The meeting with administration officials signals a new level of engagement with Tibet's exile government, Lobsang Sangay says.
They observed local conditions and raised 'issues of concern,' but have so far released few details of their findings to the public.
The rail line connecting China's Sichuan province with Tibet's Nyingtri prefecture will boost migration and trade, but can also be used to move troops quickly to areas along China's disputed border with India.
Lhamo, 36, died covered in bruises two days after being sent to a hospital by police, while a cousin remains in jail.
Communist Party-anointed Buddhist leader has not won acceptance in Tibet despite decades of efforts.
Forced resettlement schemes and military-style 'vocational training' have uprooted thousands from traditional livelihoods, taking them far from their homes, experts say.
First arrested in Lhasa in 1960, Sangpo was in and out of Chinese prisons until winning release on medical parole in 2002.
The US is deeply committed to the human rights and fundamental freedoms of the Tibetan people, says Robert A. Destro, the State Department's newly designated Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues.
Tibet advocacy groups welcome the move, calling it a display of support for the Tibetan people and a sign of a strengthened US stance toward China.
Tsegon Gyal had been jailed for writing a blog criticizing China's restrictive 'ethnic unity' policies in Tibetan areas.
Tibetan sources say the increased police presence is aimed solely at surveillance.
Access remains restricted for Tibetans despite completion of construction work around the temple complex.
Sangchu county Tibetans convicted of 'extortion' had received compensation for damage caused by Chinese road-building work.
Beijing seeks to leverage global status to keep people silent about human rights abuses, witnesses say.
With China now coming under greater international scrutiny, supporters of Tibet should call for more pressure on Beijing, one protest leader says.
Coveted state-sector jobs are restricted to Chinese Communist Party members, who must closely study the doctrines of party chief Xi Jinping.
Participation is said to be voluntary, but 'clear signs of coercion' are present, a new report says.
Baimadajie Angwang had spied for Beijing since 2014, informing the Chinese Consulate in New York of the activities of the exile Tibetan community in the New York area.
