Q&A for How to Address the President

In fact, the president will probably not read it himself. He receives thousands of pieces of mail, and if he would have to open, read and reply to all of them in person, there'd be no time left to do any presidenting. Instead, he has a team of people reading his letters and e-mails. Most will not get a reply, because it is just too time consuming, or a quick standard reply at best. So to answer, yes, it will be opened, read, tested and inspected, then filed and that's it.

No. The president's job is to secure the well-being of all the people in the country, on a macro scale. Since that is a huge job in itself, the president cannot be asked to devote time to any individual human being, no matter what the situation is. Of course, you can always appeal to the president. Write a letter, explain your situation and ask your question. There may be some action, though likely not in person. Letters are screened and sent to sub-offices who reply on the president's behalf, if deemed necessary or useful. You might also try more local organizations who can give you advice on dealing with financial problems.

The president's job is to run the country. That does not include answering letters from the constituency. Therefore, an office has been installed that sorts post and replies on behalf of the president if necessary or useful. Many letters will be discarded outright, but if an answer is sent, it will probably be at least a month.

You would address the envelope to the President's name, and you would begin the letter with "Dear Mr./Mrs/Ms. President". It doesn't matter if they're from a different country.

Bills originate in Congress. Contact your US Senators or your US Representative.

As of 2023, the president of the Republic of South Africa is Cyril Ramaphosa.

Go to "whitehouse.gov/contact". There you will find a form to fill out and leave your message. There is no public email address for the president.

Yes. Anything you send to the president will be examined by the Secret Service long before it ever reaches the president, so be very careful not to appear threatening. They take that very seriously.

The point is to honor the office, not necessarily the person.