AMMAN FRAUD PREVENTION MANAGEMENT REPORT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 AMMAN 000713

SIPDIS

STATE FOR CA/FPP AND INL/HSTC
DEPT ALSO PASS TO KCC
ATHENS FOR DHS
POSTS FOR FRAUD PREVENTION MANAGER

SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: CVIS CPAS KFRD KCRM CMGT ASEC JO IZ
SUBJECT: AMMAN FRAUD PREVENTION MANAGEMENT REPORT
SEPTEMBER-DECEMBER 2005

REF: A) 2005 SECSTATE 205073 B) 2005 AMMAN 8117 C) 2005
AMMAN 9956

The following is submitted in response to the Department's
request in REF A.

Country Conditions
==================


1. (SBU) Jordan is a small country with limited natural
resources and high unemployment and poverty rates. While
the economy has made significant gains in recent years, the
poverty level remains at or near 30 percent and estimated
unemployment ranges from 15 to 30 percent. There are
roughly 5.3 million Jordanians, 1.8 million registered
Palestinian refugees (many holding Jordanian passports),
and an estimated 600,000 Iraqis who have fled Iraq. The
large Iraqi community in Jordan and the general ease of
access for Iraqi nationals to Jordan have served to make
Iraqi nationals a considerable portion of the consular
workload, constituting one-fifth of NIV applicants and half
of IV applicants in 2005. While Jordanian documents can
confidently be verified with the issuing authorities, the
documents presented by Iraqi applicants pose a concern
since it is difficult to determine their authenticity. An
overview of consular efforts to combat fraud was also
provided in REF B.

NIV Fraud
=========


2. (SBU) For the calendar year of 2005, the overall NIV
refusal rate for Jordanian nationals stood at 54.8 percent
and at 66.5 percent for Iraqi nationals. NIV fraud
committed by Jordanian nationals is generally limited to
poor quality documents used to establish stronger ties,
typically bank statements and support letters. Fraud by
Iraqis is, generally speaking, equally unsophisticated.
However, Post has found a recent trend of H1b fraud
committed by Iraqis claiming Chaldean affiliation to work
as accountants or financial analysts in the U.S. (REF C).
These cases are presented with entirely false school
certificates, fake letters of prior employment, and
scripted answers to common interview questionS. Post has
identified the trend and developed enhanced interview
procedures to disrupt it. Turnarounds reported by the
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) show that Jordanian
nationals as a group continue to overstay at a high rate,
normally to work illegally in the U.S. Post and DHS have
also noted a steady number of cases where Jordanians are
traveling to the U.S. for the sole purpose of giving birth,
often on public assistance. Post has continued to take
notice of this information and to alter interview
techniques.

IV Fraud and DV Fraud
=====================


3. (SBU) On the immigration side, malafide cases often
include sham divorces to facilitate marriages of
convenience between Jordanian men and American women. Post
has found that the American citizen petitioner is often
employed in the U.S. by a family member of the beneficiary
(often a gas station or convenience store). The family
member in the U.S. usually pays for all of the expenses of
the trip and allows unusually long periods of vacation for
the employee to complete the months-long IV process in
Jordan. Post has also seen a rising number of arranged
marriages between American and Iraqi Chaldeans for I-130
filings, K-1 visas, and K-3 visas. In these cases, Post
has found identical individuals, jewelry, and apartments in
photos from supposedly unrelated cases. For example, the
same elderly woman was found in three separate engagement
ceremonies, which were all conducted in the same apartment.
However, the beneficiaries in each one of these cases
stated that this was their grandmother or aunt but would
then claim not to know each other. While Post does process
Diversity Visas for Jordanian and Iraqi nationals, Post has
not detected significant fraud, as most who apply have the
equivalent of a high school diploma, reflecting the high
levels of secondary education in both countries. The
Consular Section appreciates the assistance of the Regional
Security Office in investigating and evaluating suspect
documents, particularly Iraqi passports, and coordinating
with local law enforcement. Their assistance is invaluable
in deterring and preventing immigration fraud.

