SELF-EMPLOYED SLOVAKS HAVE LOW OVERSTAY RATE

UNCLAS BRATISLAVA 000024 SIPDIS SIPDIS SENSITIVE DEPT FOR CA/FPP; DEPT ALSO PASS TO KCC; INFO ADDRESSEES FOR FRAUD PREVENTION MANAGERS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KFRD CVIS CPAS CMGT ASEC LO SUBJECT: SELF-EMPLOYED SLOVAKS HAVE LOW OVERSTAY RATE ¶1. (SBU) A recent validation study conducted on self-employed Slovaks (those who have licenses as small business owners, or "zivnostniks") who received B1/B2 visas in the first 180 days of 2006 found them to be relatively "good" cases with a low rate of overstay. Of the 240 individuals surveyed, 217 (or 90 percent) were contacted. Of these, 187 (or 78 percent) had used their visas to travel to the United States and had returned to Slovakia in an appropriate timeframe. HAVE VISA, DIDN'T TRAVEL -------------- ¶2. (SBU) In addition to the 187 self-employed Slovaks who traveled and returned, an additional 29 Slovaks (or 12 percent) had not yet used their visas to travel to the United States. We therefore deduce that 90 percent of the participants in the validation study have not (to the best of our knowledge) violated the terms of their visa. OVERSTAYERS IN THE U.S.: TWO -------------- ¶3. (SBU) The study did, however, reveal two overstayers in the United States (or slightly less than 1 percent). One was a "fitter" working on seagoing vessels making port in the United States, another departed in July and remains there with her son and ex-husband. ¶4. (SBU) An additional 21 individuals (8.75 percent) could not be contacted; while it is possible that all 21 are illegally in the United States, it is also likely that a large percentage of these 21 individuals did not abuse the terms of their visas. ONE SLOVAK DEPORTED FOR ILLEGAL WORK -------------- ¶5. (SBU) In addition to the two Slovaks still in the United States, one of the Slovaks in our study was arrested and deported for illegally living, working, and possibly studying in the United States on his B1/B2 visa. (SBU) COMMENT: BETTER THAN WE THOUGHT -------------- ¶6. (SBU) Getting verifiable information from self-employed businessmen in Slovakia is frequently a difficult task that makes evaluation of these visa applicants more challenging. In addition, their freedom to make decisions without consideration for the requirements of "employers" long made us wary of evaluating their employment as a strong tie under INA section 214(B). This study, however, has shown that self-employed businessmen are, in reality, likely more reliable issuances than the average Slovak visa applicant writ large. VALLEE