Seamen Return to Chennai: A C1/D Validation Study

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 CHENNAI 000008

CA/FPP FOR JILL NYSTROM

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KFRD CVIS ASEC IN
SUBJECT: Seamen Return to Chennai: A C1/D Validation Study

Ref: A) 09 Mumbai 151, B) 09 New Delhi 1429


1. Summary: In a world full of visa risks, South Indian sailors are
a pretty good one. Unless, to paraphrase the theme song from The
Jeffersons, they are "frying beans in the kitchen", in which case
they may do "a whole lotta trying just to get up that hill" and into
the U.S. for a long term stay. Echoing the results of other recent
C1/D studies in India (reftels),Consulate General Chennai's
validation study for C1/D visas issued to South Indian sailors has
confirmed an overstay rate of only 1.4 percent, with the majority of
those overstaying being employed as cooks or kitchen helpers. This
cable will explain that study, discuss the various types of crew
members, and provide an overview of the shipping industry for use by
posts in South Asia. End summary.

Methodology and Results


2. Post selected a random sample of 1000 C1/D visas issued from
January 1, 2007 to December 31, 2008 to track overstay rates. This
amount was drawn from a total of 6443 issuances during that time
period and represents over 15 percent of post's total C1/D
issuances. Chennai's refusal rate for C1/D visas for that time
frame was 8.5 percent. The sample was then checked against entry
and exit data from the Department of Homeland Security ADIS
database. For cases without exit data, Post contacted or met with
shipping companies to review their records and called the
applicants' last known addresses. Only 14 of the 6,443 C1/D
issuances are confirmed or probable overstays.


3. The sample of 1000 C1/D visa holders included 138 officers, 283
engineers, 92 ordinary seamen (OS),43 able-bodied seamen (AB),157
deck cadets, 142 cooks/kitchen workers and 132 in other categories
such as wipers, cleaners, oilers and motormen. Of the 14 visa
holders who overstayed, eight were cooks, kitchen assistants or
stewards. The remaining six included two individuals who obtained
their visas but were subsequently found medically ineligible to
serve, one retired engineer, one without a job listed and two
seafaring laborers (one cleaner and one fitter).

Officers and Engineers


4. With the myriad difficult decisions made every day on the NIV
line in Chennai, one of the more certain ones should be issuing a
C1/D to an officer or engineer. The only overstay in this
category, out of a total pool of 421 issuances for officers or
engineers, was by an engineer who had retired with a still valid
C1/D. Gainfully employed officers and engineers who overstay their
visas are, quite simply, an aberration. To become an officer, a
candidate has to complete 12 months of training at a merchant marine
academy and 12-18 months of at sea training. Engineers typically
have four year bachelor degrees before their training. These are
difficult routes to take for someone intending to travel to the U.S.
with the intention of violating the terms of their visa.
Deck Cadets


5. In order to secure a seaman's book from the appropriate
governmental authority (known as a CDC),a deck cadet (officer
trainee) has to complete one year of training. One hundred and
fifty seven cadets were among the sample of C1/D holders in this
validation study. Only one cadet overstayed his visa. This cadet
was found medically unfit to join ship after receiving the visa and
apparently used the visa to gain entry to the U.S. for a purpose
other than to join ship.
Ordinary and Able-bodied Seamen


6. In order to qualify as an Ordinary Seaman (OS),which is the
equivalent of the enlisted ranks, a person must have five
certificates for general ship operation which can be obtained in as
little as one month. After two or three cruises, and based on the
recommendation of the Masters (Captains) under whom they have
served, qualified OS can be promoted to the level of Able-bodied
(AB) seaman. Thereafter based upon their experience and reviews ABs
can attain the highest enlisted rank of Bosun. Interestingly,
despite a much shorter path to a C1/D visa (one month as opposed to
one year for deck cadets) there was only one overstay by either an
OS or AB seaman out of 135 visa holders in those categories. The AB
seaman in question, like the deck cadet discussed above, was found
medically unfit for service after obtaining his visa. Life as a
visa overstayer in the U.S. was apparently his recourse after losing
eligibility to work at sea.

