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


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Country Conditions
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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.

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NIV Fraud
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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.

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IV Fraud
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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.

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DV Fraud
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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.

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ACS and Passport Fraud
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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.

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Adoption Fraud
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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.

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Asylum and other DHS Benefits Fraud
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11. Vienna's DHS/CIS office processes all Visas 92/93 requests and
reports no fraud.

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Cooperation with Host Government Authorities
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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.

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Staffing and Training
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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.




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