EMBASSY BUDAPEST ANNUAL CERTIFICATION OF CONSULAR CONTROLS

UNCLAS BUDAPEST 001105 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: CMGT CVIS CASC KFRD HU SUBJECT: EMBASSY BUDAPEST ANNUAL CERTIFICATION OF CONSULAR CONTROLS Ref: State 114455 ¶1. Post completed the Annual Review and Certification of Consular Controls on November 19, 2008. Post certifies that it is in compliance with all sub-paragraphs in reftel. The certifying officer is Deputy Chief of Mission Jeffery D. Levine. Narrative responses to all subparagraphs in reftel follow. a. Standard Operating Procedures: Post confirms that all consular officers are familiar with and have access to basic references and instructions. No one is using training materials as a reference in place of the proper reference materials. b. Consular Shared Tables (CST) Management: Post confirms that: (1) only consular section employees have consular roles and adjudicatory and management roles are limited to American consular officers; (2) all active users are in fact at Post and have a need to access the system in their particular role, users who no longer have a need for access have been switched to inactive status, and all test or anonymous accounts have been deactivated; (3) users have authorized system access at the appropriate level; and, (4) user passwords are periodically reset and randomly chosen by the individual so that no one else, including the system and CST administrators, knows the individual's password. Post reviewed guidance in SOP 82: CST Password (05 State 151469) and checked the CST role of each individual to make this confirmation. c. Physical Access: Post confirms physical access to the working areas of the consular section, and to consular computers and workstations is controlled and limited only to consular section employees, the DCM, and RSO. FSN personnel are not present outside of office hours without a cleared American present. During working hours controlled items are secured whenever no American consular officer is present. d. Access to Personally Identifiable Information (PII): Post confirms that procedures are in place to assure that the collection of PII is kept to a minimum and appropriately protected. Post confirms that access to consular systems containing such information is restricted to those with a legitimate need to see such information and records are only accessed in connection with official duties. There have been no breaches or incidents to report. e. Inventory Count and Reconciliation of Accountable Consular Items: The Consular Section Chief, together with the designated Accountable Consular Officers (ACOs),performed a comprehensive inventory of accountable consular supplies and the results of that inventory were documented in the Accountable Items (AI) module and a memo for the files. Post confirms and certifies that the physical inventory reconciled with inventory records. f. Control and Reconciliation of Accountable Items: Post reviewed and confirms that internal section procedures ensure that accountable consular items are controlled, handled, destroyed, and accounted for in accordance with 7 FAH-1 H-600. The AI module is being used for reconciling daily usage of all accountable consular supplies. Post reports no instances of missing controlled items in the past twelve months. g. Destruction Log: Post confirms that it is properly destroying spoiled, unusable, or obsolete controlled items and recording their witnessed destruction in AI. Post is following the guidance on returning all passport books, passport cards, and border crossing cards to the Department for destruction as described in State ¶112062. h. Cash Accountability: Post confirms that the Accountable Consular Officer, the Consular Cashier, and alternates have been formally designated using the correct model letters. The ACO has completed the required training as part of PC 116 Automated Systems for Consular Managers. Post confirms the cashier has enrolled in course PC 419 Collection of Consular Fees for Consular Cashiers. Post confirms that accounting and reconciliation procedures for consular fees are properly carried out. The Daily Accounting Sheets for the last 12 months have been signed by both the ACO and FMO, and are on file in the ACO records. There have been no instances of cash discrepancies in the last 12 months. i. Periodic Comparison of MRV Fees and NIV Applications: Post confirms that the periodic comparison of MRV fees and NIV applications has been carried out. Fees exceeded applications in FY ¶2008. Post also confirms that MRV receipts are cancelled and attached to the DS-156. j. Referrals: Post confirms that its visa referral procedures conform to instructions in 9 FAM Appendix K and 06 State 180489. Post's updated referral policy is currently with CA/VO/F/P for clearance. Referrals are signed by both the referring officer and by the office or agency head, and all referral information is captured in the system. All referral forms and supporting documents are scanned for every referral, both A and B. Consular Section referrals are handled the same way, and no unofficial referrals are allowed outside the formal process. All new mission employees are briefed on the procedure before being allowed to submit referrals. The Section Chief, or Acting Chief in his absence, adjudicates all Class A referrals; the Section Chief or Deputy adjudicates all