CORRECTED COPY - CZECH REPUBLIC: FY2006 B VISA VALIDATION

UNCLAS PRAGUE 000334 SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR CA/VO/F/P AND CA/FPP DEPARTMENT ALSO FOR DS/CR/VF E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: CVIS KFRD ASEC EZ SUBJECT: CORRECTED COPY - CZECH REPUBLIC: FY2006 B VISA VALIDATION STUDY RESULTS REFTEL: A) 07 Prague 001324; B) 06 Prague 00001454 SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. According to our latest B1/B2 validation study, 0.6 percent of Czechs issued B1/B2 visas between October 1, 2005 and September 30, 2006 were confirmed as remaining in the United States illegally as of November 2007. An additional 0.7 percent were currently in the United States legally on a long-term basis using another visa class, and a final 0.6 percent were unaccounted for. An additional 9.2 percent did not travel, and 88.9 percent said they returned. With Czech accession to the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) a possibility in the next 18 months, post also found that only 1.5 percent of travelers in our sample would have required a visa under WVP due to a stay of greater than 90 days. End Summary DATA COLLECTION AND METHODOLOGY -------------- -------------- --- -------------- ¶2. From August to October 2007, post's Fraud Prevention Unit (FPU) conducted a validation study of 1000 of the 25,085 Czech nationals issued B1/B2 visas in Prague in FY-06, using the MS Excel random-number generator methodology provided by Consular Affairs/Fraud Prevention Program (CA/FPP). (NOTE: With Prague's accession to the VWP a possibility after the passage and signing of visa waiver reform legislation known as the "9/11 Bill" on August 3, 2007, post decided to align the study with the fiscal year so that comparisons could be made between official fiscal-year refusal rates and overstay rates to help with the analysis of the Czech Republic's ability to join VWP. End note.) FPU then attempted to contact the selected applicants by telephone to verify their return. Post also contacted employers or family members when the applicant could not be reached directly. Post compiled a list of 100 "unreachable" applicants, and CA/FPP used Department of Homeland Security (DHS) travel data to provide change of status and entry/exit records for these applicants. ¶3. Post classified as "overstays" those individuals who were confirmed through phone calls or DHS travel data to be in the United States longer than 6 months or whose numerous combined shorter stays indicated they were actually living in the United States. Post classified as "other" those for whom we could not confirm a return status, such as Czechs for whom DHS records were inconclusive or those whose family said they had left the United States but had not returned to the Czech Republic (e.g., living in Canada or Singapore). A handful of others who appeared to be in the United States legally on L1, J1, or B1 domestic servant visas, or who were just currently using their B1/B2s, were classified as "in USA." The other categories were "did not travel" and "returned." Finally, post queried travelers on their the length of stay in hopes of discovering approximately how many Czechs would still require a visa even under the VWP (i.e., had stays longer than 90 days). RESULTS: 2% DID NOT RETURN, 1% STILL IN USA LEGALLY -------------- -- --- --- -------------- -- -------------- -- --- -------------- ¶4. Study results show that 92 of 1000 applicants did not travel (similar to 94 of 1000 from our study in FY-05 applicants, see reftel B). Of the 908 who did travel, 19 are still in the United States. Six of those are confirmed overstays of between six months and 1.5 years for an official overstay rate of 0.6 percent. An additional six, classified as "other," were unreachable or did not return to the Czech Republic, but information was not definitive enough to label them overstayers. The last seven are currently in the United States: three on L1 visas, one on a J1, one on a B1 as a domestic servant, and the final two as tourists with stays in excess of 2-3 months. Therefore, of the two percent of applicants who did not return (19 total),about half (1 percent of the total) are possible overstays. Average lengths of stay -------------- -------------- -- -------------- ¶5. Comparison with validation studies for FY-04 and FY-05 is difficult. While those studies showed overstay rates of 2.4 and 2.2 percent respectively, the total numbers of people who did not return are similar -- about 20 each year. The difference this year is that some who did not return are not necessarily considered confirmed overstays. While it can be argued that a confirmed overstay rate of half of the previous year's rate is significant, post believes the study's methodology is not ideal. In an age of international cell phones and some negative public perceptions of the visa process in the Czech Republic, it's impossible to say with certainty that those who answered "yes" to whether they returned and how long they stayed were being truthful. In addition, mere data entry error is four percent, which would tend to suppress the true number of overstayers more than inflate it, as the overstayers were a small population and more effort went into confirming them. ¶6. As to the question of average length of stay, post was surprised to find that only 1.5 percent of travelers reported staying longer than three months and would therefore have required a visa even under the VWP. Nearly 81 percent of those queried reported staying less than one month. Nearly 18 percent stayed 1-3 months. Consular officers note that anecdotal evidence contradicts these statistics. A relatively high number of visa applicants indicate on their applications or during the interview that they intend to stay more than a month. It also is common for retired Czechs go to visit their relatives in the United States and stay 3-6 months. One particular case from early December proves the point: A young non-immigrant visa applicant, who was gainfully employed and "looked good on paper," indicated on her DS-156 that she had been to the United States one time several years ago for two weeks. The consular officer was about to issue when he saw a CLASS hit indicating the applicant was an eight-year overstay and just returned to the Czech Republic this past year after self-deportation. On our validation study, she would have been classified as a "return" with a stay of two weeks. STRONGEST INDICATORS: REGION, AGE, GENDER -------------- -------------- -------------- -------------- -------------- ¶7. Post grouped and evaluated validation study results by gender, age, region of residence, and occupation. Of the six confirmed overstays, four were from the economically depressed area of Northern Moravia, four were between 26 and 35, and five were male. This (save for gender) fits the profile of applicants who demand stronger scrutiny during interviews: those who have little higher education, live where there is high unemployment, and are relatively young. While the Czech Republic's economy is strong and its currency is gaining on both the dollar and the euro, a Prague newspaper report from November 2007 notes that Northern Moravia has an average unemployment rate of 10.2 percent, in sharp contrast to Prague's 2.4 percent and a nationwide average of 6.2. In addition, wages are still lower in the country compared to the United States and the rest of the EU. But the gap is narrowing. As wages increase, as unemployment in places like Prague decreases significantly, and as the currency strengthens (from 25 Czech crowns per dollar at the beginning of FY-06 to 18 today),illegal work in the United States looks less attractive to young people. COMMENT: -------------- ¶8. The overstay rate of 0.6 percent, though lower than expected, is well within the general positive trend of the last few years (2.4 percent in 2004, and 2.2 in 2005). This assessment also tracks well with the decline of the official B-visa refusal rate 11.7 percent in FY-04 to 6.7 percent in FY-07. The main take-away point of the validation study is that Czechs have a continuously improving low overstay rate that puts them well within the new guidelines for the VWP. Graber