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

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DEMOGRAPHICS OF ENTERTAINERS
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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.

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Best Practices
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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.

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Validation Results
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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).

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CONCLUSION: OVERALL SOUND ISSUANCES
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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