Class B referrals. The Section Chief regularly analyzes referral reports to identify any potential sources of concern. k. Training: Post confirms that American and locally employed staff are adequately trained for their responsibilities, including awareness of fraud in applications for visas and other benefits. Newcomers are trained in accordance with SOP 73 (04 State 164399). l. Standards of Employee Conduct: Post confirms that all consular employees are familiar with the standards of ethical conduct expected of them. Post reviewed operations with all personnel and there are no influences being brought to bear on the visa or passport process that would lead to any perception of impropriety. Post has a gift policy consistent with Department standards. Post has a written policy requiring that all consular staff to recuse themselves from any and all involvement with a case in which there may be conflict of interest or connection to the applicant. m. Namecheck and Clearance Reviews: Post confirms that all namecheck returns are reviewed and consistent standards are applied in determining when a hit is close enough to warrant further action. Post confirms that when insufficient information is present to rule out a potential match to a namecheck hit, that hit is treated as if it were a match. n. Visa Lookout Accountability (VLA): Post confirms that VLA procedures are in place, and that all issuing officers fully understand VLA provisions and requirements as well as the consequences for failing to comply with VLA procedures. Supervisors regularly review issuances to verify that VLA requirements are met. o. Intake, Interview, and Screening: Post reviewed visa intake, interview, and document screening procedures and confirms that it is in full compliance with the Department's instructions. Screening of applications by locally employed staff does not encroach on adjudication. LE staff do not turn away NIV or IV applicants who have paid the appropriate fees and have a completed application. p. Oversight of Processing: Adequate supervision of processing is exercised by American officers including line-of-sight supervision of print stations. q. Biometrics: Fingerprinting for biometric purposes is conducted only by consular officers and cleared Americans. Post is in compliance with Bio/Visa Enrollment policy and procedures regarding waivers. r. Interview and Adjudication: All visa applicants for whom a personal appearance is required are being interviewed. s. Photo Standards: Post is only entering recent photos of applicants and is rigorously applying standards for NIV, IV, and passport photos. t. Review of Visa Refusals and Issuances: NIV refusals and issuances are being reviewed using the approved electronic NIV review by the Consular Chief, and in cases issued by the Consular Chief, by the DCM. Post confirms that cases "overcome" by the supervisor are not cases of reconsideration in which there was no legal error in the original adjudication. u. Visa Shopping: Post regularly reviews issuance patterns to third country nationals (TCNs) to identify trends, and will conduct a validation study in the near future to further inform evaluation of these cases. Post does not/not maintain a NIV written re-application process. Post notes that the vast majority of third TCN applicants are residents of Hungary. Occasionally, a small number of employment-based visa applicants apply for reissuance of expired visas while traveling to Hungary on business. With Hungary's entrance into the visa waiver program, the TCN applicant base is likely to become a larger percentage of total cases. Post is in the process of implementing a new plan to review issuance patterns to third country nationals, beginning with a validation study of previous issuances. v. Files: Post confirms that consular files are being managed in accordance with the Record Disposition Schedule. Visa files are being maintained per instructions in 9 FAM Appendix F. All consular personnel understand that visa records are to be safeguarded in accordance with INA Section 222(f). NIV records are being filed chronologically. w. Passports and CRBAs: All FAM guidance relating to the oversight of Passport and CRBA functions are in place at Post. Post conducts namechecks for all passport services, including additional visa page requests. In accordance with 03 State 245320, Post will ensure that Consular managers routinely are auditing passport adjudications. Post ensures that relevant citizenship and identity information is accurately annotated, as is information relating to name checks, endorsement and limitations. x. Post confirms that an American officer is designated as the Fraud Prevention Manager and is assigned the appropriate CCD FPM role. Post has written criteria for referring cases for investigation. However, these are being revised to incorporate changes due to the visa waiver program and outline firm roles and priorities for FSN and FSO staff. Procedures are in place to prohibit FSN investigators from influencing decisions on eligibility. The FPM reviews every report. Post has not had the need to conduct any field investigations in the last twelve months. y. Classified Access: All consular officers have access to classified systems and the Consular Chief checks classified e-mail daily. z. Posts Exercising Supervision of Consular Agents: Post has no Consular Agents. Foley