GROWING SUMMER WORK AND TRAVEL EXCHANGE PROGRAM RESHAPES

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 CHIANG MAI 000078 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPARTMENT ALSO PASS TO EAP/PD JESSICA DAVIES AND EAC/EC/CU HILARION MARTINEZ DEPARTMENT FOR EAP/MLS MELANIE HIGGINS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: CVIS CMGT OEXC SCUL TH SUBJECT: GROWING SUMMER WORK AND TRAVEL EXCHANGE PROGRAM RESHAPES WORKLOAD AT SMALL POST REF: BANGKOK 2246 CHIANG MAI 00000078 001.2 OF 003 ¶1. Summary. The explosive growth in the Student Work and Travel (SWT) program in Thailand has reshaped the way Consulate General Chiang Mai manages its visa workload and consular outreach strategies. SWT visa applications have quadrupled over the past three years to the point where they now account for more than 55 percent of all visas processed during the months leading up Thailand's summer break. Despite glowing reviews from participants, some warning signs of trouble ahead warrant attention from consular and public diplomacy officers. End Summary. SWT'S POPULARITY LEADS TO SIGNIFICANT VISA GROWTH ¶2. As detailed in Embassy Bangkok's report (reftel),the March-June summer break for Thai college students has led SWT companies to recruit increasing numbers of Thai students to work in U.S. amusement parks, restaurants, and other tourist locales. Coordinating with U.S.-based sponsoring organizations, local companies recruit students for the program, collect participation fees (usually about $1,000),coordinate their J visa applications and travel, and turn them over to U.S. SWT companies that facilitate employment and housing arrangements. ¶3. The program's growing popularity among Thai students - and the popularity of Thai students among U.S. employers - has fuelled a dramatic increase in J visa applications at post. In January-March 2004, post processed just 103 J-1 applications and SWT applicants accounted for 10 percent of the consulate's NIV workload during that time period. In the past three years, however, SWT has come to dominate the consular section's first quarter caseload. During the 2005 SWT season, post received 297 applications (24 percent of the overall January-March caseload), 581 in the 2006 season (47 percent),and 1,187 in 2007 (55 percent). Based on conversations with local recruiters, 2008 could see almost 2,000 SWT applications in northern Thailand alone. To put the caseload growth in perspective, post processed just 2,052 visas from every category in all of 2003. ¶4. Post has adapted its consular outreach and management strategies to handle the wave of SWT applications. With high ;confidence in the ability of SWT applicants to overcome 214b requirements (reftel details Embassy Bangkok validation studies showing near-perfect return rates),one officer can handle more than 100 cases per morning. Ensuring that applicants arrive for the interviews prepared is key to an efficient process. Post invests considerable staff hours in the weeks leading up to SWT high season, coordinating with recruiting companies to make sure documents, DS-2019s, and appointments are in order before students arrive for their interviews. This investment paid off in 2007, as post was able to accept all SWT applications without delaying overall NIV interview wait times (historically less than one week throughout the year). ¶5. Working off of Embassy Bangkok's lead, post identifies SWT coordinators and meets with them to discuss the application process. Local SWT agencies are proliferating almost as quickly as the number of applicants and post's outreach efforts missed a handful of smaller operations that opened this year. With continued growth in the program likely, post is coordinating with universities, academic advising offices, and other SWT companies to pass the word to new agencies about planning SWT applications in concert with the consular section. PROGRAM'S SUCCESSES MAKE GOOD PUBLIC DIPLOMACY ¶6. Current and former SWT applicants give overwhelmingly positive reviews of their SWT experiences. Most students point to opportunities for travel, meeting new friends, and improving English skills as the program's chief attractions. Indeed, SWT veterans are among the best English speakers who consular officers interview during SWT high season, displaying a comfort with the language and grasp of slang nearly unseen among the region's other college students. ¶7. Most SWT students work until mid-to-late June and then spend CHIANG MAI 00000078 002.2 OF 003 about two weeks traveling the United States. Popular travel destinations include Florida (where many are assigned to work), New York City, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. Students speak highly of American culture, singling out independence, creativity, and self-confidence as traits they admire most. ¶8. The positive SWT experiences also are beginning to benefit other aspects of visa work, as more people interact with the consulate and gain an understanding of U.S. immigration policies. Officers note that many F (student) visa applicants over the past two years have come from SWT veterans. SOME CONCERN OVER UNCHECKED GROWTH, LACK OF OVERSIGHT ¶9. Despite the highly positive reviews from most students, the rapid growth in the program has led to some negative reports. These include stories in which participants are stranded at the airport, housed in cramped or overpriced apartments, or not provided jobs. For the most part, coverage of these problems has not cited the consulate, embassy or USG as responsible parties. However, worried parents often call the consular section and ask staff for help resolving such issues with their children, many of whom are working for someone outside of their family for the first time. ¶10. Students from post's consular district report taking on second or third jobs after arriving in the United States (one sample of 10 SWT participants from 2006 showed nine had signed up for extra work). These students said they took the extra jobs to make more money, compensate for lower-than-expected hours at their primary job, or escape harsh conditions at their original employers. Extra jobs mean many of these students work more than 12-hour days and yet, as temporary employees, did not receive paid personal and sick time. In addition, students say some SWT participants fall victim to U.S.-based recruiters who sign up students for second jobs, only to place them in less desirable work or fail to mail students their final paycheck after they have returned to Thailand. Some students and local academic advising center representatives familiar with SWT suspect organized crime networks are involved in the scams, and note that many of the suspicious recruiters had Russian- or Ukrainian-sounding names. ¶11. The doubling of SWT applications from 2006 to 2007 and subsequent slight decrease in quality of the average applicant may signal that there is a finite supply of qualified students in northern Thailand who want to participate in the program primarily for cultural exchange. Consular officers observed a decline in overall quality among applicants this year as the season wore on, especially among non-traditional students and those studying at colleges in the outer provinces. Many less-qualified students arrived for the interviews heavily coached and unable to answer simple questions in English. Others brought transcripts showing weak academic records. However, backed by a strong confidence that the students would return to Thailand and that past participants had improved their English skills, post's officers approved almost all SWT applications. If post sees a further decline in applicant quality it will merit more scrutiny over what constitutes a "qualified applicant." Post recommends that CA and ECA provide further instructions on adjudication standards for SWT applicants for consular officers to apply during interviews, particularly regarding academic qualifications and language ability. LESSONS LEARNED: MANAGING WORKLOADS AND PUBLIC DIPLOMACY EFFORTS ¶12. The quadrupling of SWT visas over the past three years - and the expectation even more growth ahead - has driven consular outreach to the forefront of post's agenda. With such heavy growth in visas, post's small consular staff of two officers and four FSNs must prepare for SWT high season and seek effective means to handle the increase in applications, data entry, and filing. Working closely with Embassy Bangkok, post will continue to actively reach out to SWT recruiters and integrate SWT/J visa policy issues into general visa information outreach efforts. CHIANG MAI 00000078 003.2 OF 003 ¶13. COMMENT: SWT has for the most part been a boon for the U.S. image among Thai students. However, unchecked growth in the program could risk that these positives turn into negatives. With some SWT companies more interested in profits than cultural exchange programs for foreign students, local recruitment standards are falling and SWT participants find themselves vulnerable to exploitation and scams. U.S. sponsors must closely monitor their local recruiting partners to ensure all students are well-screened, qualified, and prepared for their experience working in the United States. If the program simply becomes a source of cheap labor for U.S. employers seeking to bypass existing rules on importing unskilled labor, the integrity of the program will suffer. CAMP