Beywatch: American Passports and African Development?

UNCLAS TUNIS 002910

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR NEA/MAG (M.HARRIS); HR/EL DIVISION
DAMASCUS FOR RCO MARY ELLEN HICKEY

E.O. 12958: NA
TAGS: SOCI CVIS SY TS
SUBJECT: Beywatch: American Passports and African Development?



1. INTRODUCTION: This report is one of a series drafted by Post's
entry level officers which have the "Beywatch" caption. We believe
the perspectives offered in the following vignette will give the
reader a sense of everyday life in Tunisia. For more information
about Tunisia or the Embassy Tunis' Entry Level Officer Development
initiative, see our Siprnet website. END INTRODUCTION.


2. The African Development Bank (ADB) is temporarily headquartered
in Tunis, and since its move here in February 2003 has had an impact
on life in the city, including the Consular Section at Embassy
Tunis. In large part because of the Bank's presence, Embassy Tunis
processed non-immigrant visa applications from 75 different
nationalities in FY-06, compared to only 46 nationalities in the
fiscal year (FY-02) before the Bank relocated from Abidjan. Also,
of those 75 nations represented at the visa window in FY-06, 47
percent were sub-Saharan African. (Only 26 percent of FY-02's
applicants came from that region of the world.) While the large
majority of NIV applicants affiliated with the ADB tend to obtain
visas based on their histories of prior travel and strong economic
and social ties outside the United States, a surprising number of
them have some very close American family bonds.


3. For the period between September and November 2006 about 36
percent of Tunisian applicants claimed to have family living in the
United States. ("Family" in this cable refers specifically to the
close relations enumerated on the DS-156 Application Form, i.e.
mother, father, brother, sister, etc.). In contrast, over 61
percent of applicants affiliated with the ADB listed family members
living in the United States (These statistics include applicants who
are applying for visas unrelated to their family's presence in
America, such as official or student visas.)


4. Somewhat surprisingly, many ADB applicants also have U.S. citizen
children. A quarter of all NIV applicants associated with the ADB
indicated having American children on their application forms.
(Note: That means that the number of Tunisians claiming to have any
family in the U.S. for any reason is only about 10 percent more than
the number of ADB employees with Amcit kids.) According to the
American Cooperative School of Tunis, about 20 percent of the
students paid for by the ADB are holders of an American passport. A
look at Embassy Tunis' warden rolls shows 92 Americans registered as
ADB affiliates, with over half of those registrants under the age of

18. (Note: There are only two USG-employed Americans with
school-age children assigned to the Bank.)


5. At first glance, these statistics seem to indicate a paradox:
Because of their frequent travel and socioeconomic stability, ADB
staff members are routinely granted U.S. visitor visas, and with
much higher issuance rates than their compatriots back home. (For
example, Embassy Tunis refused only about 10 percent of its Nigerian
applicants in FY-06, while CG Lagos refused about 59 percent. While
Tunis refused 4 percent of Gambian applicants in FY-06, Embassy
Banjul refused 72 percent.) Of course, ADB employees tend to
represent the wealthier, more educated and more privileged social
groups of their respective nations, thus making it fairly easy to be
assured of their proper use of a visa. It's all the more
interesting that despite the economic successes that make them good
visa cases they continue to seek American passports for their
children, and eventually themselves through family immigration
petitions.


6. It is not uncommon for Conoffs at Embassy Tunis to meet an ADB
employee or employee's spouse at the interviewing window who is on
her way to the United States to either visit her Amcit children or
to bear another one. The ADB routinely pays about 80 percent of
childbirth costs for an employee or spouse. Given the financial and
legal means to do so, many ADB employees choose to give birth in the
United States. With the generally high quality of Tunisian medical
care and major European capitals just 2 hours away by plane, it
seems clear that the decision to give birth in the United States is
not driven by medical concerns, but rather by the draw of our jus
soli laws. (Comment: This is not unique to ADB employees; the Consul
at an African embassy recently explained to Conoff that his wife
traveled to the United States to give birth to both his children so
that they could become citizens). ADB families then usually return
to the Bank and continue with their lives, often not sending their
children to the United States until it's time to go to college or
look for jobs. Coming from a part of the world whose beauties are
so often overshadowed by political upheaval and economic adversity,
perhaps evidence of a quest for that blue passport even by the elite
is not such a surprise. But that analysis is the subject for
another cable.

GODEC