Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06USUNNEWYORK1939
2006-10-11 19:02:00
CONFIDENTIAL//NOFORN
USUN New York
Cable title:  

PROCESSING OF G VISAS AND MEETING U.S. HOST

Tags:  OFDP CVIS UN 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXYZ0006
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUCNDT #1939/01 2841902
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 111902Z OCT 06
FM USMISSION USUN NEW YORK
TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0409
C O N F I D E N T I A L USUN NEW YORK 001939 

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
VISAS

DEPARTMENT FOR IO/UNP - EDMONDSON/

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/10/2026
TAGS: OFDP CVIS UN
SUBJECT: PROCESSING OF G VISAS AND MEETING U.S. HOST
COUNTRY OBLIGATIONS

REF: A. A) STATE 132282

B. B) STATE 124954

Classified By: Deputy U.S. Representative, Alejandro D. Wolff, reason 1
.4 (C,D)

C O N F I D E N T I A L USUN NEW YORK 001939

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
VISAS

DEPARTMENT FOR IO/UNP - EDMONDSON/

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/10/2026
TAGS: OFDP CVIS UN
SUBJECT: PROCESSING OF G VISAS AND MEETING U.S. HOST
COUNTRY OBLIGATIONS

REF: A. A) STATE 132282

B. B) STATE 124954

Classified By: Deputy U.S. Representative, Alejandro D. Wolff, reason 1
.4 (C,D)


1. (SBU) Summary and Action Request. The USG's time frame
for responding to SAO clearance requests for G visa
applicants appears to some governments and UN lawyers to
conflict with USG obligations as host country to the UN not
to impede travel of individuals coming to the UN on official
business. USUN asks Department, to the extent possible, to
consider as a solution giving much higher priority to
expeditously clearing SAO requests involving G visa
applicants and seeks Department's guidance in responding to
repeated charges by affected UN Missions that USG delays in
visa issuance violate international law, including the US-UN
Headquarters Agreement. Finally, recognizing the importance
of security considerations in the administrative processing
of all visas, including G visas, post seeks Department's
determination of what period of time, from the submission of
the G visa application through to visa issuance, would be
sufficient to conclude necessary administrative processing
and also meet our host country obligations to issue visas
promptly and not to impede travel. See action request at
paragraph 9. End Summary and Action request.

The view from the UN - the 15 day "rule" in a post-9/11 era
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


2. (SBU) Over the past two to three years, several UN
delegations, whose nationals are subject to SAO clearance
requirements (e.g., Russia, Cuba, Syria) have sharply and
repeatedly criticized the U.S. in meetings of the 19-member
UN Committee on Relations with the Host Country (a/k/a the
Host Country Committee-HCC) for its failure to issue visas in
a timely manner consistent with our host country obligations
under international law. Over a period of many years, an
unwritten understanding has arisen among other UN delegations
and the UN Secretariat (including its Office of Legal
Affairs),that 15 working days, from the date a visa
application is submitted until it is issued, is a reasonable
time frame for the host country to issue visas to those

coming to the UN on official business, and that the host
country's issuance of visas within the 15 working days time
frame is consistent with its obligations under the US-UN
Headquarters Agreement and other relevant international
instruments.


3. (U) The Russian Mission, in particular, continues to press
for a shorter time period for issuing visas to G applicants
(e.g., 10 working days),asserting that the long time period
required for 'administrative processing' of its delegates'
visa applications makes it virtually impossible for the
Russian Federation to assign late substitutions to its
delegation lists for UN meetings, thus depriving the Russian
Federation of its desired and most effective representation
at these UN meetings.


4. (SBU) In an effort to meet our host country obligations
and to eliminate or at least reduce the volume of complaints
from affected delegations, USUN devotes considerable effort
to fielding inquiries from affected delegations regarding
applicants who, near or just after the 15 working days from
the time applications were submitted on their behalf, have
not yet received their G visas and are therefore unable to
proceed to official UN meetings. When necessary, USUN
requests expedited SAO clearances. USUN has cautioned
delegations in the Host Country Committee and by circular
diplomatic note that the post-9/11 security environment makes
it necessary in some cases for visa issuance to take longer
than 15 working days, and delegates should apply for visas as
soon as possible. However, we remain concerned that if the
Committee were to submit the issue to the UN Office of Legal
Affairs (OLA),the OLA could issue a legal opinion noting
that host country visa issuance for diplomats coming to the
UN that takes longer than 15 working days is not prompt, that
it constitutes an impediment to their transit to and from UN
headquarters, and that the U.S. thus violates Article IV
Section 11 of the U.S.-UN Headquarters Agreement and/or some
other provision of international law.

