FRAUD SUMMARY - VIENNA

UNCLAS VIENNA 001355 SIPDIS DEPT FOR CA/FPP, DHS FOR CIS/FDNS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: CVIS CPAS CMGT ASEC KFRD AU SUBJECT: FRAUD SUMMARY - VIENNA REF: STATE 57623 -------------- Country Conditions -------------- ¶1. Austria is a Visa Waiver Program (VWP) country and a party to the European Union's (EU) Schengen Agreement covering border controls and immigration. Border officials and airline personnel have been vigilant and effective in deterring transit through Austria by undocumented or fraudulently documented travelers. A strong economy, relatively low unemployment, and generous social benefits make Austria a desirable destination for immigrants from the 12 Central and Eastern European countries that joined the EU in 2004 and 2007, not to mention other immigrants that are attracted to Europe. Austria has been relatively generous in granting asylum, particularly in the late 1980s when many Bosnian refugees fled to Austria. Today they are fairly well integrated into Austrian society. Although Vienna's Schwechat Airport is a major transit point for travelers from Eastern Europe, the consular section seldom encounters sophisticated visa or passport fraud. Austrian authorities do intercept individuals traveling on altered U.S.documents and consult with the local Department of Homeland Security Immigration and Customs Enforcement (DHS/ICE) office on such cases. ¶2. Austria began issuing machine-readable passports (MRPs) on January 1, 1996. Approximately 95 percent of all its valid passports are MRPs. The issuance of MRPs began simultaneously at Austrian passport agencies and at diplomatic missions abroad. The green-cover non-MRPs issued prior to January 1, 1996 were phased out at the end of 2005. The Austrian government has been issuing e-passports from a new centralized location since June 16, 2006. Overseas applicants are also issued e-passports through this facility unless they have urgent travel. Issuance of official and diplomatic e-passports began in September 2006. -------------- NIV Fraud -------------- ¶3. About 40 percent of Vienna's NIV workload involved third-country nationals (TCNs),but most of these applicants are long-term residents of Austria. Many are employed by United Nations offices in Austria or are associated with third-country diplomatic missions. ¶4. Some young Austrians present themselves as tourists but plainly intend to work informally as au pairs or in the service industry. Visa shoppers appear occasionally, usually from Iran, but are easily identified by their lack of Austrian residence permits as well as previous refusals, usually in Dubai. Most NIV applicants who have permanent residence in Austria are usually able to demonstrate good ties, so problems common elsewhere, such as false job letters and altered bank statements, are relatively rare. TCN NIV refusals are generally based on typical 214(b) considerations, and post makes few 212(A)(6)(c)(i) determinations. ¶5. Post occasionally comes across applicants for J-1 work/study visas who seem to have no background in the hospitality or tourism industry. These are often young people interested in working in the U.S. for six months who have found a legitimate training program, usually in a hotel or country club. However, the applicant will have no intent in working in the hospitality industry after returning to Austria. While we have not seen any direct evidence of fraud in either the application or the work/study program, there seems to be a lack of understanding of program requirements on both sides of the program. ¶6. In late spring 2009, four Iranian applicants purporting to be members of the Iran Taekwondo Union applied for NIVs in Vienna. None of the four traveled in time to attend the competition that was their stated purpose of travel, and as of the date of this cable, only one of the four has departed the U.S. When more applicants claiming to be Taekwondo athletes and members of the Iran Taekwondo Union appeared for interviews in late September 2009, post found them all unqualified under 214(b),based on the applicants' previous refusals as well as post's experience with the aforementioned applicants. Post is investigating whether the three applicants who traveled but have not yet departed the U.S. applied for asylum. -------------- IV Fraud -------------- ¶7. Post processes a comparatively high percentage of TCNs for IVs in Vienna. Vienna has been designated an IV-processing post for Iranians, and consular officers are forced to rely on Iranian government documents whose authenticity cannot be verified. IV numbers for Austrian citizens are much lower. As citizens of the EU, Austrians are entitled to live and work in most of Europe, but Austrians generally do not emigrate from Austria, and often return to live in Austria after retirement. Post has seen a significant drop-off in the number of K-1 and IR-1 petitions in which the petitioner is a low-income American woman and the beneficiary a young Nigerian man. Of the two cases received since post's last Fraud Summary cable, one is potentially fraudulent, while the other appears to be well-qualified. -------------- DV Fraud -------------- ¶8. Historically, Austrian immigration to the United States has been fairly low, especially compared to other Western European countries. As a result, post processes few DV cases. DV fraud is low to non-existent among Austrians and resident TCNs. -------------- ACS and Passport Fraud -------------- ¶9. Since the last reporting period, post has come across one case of passport fraud, in which a West African was trying to pass himself off as a U.S. citizen using a photo-subbed passport. This was reported to RSO, who worked with the local Austrian authorities to determine the actual identity of the fraudster. -------------- Adoption Fraud -------------- ¶10. Austria's low birth rate and strict adoption requirements make it difficult for foreigners to adopt. Non-residents may not adopt Austrian-born children at all. Post has not processed an adoption case since 2005. -------------- Asylum and other DHS Benefits Fraud -------------- ¶11. Vienna's DHS/CIS office processes all Visas 92/93 requests and reports no fraud. -------------- Cooperation with Host Government Authorities -------------- ¶12. Austrian authorities are quite cooperative in confirming information from tax and business files. Airport authorities work principally with post's DHS/ICE office, but immigration authorities readily assist consular staff with inquiries. -------------- Staffing and Training -------------- ¶13. Post's FPM is also the visa chief. She attended the Fraud Prevention for Consular Managers course in 2007, as well as the Iran Fraud Prevention course in September 2009. Post has a part-time LES FPA, whose primary duties are as an ACS assistant. The LES in the visa section whose portfolio includes visa fraud will be attending the Fraud Prevention Workshop for Foreign Service Nationals at FSI in November, 2009. UNCLASSIFIED 2 UNCLASSIFIED UNCLASSIFIED