during the last 25 years. My understanding is that the
officials of for example, the (State of) Queensland Trade and
Investment Office have diplomatic status, except where they are
nationals of the host country (the current commissioner in Tokyo is
Japanese).