CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA FRAUD PREVENTION

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 STATE 116234

SENSITIVE

SIPDIS

C O R R E C T E D COPY CAPTION

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: CMGT CASC CPAS CVIS KFRD
SUBJECT: CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA FRAUD PREVENTION
MANAGERS CONFERENCE 2009

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1. (U) SUMMARY: The Miami Passport Agency hosted a conference for
Fraud Prevention Managers (FPMs) assigned to posts in South and
Central America from September 15 - 17, 2009. The conference
included 40 attendees from 19 different posts, the Department of
Labor, the Department of Homeland Security's Citizenship and
Immigration Services (DHS/CIS) Vermont Service Center, the Human
Smuggling and Trafficking Center (HSTC),the DHS/CIS Office of Fraud
Detection and National Security (FDNS),the DHS Customs and Border
Protection (DHS/CBP) Miami Airport Office, and several Diplomatic
Security (DS) and Consular Affairs (CA) offices, including DS's Visa
and Passport Analysis Unit (VPA). Conference participants shared
information on regional and international fraud trends and provided
posts new ideas and best practices in tackling fraud. Presentations
covered Fraud Prevention Unit (FPU) best practices, nonimmigrant visa
(NIV) and immigrant visa (IV) petition processing and fraud
prevention, child smuggling, fraud prevention outreach and public
diplomacy, marriage/relationship schemes, passport and American
Citizen Services deception, and preventing consular malfeasance. END
SUMMARY.

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CA Shares New Developments
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2. (U) CA Assistant Secretary Janice Jacobs, as well as other CA
presenters, shared new technological developments that promise to
enhance posts' fraud prevention efforts, including the Consular
Electronic Applications Center, the Consular Case Management Service,
the Global Visa System, the Global Citizen Services system, and
Global Watch Phrase. A/S Jacobs challenged posts to respond to the
reduction in dependence on paper applications by developing new ways
to counter fraud. Participants welcomed the news that CA is working
on integrating DHS's Arrival Departure Information System into the
NIV System.


3. (U) Several officers thanked A/S Jacobs for the revamped
worldwide visa referral policy, but noted that they still have
difficulties with referrers reluctant to follow the procedures or who
insist on making inquiries and applying pressure regarding refused
cases. A/S Jacobs stressed that consular officers have sole
authority to grant visas, stating "What we do is grounded in law. It
is not a policy; it is not a deliverable; it is not a gift." She
emphasized that the Deputy Chief of Mission and Front Office at post
are obligated to support consular efforts in managing the referral
program, lessening the need for consular managers to face direct
conflict with other section heads. An online course for referrers is
currently under development by the Visa Office and will be available
next year. (Please read the newly amended referral policy contained
in State 115658)


4. (U) Echoing the comments from A/S Jacobs on consular authority
and integrity, the Director of the Office of Fraud Prevention
Programs' Consular Integrity Division (CA/FPP/CID) emphasized the
need to curb supervisory overcomes of visa refusals. He also
reminded posts that they must prevent manipulation of the appointment
system and strictly adhere to a system transparent to the public. He
discussed other problem areas, including conflict of interest cases
where officers fail to properly recuse themselves, and cashier
malfeasance cases involving "refunds" made to the cashiers
themselves.

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Fraud Prevention Techniques and Outreach

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5. (SBU) Representatives from several posts discussed methods used
to maintain an efficient FPU and to uncover fraud or child smuggling
rings. Rio de Janeiro's FPM recommended that the FPU be active and
visible in all consular units, and to instruct all officers in the
working of post's fraud standard operating procedures and case
referral and tracking processes. Representatives from Sao Paolo and
Guayaquil recommended pre-screening families using the NIV System's
"Group" function, conducting Text Searches on family members, and
monitoring and mining appointment list data to help thwart visa
fixers and smuggling rings.


