GUARDING AGAINST VISA FRAUD WITH "BATCH CHECKS" IN ADIS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KOLKATA 000188 SIPDIS CA/FPP FOR JILL NYSTROM E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KFRD ASEC CVIS CMGT IN SUBJECT: GUARDING AGAINST VISA FRAUD WITH "BATCH CHECKS" IN ADIS ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Post recently expanded its approach to validation studies, providing more frequent and focused assessments of B1/B2 visa applicants. Using a "batch method" of retrieving Arrival Departure Information System (ADIS) records of multiple travelers with a single search, Post can quickly evaluate the travel of numerous applicants to guard against fraud and empower adjudicating officers. So far, the results reaffirm Post's adjudication practices. Post's Fraud Prevention Unit (FPU) adopted this "batch method" from FPU Shanghai. END SUMMARY. -------------- BACKGROUND -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Though the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) provided Post's FPU with access to ADIS, FPU rarely checked more than one or two travelers at a time. When multiple travelers were involved, Post conducted a separate search for each one, a tedious and time-consuming process. In some cases, when several hundred travelers were analyzed for a formal validation study, Post tasked the Office of Fraud Prevention Programs to request ADIS records from DHS. ¶3. (SBU) In March, Post learned of the "batch method" of ADIS checks from FPU Shanghai's intranet site: http://shanghaiconsular.state.gov/2009/03/bat ch_checks_in_a dis.html. Following the steps provided by FPU Shanghai and adding techniques learned from experience, Post can now retrieve and assess ADIS records for dozens of travelers in approximately 15 minutes. These results now inform visa adjudications as well as revocations when fraud is suspected. -------------- RECENT EXAMPLES -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Applicants from Sikkim: Many applicants from the remote and relatively poor states in Northeast India face difficulty overcoming the presumption of immigrant intent. Post refuses about 36 percent of B1/B2 applicants from the state of Sikkim. Of the 144 B1/B2 visas issued since January 2005 to Sikkim applicants, 119 traveled and returned within status. Another 3 adjusted status, 14 never traveled, and 8 are confirmed overstays (5.56% of issuances). Of these overstays, 6 are women. Post plans to report further findings septel in a larger validation study of Indian northeastern states. ¶5. (SBU) Religious tour groups: Last year, a tour operator and many of his customers applied for visas to attend the opening of a Jain temple in Phoenix. A CCD search of the tour's U.S. contact returned 42 issuances. Using ADIS, Post learned that 35 of applicants traveled, all of whom returned at the conclusion of the tour. ¶6. (SBU) Sales incentive trips: Companies in India regularly use trips to the United States as incentives for agents to meet sales targets. Occasionally, an entire family will claim to have qualified for one of these trips. Some of these groups, such as cement dealers who run small shops with informal financial records, can be troublesome for adjudicating officers. Using a text search in the CCD, Post identified 92 issuances to cement dealers and their family members to participate in an incentive tour in 2008. There were zero overstays. ¶7. (SBU) Travel agencies: Many applicants within the consular district use travel agencies for package tours, and some agencies are thought to be more scrupulous than others. Searching the CCD for one frequently used travel agency, Post found 226 B1/B2 issuances associated with package tours offered by that agency during the last two years. Only one traveler from this group is a confirmed overstay. Post will now conduct similar studies of other popular travel agencies in the consular district to identify any suspect operations. -------------- COMMENT -------------- ¶8. (SBU) Post commends FPU Shanghai for sharing this useful innovation. As ADIS records can exert significant influence on visa adjudications, Post also welcomes moves to expand access to ADIS data and incorporate it into Consular applications. Furthermore, these batch checks could become more nuanced if certain fields from the DS-156 visa application form, such as state of residence, are indexed for searching in the Consular Consolidated Database (CCD). Although workarounds are possible, KOLKATA 00000188 002 OF 002 Post sees value in expanding the CCD's data mining potential to incorporate capabilities previously available in the Ad Hoc Reporting Tool. PAYNE