Fuzhou - Fraud Capital of China - (1 of 2) A Detailed Look

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 GUANGZHOU 000485

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR CA/VO, CA/FPP, CA/EX, DS/IP/EAP, DC/CR, DS/CR/VF, DS/CR/PF,
AND INL/HSTC
BEIJING FOR RSO, DHS, CG AND FPU
NVC FOR FPU
USICE/HQ FOR HQINT, HQOAI, CAO AND FDL
US UN FOR RSO-PASS TO DS/FLD/NYFO
HOMELAND SECURITY FOR CIS/FDNS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: CMGT ASEC CVIS KFRD CH KCRM INL HSTC
SUBJECT: Fuzhou - Fraud Capital of China - (1 of 2) A Detailed Look
at the Fuzhou Region of Fujian Province

THIS DOCUMENT IS SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED. PLEASE PROTECT
ACCORDINGLY.

REF: A. 06 Guangzhou 32403 B. Guangzhou 00063 C. 06 Guangzhou 27925


1. (SBU) Summary: An analysis of the past year's immigrant visa
statistics, discussions with other units and consulates, and a
deluge of unsolicited tips still point to the Fuzhou area of Fujian
province (Fuzhou, Changle, Mawei, Lianjiang, Fuqing, and Putian) as
the capital of visa fraud and illegal immigration in China. This is
the first in a three cable series detailing the level of visa fraud
activity in the Fuzhou area of Fujian province. End Summary.

The Numbers Tell the Story
--------------


2. (SBU) An analysis of immigrant visa applicants in Guangzhou
during fiscal year 2006 revealed that while the Fuzhou, Mawei,
Changle, Lianjiang and Fuqing make up 17.1% (8548 cases) of all
immigrant visa petitions processed in Guangzhou, the same area
accounts for 36.8% (3174 cases) of all marriage-based petitions
(IR1, CR1, and K3). Strangely, the region accounts for only 7.4% of
fiance visa petitions (K1),a category that Guangzhou believes to
have a lower incidence of fraud (reftel A). Of marriage cases
interviewed in FY2006 from the Fuzhou area, 37% were sent back to
Citizenship and Immigration Services with a recommendation for
revocation. Moreover, an additional 47% of all interviewed cases
were refused pending additional investigation under 221g refusals.
In the vast majority of these cases sham marriages or other fraud
was suspected. Only the remaining 16% of Fuzhou marriage cases were
issued. Many of these cases were first marriages for both
petitioner and applicant. Despite anecdotal evidence that suggests
many of these marriages are also shams for immigration only, it can
be extremely difficult to meet the bar necessary for revocation.

That's My Boy
--------------


3. (SBU) The situation is further exacerbated when marriage cases
are looked at in total. Marriage petitions from Fuzhou with a prior
divorce continue to have approximately two child petitions for each
spousal petition. Several current F4 cases with prior revocations
for sham marriages have given Guangzhou FPU an opportunity to
compare children from the prior marriage petition to the children
reported in the current sibling petitions. In many of the cases,
the children from the prior marriage petition differ in name,
gender, and age. Upon further questioning, all of these cases have
admitted that the children in the prior cases were not their own.


4. (SBU) With reported prices for a sham marriage now reaching up to
$80,000 USD just for the spouse with proportionally high fees for
each child included in the sham petition, many "families" are
actually three or more unrelated individuals put together for
convenience by snakeheads. This helps to explain why often times in
interviews the children know more about the parent's relationship
story than the supposed spouse and are often seen prompting and
correcting details that the parent gives to the interviewing
officer. In one case where the mother got so nervous she fainted,
needing to be helped to a bench by consulate security guards, her
children showed no concern for her well-being and even insisted they
could continue the interview without her. To combat this situation
Post has had to turn to DNA testing on an increasing basis to
confirm family ties. Typically the FPU schedules more than 40 DNA
tests a month. FPU has instituted a system to track cases where DNA
tests were requested to see how many cases are abandoned after the
DNA request.

Fuzhou Dominates Suspect Employment Visas Too
--------------


5. (SBU) Of additional concern is the high proportion of
low-skilled and non-skilled employment based visas (E3 and EW) from
Fuzhou. In FY 2005, the Fuzhou-Changle-Lianjiang-Fuqing area
accounted for over 44% of all employment visa petitions at post.
Preliminary results from a new pilot phone prescreening process to
verify claimed employment of all E3 applicants confirmed fraud in 4
of 16 cases and suspected fraud in 6 additional cases. In 5 cases

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the employer could not be located through the Internet, phone
directories, or operator assistance. In only 1 case was employment
confirmed. Guangzhou FPU continues to target both immigrant and
non-immigrant employment visa fraud. (reftel B)

Fujian, I'm Not From Fujian
--------------


6. (SBU) Post continues to see a growing amount of Chinese
government issued passports from provinces such as Hunan and Hainan
with fraudulent bio-page data. In all cases the applicants are
actually from Fujian. In some cases the entire set of data is faked
but in many, the applicant uses their real name and birth date, only
apparently desiring to change the birthplace and passport issuance
province to cover up the fact they are from Fujian province. Since
these passports are issued by the government and possess all known
security features, the only way officers have been able to catch
them is through LES translator help. Translators, especially those
from Fuzhou themselves, have been able to detect the accent and
alert officers who then can direct questioning about the applicant's
supposed home city where the made-up stories often fall apart.