6. (U) FPMs from Buenos Aires and San Salvador discussed their use
of anti-fraud public diplomacy and effective contact-building
techniques. San Salvador's multi-pronged media campaign seeks to
shift the Embassy's perceived message from "don't break the law" to
"don't get fooled," and also takes advantage of technological
resources such as webchats, Facebook, and "Ask the Consul" columns to
reinforce the message. The FPM from Buenos Aires recommended that
FPMs use courtesy calls, social events, working groups, and training
opportunities to foster relationships with other Embassy and host
government officials, airline personnel, and other USG offices such
as the Regional Security Office, the Legal Attache, the Drug
Enforcement Administration, or DHS's Immigration and Customs
Enforcement.
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NIV and IV Petition Processing and Trends
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7. (SBU) Participants particularly enjoyed the opportunity to hear
from the agencies and offices handling NIV and IV petitions.
Representatives from the Department of Labor's Wage and Hour
Division, DHS/CIS's Vermont Service Center (VSC) Adjudications and
Fraud Detection Unit, and the Headquarters Office of FDNS discussed
typical labor violations and H (temporary worker) and L (intracompany
transfer) visa fraud trends. These trends included failure of
petitioners to pay the required wage rate, failure to provide a labor
certification authorization for the current job location, improper
passing of fees to the beneficiary, and fraudulent or forged
documents and qualifications. FDNS reported that recent studies
showed 34 percent of L visa fraud originated in South America,
particularly Venezuela, Colombia, and Brazil. Representatives from
posts in those countries agreed with the assessment. DHS/CIS
attendees indicated that consular officer case notes in the CCD are
invaluable in helping them evaluate visa petition revocations and to
corroborate statements from tourist visitors requesting an extension
of stay. The Kentucky Consular Center FPM gave tips on effective
revocation memo writing and informed posts that they can report labor
violation complaints without a revocation request.


8. (U) The National Visa Center (NVC) FPM discussed NVC's fraud
prevention methods, noting that fiance visas are particularly
scrutinized. The FPM also encouraged posts to send adverse
information on cases not yet received at post to NVC for inclusion in
their fraud lookout system.


9. (SBU) Outlining trends in Colombian marriage and relationship
fraud, Bogota's FPM observed that IV officers evaluating cases for
fraud look at frequency of petitioner's travel to Colombia,
differences in age and social strata, and flimsy or staged evidence
of the relationship. Bogota has also seen increased relationship
fraud in NIV, and uses the "Group" feature in the NIV System to help
track related cases, focusing attention on the timing of purported
marriages. As prosecutors typically will not accept cases involving
a small number of affected parties, DHS/CIS VSC representatives
appealed to posts to seek connections between IV cases that would
bring them to a prosecutable threshold. Posts noted frustration with
bureaucratic obstacles to petition revocation in cases where they
have determined that a sham marriage exists. Offices in Washington
are currently discussing this issue with DHS/CIS.


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Passport and ACS Fraud
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10. (SBU) CA/FPP and Miami Passport Agency's FPM noted similarities
in domestic and overseas passport fraud trends. Although use of
counterfeit documents has decreased, impostor fraud has been on the
rise. Commonly cited passport fraud indicators included recently
dated breeder documents, non-family emergency contacts, and missing
or limited information

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Smuggling/Trafficking and Law Enforcement
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11. (U) DS's VPA representative highlighted successes and benefits
of the Assistant Regional Security Officer - Investigator (ARSO-I)
Program, and described the work of the VPA in providing strategic,
operational, and tactical support in combating visa and passport
fraud.


12. (U) The HSTC's presentation discussed the latest regional human
smuggling and trafficking trends. The presentation also offered
suggestions for anti-trafficking interviewing techniques.


13. (SBU) Conference participants found particularly interesting the
presentation by three officers from DHS/CBP's Miami Airport Office.
DHS/CBP has 400 officers at the Miami airport, where they process
almost 28,000 international passengers per day. The officers noted
that some airlines provide a high level of cooperation, thus keeping
out malafide passengers, while others refuse training and continually
board passengers with fraudulent documents. The DHS/CBP Officers
reported that the 2000 - 2001 Teslin visas are a favorite for
fraudulent use through washing of the visa data and subsequent
reprinting with false information.

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Comment
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14. (U) Attendee feedback indicated that the conference was a
success, with participants appreciating the broad range of USG agency
participation and the opportunity to network and share information
with colleagues. Best practice recommendations from conference
attendees included writing notes in all issuance and refusal NIV
cases, taking sworn statements when fraud is admitted, submitting
thoroughly researched and timely petition revocation requests, and
seeking Front Office support in dealing with improper referrals and
inappropriate inquiries on visa cases. Participants expressed a
desire for additional assistance when dealing with close facial
recognition matches (recommending that a CA office be designated as
the point of referral for assistance),procedures for handling
reaffirmed IV petitions, and guidance for entering American citizen
impostors into the Consular Lookout and Support System. Conference
participants have reported that they began collaboration with other
conference attendees immediately, and that they have already provided
new training to officers and staff based on information learned in
Miami.

15. (U) CA/FPP is following-up with relevant CA offices on
participant suggestions and will provide updates when available.
Materials presented at the conference are available on CA FPP's
Intranet website.
CLINTON