Chennai P-3 Performers: Well Scrutinized and Well Behaved

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 CHENNAI 000173 CA/FPP FOR JILL NYSTROM SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KFRD CVIS CMGT ASEC IN SUBJECT: Chennai P-3 Performers: Well Scrutinized and Well Behaved Ref: A) 08 MUMBAI 0111, B) 08 CHENNAI 0091, C) CHENNAI 0157 CHENNAI 00000173 001.2 OF 002 ¶1. SUMMARY. Consulate General Chennai adjudicated 577 P-3 cultural performance non-immigrant visas in FY08. Despite this relatively low number, to rule out concerns about possible alien smuggling and misuse of P-3 visas, ConGen Chennai instituted a vetting system to screen for potential fraud indicators. The data gathered for the last fiscal year show that over 99 percent of the issued P-3 applicants returned to India. END SUMMARY -------------- DEMOGRAPHICS OF ENTERTAINERS -------------- ¶2. P-3 groups adjudicated in Chennai generally consist of two main categories: folk singers and musicians traveling during the summer for cultural events sponsored by such organizations as the Telegu Association of America, and well-known television and film stars going to perform at variety shows. The musical groups typically consist of local professionals with many years of performing experience in South India and South Asia. Although not as big as in Bollywood, the movie stars from the smaller film and entertainment industries in South India of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala attract a significant following and target cities in the U.S. with large Indian communities. -------------- Best Practices -------------- ¶3. Other posts in India have had significant fraud concerns with P-3 groups, and both Mumbai and New Delhi will report on P-3 fraud septel. In South India, Post encountered little evidence of fraud or alien smuggling but received many poison pen letters from third parties alleging visa fraud in P-3 cases. Most poison pens appear to come from rival P-3 organizers. However, because actors and film directors were previously implicated in a large-scale smuggling operation in Chennai (ref B),Chennai, like Mumbai and New Delhi, has established a pre-screening program for all P-3 applications. ¶4. Chennai requires that all P-3 groups contact the Consulate directly to schedule a group appointment, and all members must be interviewed at that time. When the group arrives at the consulate, the Fraud Prevention Unit (FPU) collects all the applications and passports prior to interview. FPU then researches the petitioner and the Indian sponsor using Google, PIMS and the CCD for information on the proposed venues, adjudicating history and trends of the petitioner. FPU has collected an extensive repository of troublesome petitioners and sponsors and uses this resource to cross-reference each new group that applies. In addition to scrutinizing the petitioners and sponsor, FPU reviews the passports and prior travel of each member of the group. The information is collected, reviewed by the FPM, and passed on to the adjudicating officer as background information. ¶5. Each member of the group is interviewed individually by one or two adjudicating officers, depending on the size of the group. If there are any concerns or possible smuggling issues, the case is reviewed again with the Fraud Prevention Manager. In FY08, a total of 577 P-3 applicants were interviewed and 472 were issued. -------------- Validation Results -------------- ¶6. Post utilized the USVISIT program to validate the ADIS entry/exit records of the 472 applicants issued visas in FY08. Of all the applicants that traveled, all but four had exit records consistent with credible travel. Total Issued P-3s: 472 Travel and Return: 468 In Status but Irregular Travel: 2 Potential Overstays: 2 ¶7. Of the four travelers, the most egregious appears to have overstayed in excess of 400 days. The applicant is a well-known supporting actress who co-starred in several Malayalam films. The applicant who overstayed more than 50 days had previous U.S. visas associated with the same petitioner. The third traveler has been located in India and did not have a registered overstay, but his entry/exit records indicate extensive travel during the validation period with most stays of only one or two days. FPU is investigating this particular traveler further. ¶8. The fourth traveler is of Tibetan origin and entered the US in December 2007. Although P-3 petitions should only be valid for up to one year, this petition from Emaho Foundation Inc. is valid until CHENNAI 00000173 002 OF 002 April 2010. Although technically the applicant is not out of status, she did receive a one-entry/three-month visa because of her stateless status, yet has been in the US over 400 days. A recent validation study of B1/B2 Tibetan applicants indicated that the majority of them overstayed their visas (ref C). -------------- CONCLUSION: OVERALL SOUND ISSUANCES -------------- ¶9. The low number of overstays or misuse of the P-3 visa in Chennai suggests that our prescreening procedures and mandatory group interviews are proving effective. In addition, the highly publicized South Indian film industry scam, and the related arrest of a semi-famous Telegu actress on charges of alien smuggling, have made known to the general public and entertainment industry that Post closely scrutinizes such cases. The results of the current validation study also indicate that adjudicating officers in Chennai are generally making good overall decisions in the P-3 category. KAPLAN