FROM THE VISA LINE, ISSUE ONE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ISTANBUL 000422

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE - NOT FOR INTERNET DISTRIBUTION

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: CVIS CASC SOCI PREL IR TU
SUBJECT: FROM THE VISA LINE, ISSUE ONE



1. (SBU) Summary: From the Visa Line is a new reporting
vehicle encompassing vignettes, anecdotes and observations
from Amconsulate Istanbul Consular officers' daily
interactions with Turkish--and sometime non-Turkish--visa
applicants. Taken together, they offer a unique perspective
on local society.

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Competing for Her Life, and Others'
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2. (SBU) In February, an Iranian female appeared wishing to
undertake athletic training in the United States. The
applicant sees herself as a champion for equal opportunity
in a society not generally known for encouraging females to
realize their full potential. At the visa window, she
produced a fat binder full of clippings from her meteoric
career, including glowing press articles and an autographed
photo of former Iranian President Mohammad Khatami. Asked
about her relationship with the current Iranian regime, the
applicant shrugged and replied that--so far--President
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his minions have left her alone.
However, she continued, their forbearance could end if she
begins to finish out of the money. She concluded by stating
that the U.S. training could prove critical because, to
remain free to compete and thereby serve as a role model for
young Iranian women, she needs the skills that will enable
her to hold her own against the world's top athletes.

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Truth Not Paramount
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3. (SBU) Also last month, a Turkish female claiming to be a
film producer applied, stating that she was going to meet
the vice president of Paramount Pictures in Hollywood. When
questioned how, without speaking English, she could carry on
a conversation with the American studio executive, the
applicant replied that Paramount was providing an
interpreter. She then was asked how she planned to care for
her two young children, whom she planned to take with her to
the United States. Without missing a beat, the applicant
rejoined that the interpreter would pull double-duty as a
babysitter. Not surprisingly, when contacted by phone,
Paramount's vice president denied any knowledge of an
appointment with the applicant. A check of her documents
revealed the applicant to be part of a fraud ring passing
purloined paperwork.

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Pass the Hand-Basket
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4. (SBU) During an E-2 visa (treaty investor) interview in
mid-February, the young Turkish female applicant--a
successful retailer of high-end fashions in Beverly Hills--
was asked about her spouse. Eyes welling with tears, the
applicant described how she had fallen in love with and
married an Emirati during graduate studies in the United
States in 2005. Matrimonial bliss was short-lived however.
When she traveled to Dubai to meet the parents in January
2006, her husband shocked her by abusing his wealthy
family's servants. Adding insult to injury, her mother-in-
law made it clear that, by marrying a Turk--one who worked
in the United States, no less--her son had sorely
disappointed her. The applicant fled to Istanbul while her
husband remains in the Gulf and refuses to take her phone
calls. Her voce swelling with anger, the applicant said
that he was disgusted wit what she viewed as Arab
hyocriy. "Tey tal aboutIslam and brotherhood," h
bsrve, butthy act as though only Arabs wo think like
they do will enter Paradise." The pplicant concluded by
stating, "If Heaven is ful of those people, I'd rather go
to Hell with youAmericans."

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Seven Heads are Better than One
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5. (SBU) A woman from the hintrlands recently applied to
visit her son studyin in the United States. The son's
application inicated that he had departed Turkey only the
weekbefore and--in marked contrast to his provincial
other's ragged appearance--his visa photo showed him
stylishly garbed in a dark maroon jacket and coordinated
silk tie. The mystery deepened when an informant
subsequently accused the young man of having used fake
documents to obtain his visa. Months later, a group of men
claiming to be business owners, as well as another would-be
student, on the same day were found to have submitted
applications written in the same hand. Despite appearing
for their interviews in street clothes, each of these
gentlemen--like the student with the fake documents--
presented visa photos depicting them nattily attired. A
fraud investigation produced a total of 11 applicants with
matching business information, phone numbers and handwriting
on their applications. Seven of these shared an even closer
connection: The same body. A magnifying-glass inspection of
the visa photos revealed that their heads had been
"Photoshopped" onto the identical jacket-and-tie-clad torso.
The apparel's color had been altered one to the next,
perhaps to suit each applicant's fancy.

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What's in a Name?
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6. (SBU) Turkish names are a never-ending source of
fascination. As one would expect, given names here long
have reflected Islamic conventions and tribal themes of
virtue, fortitude and commercial acumen. Surnames, however,
date only from the 1934, when Mustafa Kemal Ataturk--the
founding father of modern, secular Turkey--decreed their
adoption. The resulting combinations occasionally produce
comical results, as revealed by some recent visa applicants
here: Harika Akar: "Flows Wonderfully"; Yeter Balik:
"Enough Fish"; Guclu Cakar: "Nails Strongly"; Serin Keklik:
"Cool Partridge"; Mutlu Koca: "Happy Husband"; Satilmis
Ornek: "Sold Sample"; Nukte Toy: "Wit Unexperienced"; Guclu
Ucak: "Strong Airplane"; Muhtesem Kurt: "Amazing Wolf";
Ruhun Acar: "Your Soul Opens."

JONES