Walsh Act Service

TCI is available to discuss Walsh Act service requests around the world, and has on-demand, visa-free access to various global business destinations sometimes perceived as challenging for Americans to enter.

The Walsh Act, 28 U.S.C. § 1783, provides a simplified, expedited means of compelling American nationals and legal residents via subpoena when abroad without involving foreign courts, in contrast to the Hague Evidence Convention and letters rogatory.

According to the statute, service of a Walsh Act subpoena (or a show-cause order to enforce a Walsh Act subpoena) can be made via the same methods described in Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(f), which sets the rules for how process may be served outside a judicial district of the United States. Unless prohibited by the foreign country’s law, personal service may be the most efficient means of achieving results for two primary reasons: 1) private service is generally faster with better communication than involving foreign governments/agents, and 2) unlike the equivalent of registered mail or similar delivery methods, personal service is not contingent on ‘acceptance’ or consent.