SURABAYA B1/B2 VISA VALIDATION STUDY

UNCLAS SURABAYA 000123 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR CA/FPP AND VO/KCC DEPARTMENT FOR EAP/MTS AND CA/EX E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: CVIS CMGT KFRD ID SUBJECT: SURABAYA B1/B2 VISA VALIDATION STUDY REF: A) 09 SURABAYA 009; B) 08 SURABAYA 0103 ¶1. Summary: The Consular Section of U.S. Consulate General Surabaya recently conducted a validation study of B1/B2 visa issuances for the six month period between December 1, 2007 and May 31, 2008. Ninety eight percent of these recipients had either not yet traveled or properly returned to Indonesia. End Summary. Methodology -------------- ¶2. The validation study included all Indonesian B1/B2 visa recipients from December 1, 2007 to May 31, 2008, a total of 1,465 visas. Recipients who planned to travel within six months of visa issuance should have returned to Indonesia before electronic departure records were reviewed in September/October ¶2009. CA/FPP reviewed Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Arrival-Departure Information System (ADIS) and Automated Targeting System (ATS) departure records, and we telephoned recipients for whom U.S. departure records were unavailable. In most cases either ADIS or ATS records provided the necessary data to confirm departure. In a few cases, our phone calls confirmed return to Indonesia when no ADIS or ATS departure records were available. We then reviewed the Consular Consolidated Database (CCD) records of all visa recipients who either overstayed (12) or adjusted status (7) in the U.S. Finally, we were left with 7 inconclusive/suspected overstay cases in which no departure records existed and phone calls were unsuccessful in determining their current whereabouts. Results -------------- ¶3. Table of Findings: Non-Return: 2 percent (26 total) Confirmed Overstay: 0.8 percent (12 total) Suspected Overstay: 0.5 percent (7 total) Adjustment of Status: 0.5 percent (7 total) Confirmed Return: 73 percent (1,077 total) Never Traveled: 25 percent (362 total) Total Sample: 100 percent (1,465 total) Analysis -------------- ¶4. Our validation study showed a non-return rate of 2 percent. Among the 12 confirmed overstayers, 50 percent were female and 50 percent were male. Additionally, 42 percent of the 12 confirmed overstayers were single and 58 percent were married. The most prominent age group among the 12 confirmed overstayers were applicants more than 40 years of age, accounting for 66 percent of overstays. Among the total of 12 confirmed overstayers, 25 percent had previously traveled to the United States. Comparison with Previous Validation Study -------------- -------------- ¶5. Our previous validation study (Ref B) sampled 584 B1/B2 visas issued from December 1, 2006 to May 31, 2007. It yielded a 5 percent confirmed non-return rate, compared with this study's 2 percent non-return rate. The adjusted refusal rate for B1/B2 visas in Surabaya during the most recent validation study period (December 1, 2007 - May 31, 2008) was 41.4 percent compared to an adjusted refusal rate of 35.1 percent during the previous validation study period. Conclusion -------------- ¶6. Surabaya's 2009 non-return rate of 2 percent is well under the 2011 Mission Strategic Plan (MSP) target B1/B2 visa non-return rate of 5 percent. The results indicate that Surabaya's B1/B2 visa issuances during the study period were quality issuances. However, a lack of any visa-related content on the Consulate's web site prior to August 2008 was likely a contributing factor to some applicants' inability to demonstrate their visa qualifications. In August 2008, post created visa information content for a new web site that has resulted in a better informed and better prepared pool of visa applicants. Post also reviewed and adjusted is adjudication standards following the previous validation study. As a result of these changes, the adjusted B1/B2 refusal rate has declined during the 2009 calendar year to 27 percent. MOBLEY