ACS and Passport Fraud
======================


4. (SBU) ACS fraud is low in Jordan. The limited cases
that pose concern are the ability of individuals to
transmit citizenship and cases of first-time claim of
citizenship utilizing very old documents. These issues are
dealt with thorough interviews and document verification
when necessary.

Asylum and DHS Benefit Fraud
============================


5. (SBU) Post does issue transportation letters in asylum
following-to-join and refugee cases, but has no instances
of fraud to report. At the request of DHS, the FPU
regularly and successfully investigates marriage and
divorce decrees for change of status cases in the U.S. In
the majority of these cases, Post finds that Jordanian men
have committed bigamy by remaining married or remarrying
their Jordanian wives but claiming marriage to American
citizens for immigration benefit. In addition, through
Post's work and relationships with officials at the
airport, we have found a pattern of persons using fake
"green cards" or parole letters to attempt travel to the
U.S. The airlines, in particular, have become very good at
detecting these documents, denying the passenger boarding,
and referring them to the Embassy. In many of these cases,
the traveler refuses to appear at the Embassy with the
suspect document.

Cooperation with Host Government Authorities
============================================


6. (SBU) Post's relationship with the Government of Jordan
is strong and is complemented with our active participation
in the local Fraud Control Group, made up of European and
North American embassies and airline liaison officers who
share information on documents and fraud trends. We have
no difficulties in approaching Jordanian government offices
to verify documents or to gain access to malafide travelers
and their documents at the airport. However, there are two
developments of concern in the anti-fraud relationship
which Post is monitoring. First was the cancellation of
the annual interdiction exercise at Queen Alia
International Airport in 2005 due to a recent change in
leadership of the immigration staff there. Traditionally,
Post has cooperated with European embassies and airline
liaison officers in conducting this exercise to improve
training and build rapport. Second, the immigration
officials continue to return fraudulent documents to the
bearers to ease their deportation from Jordan. In most
cases, the respective Embassy is contacted and allowed to
cancel the document; however, Post is aware of uncancelled
documents being returned to malafide travelers to continue
their travels. To resolve this issue, Post is working with
like-minded foreign missions on efforts to educate
Jordanian immigration officials on the benefits and
obligations of the International Civil Aviation
Organization Convention, to which Jordan is a signatory.

Areas of Particular Concern
===========================


7. (SBU) Jordan is a potential transit point in the Middle
East for malafide passengers traveling to Europe and North
America. In 2005, the national carrier, Royal Jordanian
Airlines, increased the destinations (New York, Chicago,
and Detroit) and frequency of direct flights to the U.S. to
meet passenger demand. Fraud identified at Amman's Queen
Alia International Airport consists of partially-
counterfeit to completely counterfeit travel documents, as
well as genuine passports used by imposters. Most of these
cases involve travelers who are not Jordanian but are of
Iraqi, Pakistani, Indian, Chinese, and Sudanese nationality
transiting the airport. Many malafide travelers are
attempting to take advantage of Visa Waiver Programs in the
U.S. and Europe. Post's Fraud Prevention Unit has
established close working relationships with the Jordanian
authorities and the airlines. This has led to the
interception of improperly documented passengers from
various nationalities and has allowed Post to provide
valuable information to DHS and the Department.

Staffing and Training
=====================


8. (SBU) Post's Fraud Prevention Unit is currently staffed
by one second-tour consular officer, Matthew Eussen, who
conducts full-time NIV interviews and serves as the
program's manager, and one FSN investigator, Hussam Haddad,
who also covers NIV duties. The manager has not taken the
Fraud Prevention Manager's course but has attended prior
regional training provided by FPP in Chennai, India; he is
in a rotational position and due to rotate out in April

2006. The FSN investigator has completed fraud prevention
training at the Foreign Service Institute. He regularly
liaises with Royal Jordanian Airlines and Government of
Jordan officials at Queen Alia International Airport on an
overtime basis, with occasional visits by the American
officer. The Regional Security Officer and his four
Assistant Regional Security Officers provide timely
assistance in conducting fraud investigations and arranging
arrests with local law enforcement when necessary. Our
anti-fraud operation has won praise from DHS Athens and DHS
Rome, other posts, and USG offices in the U.S.

HALE