FRAUD SUMMARY - BELMOPAN

UNCLAS BELMOPAN 000400

DEPT PASS TO KCC WIILIAMSBURG KY
DEPT FOR CA/FPP, WHA/CEN, INL/HSTC
POSTS FOR FRAUD PREVENTION MANAGERS, RSO, LEGATT, DHS, DEA

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KFRD CVIS CPAS CMGT ASEC KCRM BH
SUBJECT: FRAUD SUMMARY - BELMOPAN

REF: A) 09 BELMOPAN 000122, B) 08 STATE 074840


1. Per Reftel B, U.S. Embassy Belmopan provides the following
information for the period March, 2009 - September, 2009:

a. COUNTRY CONDITIONS: Fraud encountered during visa and American
Citizen Services interviews remains at moderately low levels. Post
saw a slight increase in NIV fraud. Belize remains a destination of
choice for Third Country Nationals (TCN) due to demand in Belize for
certain professions because of historical emigration patterns,
ongoing "economic citizenship" wherein residency and citizenship are
expedited for business investors, and other avenues which exist for
quick residency or naturalization based on family relationship.
Proximity and ease of travel to the U.S. also make Belize a popular
destination for petition-based non-immigrant visa applicants.

b. NIV FRAUD:

(1) Post adjudicating officers no longer routinely request to see
applicant employment letters during NIV interviews. Officers are now
encouraged to rely instead on applicant ability to describe the job
in pertinent and convincing detail. Post NIV application
instructions continue to recommend that applicants obtain and bring
letters of employment in case additional confirmation and contact
information is required during the interview. One application that
was investigated by FPU during the last period uncovered an attempt
by employees of a legitimate business in Belize to forge company
letters sponsoring them for business travel to the United States.
The adjudicating officer noted anomalies during the interview and a
quick check with the employer confirmed the fraud. The employer
notified FPU that the employees were subsequently terminated for
their actions, but there was no criminal prosecution.

(2) Post reviewed its acceptance of legitimate business
documentation submitted by self-employed NIV applicants and
determined that in addition to business registrations, business
owners should also be prepared to show recent business income tax
and GST tax receipts. Legitimately appearing business documents in
Belize remain easy to fabricate. In addition to verifying business
ownership, government tax receipts provide adjudicating officers
with corroborating documentation of income generated by a given
business, as well as additional lines of questioning.

(3) Post has noted a slight increase in the use of fraudulent
contact information in box 25 of form DS-156. The primary means of
investigation is to look for Lexis and open source search
correlations between the provided name/s, address and phone
numbers/s. One applicant was especially convincing during the
interview and had good prior travel, but random FPU investigation of
the stated contact information discovered fabricated address and
phone numbers. FPU has noted that the incidence of confirmed NIV
fraud appears to increase consistently with the number of cases
investigated. FPU has not yet noted any systemic patterns and each
case thus far appears to be fraud committed on an individual basis.

(4) Post continues to receive inquiries from non-Belize resident
TCN applicants or their legal representatives regarding NIV
"renewals," most often "H1B" or "F1" visas, but in the past
reporting period also including "E" and "R" visas. Post attempts to
discourage non-Belize citizens or residents from applying in Belize.
Travel costs to/from Belize and accommodations are expensive,
especially during tourist season, and there can be no guarantee of
immediate visa issuance. As most air travel to non-local
destinations is via the U.S., TCN visa applicants can find
themselves stranded in Belize, where they have little or no
resources, should visa issuance be delayed for any reason
whatsoever. As all of post's NIV appointments are scheduled online,
post will interview all applicants who physically present
themselves.

(5) In the 12 months from September 2008 to September 2009, post
received NIV applications from Nigeria (67),Honduras (60),the
United Kingdom (47),Taiwan (46),Mexico (32),and India (27),among
many other countries.

(6) Press and other reports of drug running, alien smuggling, and
trafficking in persons have appeared less frequently over the
reporting period. Post continues to benefit from the Belize Police
Department's participation in NCIII and frequently identifies NIV
applicants with IAFIS CLASS hits.

(7) Post has seen an increase in the appearance of American
citizens at NIV adjudications. The Americans appear in support of
the visa applicant and are usually the employer, friend or financial
sponsor of the applicant. Post policy requires that the interview
be conducted with only the applicant unless there is legitimate
reason for the American to appear with the applicant. Legitimate
reasons include family relationship, planned joint travel, ongoing
economic sponsorship, i.a.

