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 GUANGZHOU 00000485 002 OF 003 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 GUANGZHOU 00000485 003 OF 003 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