Fujian Frequent Fliers
--------------


7. (SBU) On a recent flight back to Guangzhou from Fuzhou, a fraud
investigator from the Canadian Consulate in Guangzhou noted she saw
representatives from the United States, Australian, and Danish
consulates in addition to herself. Guangzhou FPU meets with the
Canadian, British, Australian, Japanese, and European Union
consulates in Guangzhou on a quarterly basis to discuss visa fraud
and often meets more frequently with the Canadians, British, and
Australians in smaller groups. Inevitably the main topic of all
these meetings is visa fraud and snakehead leads in Fuzhou.
Consulates all readily share information on document forgers,
employment call centers, fake restaurants, visa consultants,
marriage brokers, and others involved in the visa fraud business.
Still, at current volumes and reported prices, the dollar value of
visa fraud operations in Fujian alone appears to be well into the
hundreds of millions of dollars per year. Despite the coordinated
best efforts, once a consulate fraud investigator succeeds in
stopping one outlet, several more are likely to spring up to take
it's place.

It's My Duty to Tell You
--------------


8. (SBU) Guangzhou FPU continues to receive an average of 30
unsolicited tips about fraudulent cases per month despite having no
publicly published phone number, fax number, or email address. Just
as in field investigations, tips often come from neighbors or
village residents who feel they have no other place to report
wrongdoing. In cases of tips that have led to larger scale
investigations, FPU and RSO believe it is possible that local law
enforcement officers whose own departments have turned a blind eye
or even have individuals involved in smuggling schemes hope that by
turning to the Consulate something can be done. FPU officers
recognize that all anonymous tips must be taken with a grain of salt
and could just as easily be from a jilted ex-spouse or visa
consultant who did not get paid, the vast majority of tips prove to
be truthful and invaluable in furthering fraud investigations. As
Guangzhou FPU is currently working to establish a webpage on the
publicly-available consulate web site that will include an email
address and fax number, the number of fraud tips for Fujian will
only rise.

Little Incentive to Stop
--------------


9. (SBU) Both the city government of Fuzhou and the provincial
governments of Fujian province are keenly aware of Fujian's
reputation world-wide for illegal immigration and visa fraud. To
help combat this battered image, both have often been far more
cooperative than other government officials in assisting the
consular section with case inquiries. Still there are limits to
what any one person in the government can do and with remittance
income making up a large part of many villages there is little

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incentive to work to stop the illegal outflow of people.


10. (SBU) In many villages visited by Guangzhou FPU staff, a
dichotomy of homes is evident. Those with relatives overseas have
large, modern three and four story homes, often with garages and
elaborate gates. Yet inside, most of these homes have few residents
except for the elderly grandparents and the young children. Those
without overseas relatives, continue to live in small two and three
room concrete or mud brick cottages without heat literally feet away
from their neighbors' dream homes. It is this effort to keep up
with the neighbors that causes a paradox. As GDP for Fuzhou grows at
a double-digit pace, the level of increased economic prosperity only
advances the number and quality of visa fraud and illegal
immigration attempts from Fuzhou, exerting pressure on the smuggling
market and forcing prices for sham marriages to rise in step.

Comment
--------------


11. (SBU) As repeated field investigations, visa statistics, shared
information from other consulates, and unsolicited tips reveal,
fraud is an endemic part of Fuzhou. Not only is it a way of life,
but as posts in China continue to become more adept at combating
visa fraud, the schemers are moving abroad in hopes of finding
weaker spots to exploit. Furthermore, the numbers of people and
variety of fraud schemes to leave China are as varied as the
villages of the region.


12. (SBU) Fuqing currently focuses on student visa fraud schemes
(reftel C) and despite strong efforts to combat the fraud, post
continues to see a rise in the number of fraudulent applicants from
the area. Residents of Changle, perhaps the city in China with the
most Christian churches per capita, have been trying to use the
city's reputation by posing as missionaries in places such as
Thailand and Laos seeking non-immigrant visas to the U.S., Canada,
and the United Kingdom. Recent news headlines and airport liaison
officer reports highlight Latin America as a growing route for all
Chinese to get to the United States.


13. (SBU) To further combat visa fraud in both Fuzhou and the rest
of South China, Guangzhou FPU has strengthened its already strong
relationship with diplomatic security, repeatedly working with post
RSO to identify related cases and pass them when necessary to the
appropriate field offices in the United States. Furthermore,
Guangzhou FPU has convened a monthly working group meeting
consisting of post's FPU officers, RSO, ICE attach, and CIS officer
to share fraud trends and discuss leads for investigations. With
Chinese applicants, and specifically those from Fujian province,
spreading over a larger part of the world, Guangzhou FPU continues
to assist an ever-widening array of posts in answering questions for
visa interviews and investigations.


GOLDBERG