(8) Post last conducted a validation study in 2006 and is preparing
to conduct another during CY 2009.

c. IV FRAUD:

(1) Post continues to encounter potential immigrant visa fraud,
although FPU investigation is constrained by lack of investigative
resources to follow up on any but the most egregious of suspect
cases. One case currently under investigation involves a
Chinese-born Belizean citizen who is the beneficiary of an IV
petition by marriage. The beneficiary married the petitioner in the
United States during a B2 visit.

(2) Belize civil documents are not electronically recorded and the
paper records are often old, incomplete and damaged. The Belize
government authorities themselves lack original copies of birth and
marriage certificates, or report that original copies were damaged
in fires or flooding. Because original civil records are often not
available and Belizeans are able to obtain certified true "copies"
of civil documents from Belizean authorities by presenting witnesses
and affidavits, there is a high risk of genuine but fraudulently
obtained civil documents. Belize however remains a small enough
country where a few phone calls can usually substantiate a
relationship claim. IV adjudicating officers routinely question IV
applicant knowledge of petitioner's life, employment and biography.


(3) Post continues to see third country IV cases, wherein the
petitioner or beneficiary has requested that the IV case be
transferred to Belize because the beneficiary is now resident in
Belize. Belize's proximity to the U.S. enables U.S.-based
petitioners, particularly spouses, with ease of travel and access to
beneficiaries during the visa petition and application process.
Additionally, beneficiaries frequently take advantage of educational
opportunities in Belize such as improvement of English language
skills. Each request is reviewed carefully given the FPU's lack of
investigative resources to follow up on third country ties.

d. DV FRAUD: No change. Post continues to receive and process
very few diversity visa cases. Occasionally, Post receives
inquiries regarding suspect DV Internet advertisements and Web
sites. Post refers all individuals to official DV sites only.

e. ACS AND PASSPORT FRAUD: Post receives a small number of
questionable adult and child U.S. citizenship claims and suspect
passport renewals for long-expired child passports. In suspect
cases, the applicant has the burden to provide the evidence of
identify and citizenship.

f. ADOPTION FRAUD: Post is working in conjunction with the Belize
Ministry of Human Development to clarify and strengthen standard
procedures for the processing of adoptions under the Hague
Convention on Inter-country Adoptions. The Ministry of Human
Development is the designated Central Authority in Belize under
Hague Adoption guidelines.

g. USE OF DNA TESTING: No change.

(1) Post rarely recommends DNA testing and only in cases where
paternity is unclear or questionable, and after documentary and
other evidence has been carefully considered. Post continues to see
a pattern of older U.S. citizen residents of Belize marrying
Belizean spouses and presenting their children for citizenship
registration.

(2) Belizean family patterns often tend towards men fathering
children with several spouses, common-law or otherwise, over time.
At the same time, women may have children by several different
fathers over time. This is usually well-documented in birth records
as it is customary, with the father's permission, for children to
take their father's surname regardless of wedlock status. As
common-law relationships are the norm, there is little-or-no stigma
attached to such births.

h. ASYLUM AND DHS BENEFIT FRAUD: No change. Post routinely sees
LPRs who report lost/stolen I-551 cards. Many older, Belizean and
TCN (such as UK citizens) LPRs retire to Belize where they enjoy a
lower cost-of-living and may already own property/residences. Due
to increasing crime and the light construction of many residences,
loss of passports and I-551s to burglary or theft is not uncommon.
Nearly all such distressed LPRs have other personal identification
and post is able to assist at once. In most cases, post confirms
LPR status with the DHS/USCIS liaison in Guatemala City.

i. ALIEN SMUGGLING, TRAFFICKING, ORGANIZED CRIME, AND TERRORIST
TRAVEL: No change. Belize is primarily a transit center rather
than a significant source for illegal travel in terms of significant
production of false foreign documents. However, large immigrant
communities of Belizeans in California, New York, Florida, and
Illinois provide a "soft landing" for both visa overstays and
illegal entrants. Both English and Spanish are widely spoken in
Belize, also aiding in the ability of Belizeans to assimilate and
reside undetected in the U.S. Belize's ethnic mix, while primarily
Creole (mixed African descent),Mestizo/Hispanic, Maya, and Garinagu
(a Garifuna-speaking transnational group of mixed African and
Arawak/Carib descent),also includes a growing East Asian component
of first- and second-generation Chinese and Taiwanese (both Chinese
and aboriginal ethnicity) immigrants, and a growing South Asian
population primarily composed of Indian and Pakistani businessmen
and their families. Also present and particularly well represented
in the business communities is a population of long-assimilated
Belizeans whose families are of Middle-Eastern and/or Lebanese
origin, some of whom retain family and commercial ties to their
earlier homelands. Post remains vigilant when adjudicating cases of
naturalized citizens and TCN residents. Post continues to receive
numerous TCN NIV applications. In the absence of a good prior
record of U.S. travel, applicants are normally refused if they
cannot show strong economic, social, financial, family ties to
Belize. If Post questions or has reason to suspect the validity or
authenticity of any document presented, the applicant will be
refused. Post applies INA Sec. 214(b) ineligibility as
appropriate.

