SEPTEMBER 2009 FRAUD SUMMARY - MISSION AUSTRALIA

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 SYDNEY 000227 DEPT FOR CA/FPP AND CA/VO/KCC SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KFRD CVIS CPAS CMGT ASEC AS SUBJECT: SEPTEMBER 2009 FRAUD SUMMARY - MISSION AUSTRALIA ¶1. Country Conditions: Australia is a low-fraud environment for consular services. Local economic and governmental conditions make for a qualified visa applicant pool. Host country identity documents are highly reliable. Challenges in the area of consular work are mostly a result of the growing third-country population, including recently naturalized Australians. Our main concerns with respect to fraud are the H-1B and E-3 visa categories. NONIMMIGRANT VISA (NIV) FRAUD ¶2. Most of the 700,000 Australians who visit the United States each year do so under the Visa Waiver Program. With the many legitimate options available for Australians who wish to work and travel in the United States, NIV fraud is extremely rare. Almost all fraud in NIVs occurs in the applicant pool of third-country nationals and recently naturalized Australians, particularly in H-1B and E-3 visa categories. The fraud almost always involves U.S.-based companies making job offers for which they do not have a corresponding, qualifying position. ¶3. During the reporting period of March 2009 to August 2009, Mission Australia posts adjudicated a total of 289 H-1B visas. Of these, 57 were refused, a refusal rate of 19.7%. Prior to officer adjudication, a FPU local staff member screened all third-country national H1B cases that were not clearly approvable. ¶4. In this reporting period, Mission Australia posts adjudicated a total of 962 E-3 and E-3R visas, with a refusal rate of 3%. Most of the qualified skilled workers in Australia travel on the E-3 visa rather than the H-1B. Therefore, the refusal rate difference is a reflection of the difference in the education and work experience of the two applicant pools. Some of the refused applicants were of Indian origin who had recently become naturalized Australian citizens, and the bona fides of their respective employers in the United States were not credible. KCC was very helpful in providing research for these cases. IV AND DV FRAUD ¶5. Immigrant Visa fraud in Australia is extremely rare. The quality and reliability of identity documents are excellent. While some K-1 cases involve tenuous relationships developed over the internet, they are, for the most part, legitimate. DV applicants make up 22% of the total IV applicants, and only 24% of allotted DV numbers are actually used in Australia. 
 ACS AND U.S PASSPORT FRAUD ¶6. After a six-month investigation involving the Department and Diplomatic Security, Melbourne assisted the Australian Department of Immigration by documenting the true identity of an American citizen serving a 3-year jail term for identity fraud. ADOPTION FRAUD ¶7. No adoptions were processed during the reporting period. USE OF DNA TESTING ¶8. DNA testing has rarely been used in Australia, due to the high quality of identity documents. ASYLUM AND OTHER DHS BENEFIT FRAUD ¶9. No reports of asylum or other DHS benefit fraud were found during the reporting period. ALIEN SMUGGLING, TRAFFICKING, ORGANIZED CRIME, TERRORIST TRAVEL ¶10. Australian government authorities aggressively investigate issues of alien smuggling, trafficking, organized crime, and terrorist travel. As a result, post's main concerns lie in the area of technology transfer. Due to the relatively large number of Chinese and Indian applicants, Mission Australia regularly submits Mantis SAOs. ¶11. Mission consular sections have cooperated with LegAtt on potential applicants of concern in all of these areas, particularly Qpotential applicants of concern in all of these areas, particularly in the areas of trafficking and organized crime. DS CRIMINAL FRAUD INVESTIGATIONS ¶12. There have been no DS criminal fraud investigations in Australia involving consular matters. HOST COUNTRY PASSPORT, IDENTITY DOCUMENTS, AND CIVIL REGISTRY SYDNEY 00000227 002 OF 002 ¶13. The Australian government is committed to deterring the misuse and/or counterfeiting of Australian passports and identity documents. Given a relatively small population of approximately 21 million, combined with isolated geography, the Australian government is able to effectively monitor and control identity documents. ¶14. The one area in which occasional fraudulent Australian documents have been reported is that of false visas. These visas are most often used in building an applicant's credibility to obtain a visa to a third country, such as the United States and Canada. Mission Australia has worked with the Australian government authorities in order to be better able to identify these forgeries. Melbourne's Fraud Prevention LES has established contact with immigration document examiners to receive training on current document fraud trends. COOPERATION WITH HOST GOVERNMENT AUTHORITIES ¶15. Appropriate information sharing with valuable anti-fraud contacts at all levels helps to ensure that Australia remains a low-fraud post. Post continues to receive updates from the Australian government and other allies regarding fraud that they are encountering. ¶16. On a quarterly basis, Sydney Consulate staff continue to meet with counterparts from various Australian government agencies, as well as the governments of the United Kingdom, Canada, and New Zealand, as part of the 5 Nation Anti-Fraud Working Group. In these meetings, participants share information on trends in immigration fraud and border issues. The productive relationship results in extensive information sharing and useful contacts with Australian law enforcement and immigration authorities. ¶17. In August 2009, the Melbourne Fraud Prevention LES facilitated a meeting between the RSO and Victoria State Police. Senior investigators at this taskforce had previously indicated a willingness to share information concerning the travel of persons and their associates involved in organized crime to the United States. ¶18. The Melbourne Fraud Prevention LES has established a working relationship with a network of key fraud personnel from various agencies in Victoria. The aim is to enable a strategic view of emerging fraud trends. AREAS OF PARTICULAR CONCERN ¶19. Besides the H1B and E3 concerns previously mentioned, there are no other areas of particular concern. STAFFING AND TRAINING ¶20. Using H&L funding, Sydney and Melbourne have hired Fraud Prevention LES who will conduct regular fraud investigations. In August 2009, Melbourne Vice Consul attended the "Fraud Prevention for Consular Managers" at FSI. Both the Melbourne Vice Consul and Melbourne Fraud Prevention LES received hands-on training in fraud prevention at U.S. Consulate General Sydney. FERGIN