EVIDENCE OF POSSIBLE FRAUDULENT ASYLUM CLAIM -

UNCLAS E F T O YEREVAN 000559 SENSITIVE NOFORN SIPDIS DEPT FOR CA/VO/F/P (MEEARL) AND CA/FPP (RSBILLINGS) USCIS FOR ASYLUM BRANCH (KTURO AND KMACK) MOSCOW FOR USCIS (SSINCLAIR-SMITH) FRANKFURT FOR RCO (KBROUGHAM) AND ICE (GSPINDEL) E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: CVIS KFRD PHUM PREF AM SUBJECT: EVIDENCE OF POSSIBLE FRAUDULENT ASYLUM CLAIM - TOROSYAN, GEORGI - DOB 12 NOV 1971, A89882674 THIS CABLE CONTAINS MATERIAL THAT IS SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED. PLEASE PROTECT ACCORDINGLY. ¶1. (SBU/NF) Summary: Evidence has come to light during a Visa 92 following-to-join interview that suggests Mr. Georgi TOROSYAN, Alien Registration Number 89882674, submitted a fraudulent claim for asylum. As per 9 FAM Appendix O, 1207.2-5(A),Post is reporting these details to CA/VO/F/P, CA/FPP and USCIS. End Summary. ¶2. (SBU/NF) Armenian citizen Mr. Georgi TOROSYAN entered the U.S. in B2 status on 23APR2008 and claimed asylum on 20NOV2008. The basis for his claim to asylum was persecution, threats, beatings and detention he had received as a result of his support of an opposition political party and his work with an anti-corruption NGO from May 2007 - April 2008. Specifically, Mr. Torosyan noted in his I-589 statement that he attended an opposition rally and march on May 10, 2007, that was broken up by the police. During the march, Mr. Torosyan was beaten and arrested by the police. While in detention he was beaten again and only secured his release by paying a bribe. Following this arrest, Mr. Torosyan continued his political activities and spoke out about his May 10 arrest at a rally on May 15, 2007. As a result of this public speech and his continued political activities, Mr. Torosyan stated in his I-589 statement that he was detained by the police two more times on February 13, 2008 and April 18, 2008, during which time he was again beaten and tortured. As a result of his political activities Mr. Torosyan received threatening phone calls, was beaten in the street, intimidated by members of Armenian organized crime, and hospitalized twice as a result of beatings. On April 23, 2008, Mr. Torosyan left for the United States, and his family, according to his I-589 statement, moved to a very remote village for their safety. USCIS granted Georgi TOROSYAN asylum on 26NOV2008. ¶3. (SBU/NF) On 03JUN2009, Post interviewed Mr. TOROSYAN's wife Maria Grigoryan and their two children for Visas 92 following-to-join status. As part of routine preparation for the interview, the consular officer reviewed the principal applicant's case file including Mr. Torosyan's I-589 application for asylum. During his interview, the consular officer interviewed Mr. Torosyan's wife Maria Grigoryan separately from their children. The consular officer asked Ms. Grigoryan about her life in Armenia and if she or her husband had ever experienced any persecutions or beatings while living in Armenia. Ms. Grigoryan vowed and signed a sworn statement that she had lived in Armenia with her husband Giorgi Torosyan from the time of their November 22, 1997 wedding until his trip to the United States, and that during that period neither she nor her husband had ever participated in a political party, been beaten, or arrested. Ms. Grigoryan further swore that she had lived in the capital city of Yerevan from the day of her marriage to the day of her asylee follow-to-join interview. Finally, Ms. Grigoryan stated that she and her husband had never been inside any police department or been included on a list of wanted persons. Ms. Grigoryan's sworn statement has been scanned into the NIV record for Ms. Grigoryan's YY transportation foil and can be accessed through the Consular Consolidated Database (CCD). ¶4. (SBU/NF) Given the conflicting information provided by Maria Grigoryan, Post suspects that Giorgi Torosyan's original claim for asylum was fraudulent. Mr. Torosyan stated in his I-589 Asylum Application that he participated in a political rally in May 2007, and was subsequently arrested and severely beaten to the point that he had to go to the hospital. He was then arrested and beaten again, according to his statement, on February 13 and April 18, ¶2008. His wife, conversely, swears that her husband never participated in any political party and never was beaten or arrested. Post finds it highly unlikely that a wife of nearly 10 years would not notice when her husband has been beaten severely, or been arrested on three separate occasions. Finally, Ms. Grigoryan's statement that she has lived her entire married life in Yerevan directly contradicts her husband's statement that the she and her children were forced to flee to a remote village in April 2008 for their safety. As a result of these inconsistencies, Post concludes that Mr. Torosyan's I-589 includes disinformation. Post believes this disinformation necessarily casts doubts on the rest of the information of record in this case. ¶5. (SBU/NF) To preserve the principal applicant's confidentiality, the questions put to Maria Grigoryan were all factual questions to confirm information for the record. The consular officer's questioning was such that he never stated that Mr. Georgi Torosyan had received asylum or intimated that one reason for his departure from Armenia was that Mr. Torosyan had difficulties in Armenia. Nonetheless, the interview showed that Maria Grigoryan appeared to be aware that her husband received asylum status in the U.S. Maria Grigoryan was interviewed in a private room where no one could overhear the conversation. ¶6. (SBU/NF) Post issued Ms. Grigoryan and her two children their YY transportation foil as they qualify for Visa 92 following-to-join status in all other respects. Their information is as follows: Ms. Maria Grigoryan (wife),DOB 07 NOV 1980, Alien Registration Number 89707714; Ms. Tamara Torosyan (daughter),DOB 04 FEB 1999, Alien Registration Number 89707715; and Ms. Piruza Torosyan (daughter),DOB 07 APR 2002, Alien Registration Number 89707716. The family's intended address in the United States is c/o of the petitioner Mr. Georgi Torosyan at 2452 W Via Lycia; Montebelo, CA 90640. ¶7. (U) Post point of contact is Vice Consul Brian T. Smith, smithbt@state.gov. YOVANOVITCH