Recent developments in SAO requests
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


5. (SBU/NOFORN) Ref A provides, inter alia, for inserting the
UNGA acronym into SAO requests so that prospective UNGA
attendees to the fall session (September 12 through
mid-December) can have their visa applications processed more


quickly. But Ref B notes that the current processing time
for Visas Bear requests (which includes G visa applicants
coming to the UN throughout the year, not only during the
fall session of the UNGA) averages about 18 days. This 18
days refers solely to the time required for obtaining SAO
clearance. The actual visa process from submission of
application to issuance is, of course, even longer. Ref B
also reports that CA is very concerned about processing
student visa applications that are subject to Visas Donkey
SAO requests in a timely manner, and that the Department will
now give priority in providing SAO Visas Donkey clearances to
applicants for student, vocational school and exchange
visitor visas. The provisions of 9 FAM Appendix G relating
to special clearance procedures clearly assume a period for
SAO clearances that make it difficult in many cases for a
consular officer to issue a G visa within 15 working days
from the submission of an application, as is currently
assumed and expected by UN delegations and the UN Secretariat
in New York.


6. (C) USUN has also noticed that bilateral or other
considerations also can delay visa issuance in a manner which
appears to some governments and UN lawyers to conflict with
our obligations as host country to the UN. In some cases,
clearance is not sent to the issuing post until the day the
visitor proposes to travel or the day his or her meeting is
to convene. In other cases, actors in the clearance process
do not signal their agreement to issue a visa until after the
meeting in question has ended. Both types of action can be
seen to constitute a "pocket veto," which also appears to
contravene our host country obligations. Under a
longstanding "modus vivendi" with the UN, it is understood
that we can deny issuing a visa to an individual coming to
the UN on official business provided that the Department, at
the highest level, has decided that issuance would be
inimical to our national security. Such a decision is
reached by means of an action memorandum to the seventh
floor. Over the past four to five years, the "pocket veto"
has eroded the "modus vivendi," again putting the host
country at odds with the UN.

U.S. obligations as Host Country to the UN
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


7. (U) The U.S. as host country to the UN has obligations
under the U.S.-UN Headquarters Agreement (1947),the
Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United
Nations (1946),and other documents. Specifically, the
Headquarters Agreement in Article IV - Communications and
Transit, Section 11 states that "(t)he federal...authorities
of the United States shall not impose any impediments to
transit to or from the headquarters district of (1)
representatives of Members or officials of the United
Nations...or the families of such representatives or
officials." Section 13(a) states that "(l)aws and
regulations in force in the United States regarding the entry
of aliens shall not be applied in such manner as to interfere
with the privileges referred to in Section 11. When visas
are required for persons referred to in that Section, they
shall be granted without charge and as promptly as possible."


8. (U) Article IV, Section 11 of the Convention on the
Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations states that
"Representatives of Members to the principal and subsidiary
organs of the United Nations and to conferences convened by
the United Nations, shall, while exercising their functions
and during their journey to and from the place of meeting,
enjoy the following privileges and immunities:...(d)
exemption in respect of themselves and their spouses from
immigration restrictions...in the state they are visiting or
through which they are passing in the exercise of their
functions." Section 16 states that in this article the
expression "representatives" shall be deemed to include all
delegates, deputy delegates, advisers, technical experts and
secretaries of delegations.

SIPDIS


9. (SBU/NOFORN) Action request - USUN is concerned that the
FAM and time frames applied by the Department in clearing SAO
requests for G visa applicants coming to the UN or its
specialized agencies on official business may be deemed
inconsistent with our obligations as host country under
various relevant international instruments. To minimize that
risk, USUN urges that G visa applicants be given higher
priority in expediting SAO clearances, to contain allegations
that the USG does not fully comply with its obligations, and
so that we can eliminate or reduce significantly the
complaints of affected delegations in this regard. USUN also
seeks Department's guidance in responding to repeated charges
by affected delegations that USG delays in visa issuance


violate our host country obligations. Finally, USUN seeks
Department's determination of what time period, (from the
time an applicant submits an application for an official G
visa until it is issued, including all the required
administrative processing),is sufficient and necessary for
the U.S. to meet its host country obligations.
BOLTON