Seafaring Laborers


CHENNAI 00000008 002 OF 003



7. Requiring a bit more scrutiny are those candidates who fill more
labor-intensive jobs. These seamen include wipers, motormen,
greasers, cleaners, fitters and oilers. Of the 132 C1/D holders who
fell into these categories, two overstayed. Unlike the engineer and
the cadet discussed above, these two visa-holders were actively
employed and medically fit for service. These jobs tend to pay
significantly less than those for officers. Some of them, such as
wipers, are more temporary jobs which are not covered by long-term
employment contracts, making the allure of work in the U.S. more
attractive. Even considering the low pay and lack of employment
security, the overstay rate for the lower-skilled seafarers is still
only 1.51 percent.

Cooks, Kitchen Workers and Stewards


8. The most problematic category, by far, is for cooks, kitchen
workers and stewards. They accounted for eight of 14 overstays.
Their overstay rate equates to 5.63 percent, which represents eight
overstays out of a total of 142 C1/D issuances in those categories.
Many of those who apply for jobs in the kitchen or room steward
fields do not have CDCs and undergo little training, if any, to
prepare them for life at sea. They have highly transportable skills
which are as useful on land as they are at sea. The incentive to
"jump ship" for what is perceived as a more lucrative or easier life
appears to be greater than for any other category of C1/D applicant.



9. During the course of this study, Post identified a larger fraud
pattern of applicants securing visas as cooks by using phony
Norwegian Cruise Lines (NCL) employment letters. Of the fourteen
overstays, only the three NCL cooks submitted fraudulent documents.
Using text search, Post identified twelve additional NCL applicants,
not originally included in the random sample, who were also
confirmed to have submitted fraudulent documents. According to ADIS
entry/exit records, seven of those individuals are still in the U.S.
and have overstayed their visas. Post has requested prudential
revocation of those seven visas and has already revoked the eight
visas of those not present in the United States. The high level of
fraud and refusals for cooks underscores the need for closer
scrutiny, especially those who do not have CDCs or significant
experience on ship.

Overview of Shipping Companies in South India


10. Conoff met with the seven largest shipping companies which have
offices in Chennai to discuss their recruitment, retention of
officers and current status of the shipping industry. These
companies range in size from fleets of 52 ships (managed by Univan)
to 1200 ships (Vships) and have between 1500 (Wilhelmsen Ship
Management) and 8000 (VShips) employees in India to man those ships.
The retention rate for employees was from 75 to 92 percent for the
largest company, VShips. Each of these companies maintains agents
on board ship to facilitate seaman signing off and on to the ships.
Most indicated that they have the agents accompany C1/D holders to
the airport if they sign off in a U.S. port because, according to
Ebony Ship Management's director, the current insurance regulations
make the company responsible for their employees until they return
to India even if they sign off abroad. Parenthetically, all
shipping companies permit the top four officers
(Chief/Master/Captain, 2nd officer, Chief engineer and 2nd engineer)
to take family members on board ship. One, Ebony Ship Management,
will allow 3rd officers or 3rd engineers who have been with the
company for many years to take family members on board.


11. Most company representatives with whom Conoff spoke said that
they had experienced either a slowing of growth or a decline in
their shipping business over the last year. Ebony Ship Management,
for example, indicated that their volume is down approximately 10
percent from this time last year, while Wilhelmsen Ship Management
has lost ships under contract. They told Conoff that they have lost
35 ships this year, while VShips told Conoff that they have taken
over 70 ships from Wilhelmsen this year. Both AET and Executive
Ship Management told Conoff that they have had no effect from the
economic slowdown, but ESM expects a lower number of ships in 2010
after the effects of ship order cancellations are felt. The only
company which has experienced growth because of the downturn is the
largest, VShips, which has gained market share as ship owners look
for stability in a larger management company.

Conclusion


12. The job of a seafarer is difficult but, apparently, satisfying
for sailors from South India, as there were essentially no overstays

CHENNAI 00000008 003 OF 003


among actively employed, medically qualified professional seamen.
The only caveat is for unskilled help, kitchen employees and
stewards. Such applicants should be given greater scrutiny during
the interview than the OS or AB seaman. In addition to providing
insights useful to future adjudications, this study led us to
discover a batch of linked fraud cases, illustrating another
significant benefit of conducting validation studies.

SIMKIN