j. DS CRIMINAL FRAUD INVESTIGATIONS: CA-DS cooperation at Post is
close and cordial. Post anticipates the addition of an Assistant
RSO investigator position and incumbent to help with the
investigation of criminal cases.


k. HOST COUNTRY PASSPORT, IDENTITY DOCUMENTS, AND CIVIL REGISTRY:
No change. Post reported previously on missing Belize passports,
suspected immigration fraud, fraudulent birth certificates, and
document authenticity. All civil documents are suspect as Post sees
repeated instances of questionable registration procedures.
Fraudulent birth certificates, work permits, driver's licenses, and
other documents are easily obtainable.

(1) Passports.

(a) As of March 16, 2009, Belize inaugurated issuance of a CARICOM
passport in three types: Ordinary with blue cover; Official with
green cover; and Diplomatic with red cover. The Belize CARICOM
passports are machine readable and feature a data page as page 2
with digital photograph. The bearer's and authority signatures are
also digitally photographed and printed on the data page.

(b) Previously-issued Belize passports feature a laminated data
page as page 2, including a digital photograph, and are
machine-readable. The bearer's and authorizing signatures are also
digitally-photographed and printed on the data page.

(c) Older versions of the Belize passport feature a laminated data
page on the inside of the rear cover, including hand-printed
information, a glued-in photograph, and authorizing signature under
the lamination. Both a raised embossed impression and ink stamp of
the Belizean seal overlap the photograph. The bearer's signature is
located on page 2.

(2) Birth Certificates.

(a) Currently-issued Belize birth certificates are on security
paper with individual serial numbers, an original signature of the
registrar, issued by the Vital Statistics Unit of the Registrar
General Department, and are embossed with a raised seal of the
General Registry of Belize.

(b) Older Belize birth certificates are typically certified copies
of an entry in a district's register of births approximately sixteen
(16) inches wide in a ledger format often seen in older
registrations from the U.K. and other Commonwealth countries such as
Jamaica, Ghana, and Nigeria. They include and original signature of
the registrar general or his deputy and a "wet" ink seal as from a
rubber stamp. Raised seal embossing on documents of this sort are
the exception.

l. COOPERATION WITH HOST GOVERNMENT AUTHORITIES: No change. Post
maintains good rapport with Belize immigration authorities, police,
courts, human/family services, and airline/airport personnel.

m. AREAS OF PARTICULAR CONCERN: No change. The proximity of
Belize to Mexico and the Caribbean creates a natural transshipment
point for trafficking in illicit goods and people across the
northern border with Mexico and, to a lesser extent, across the
western border with Guatemala. With the success of the Corozal Free
Trade Zone in northern Belize, there is increasing legitimate
economic activity and travel across the northern border with Mexico.
Such activity may be outstripping the resources and capabilities of
Belize customs and law enforcement personnel to police adequately.
Post has received several tips in the past reporting period accusing
frequent travelers with illicit activity. Post FPU has limited
investigative resources and relies on DEA records and RSO local
police contacts to investigate such claims. In many cases, FPU is
unable to determine the validity of the allegation. Because the
accused applicants can usually demonstrate strong ties and good
prior travel, post typically issues the visa unless evidence of
illicit activity can be supplied.

n. STAFFING AND TRAINING: Post FPU is staffed with one part-time
Fraud FSN (5%) and one part-time Fraud Prevention Manager (10%).
Post anticipates being able to dedicate more resources to Fraud
Prevention with the addition of another consular officer to the
staffing pattern in December 2009. Post will consider hiring an
additional consular FSN who will be at least 75% dedicated to fraud
prevention work, which will dramatically increase post FPU ability
to follow up on suspect business activity and family relationships.



2. Point of contact is Yuen-Hao Huang, ph: 011 (501) 822-4011
x4221, fax: 011 (501) 822-4050, e-mail: huangy@state.gov.

THUMMALAPALLY