CERTIFICATION OF CONSULAR MANAGEMENT CONTROLS - NAMIBIA

UNCLAS WINDHOEK 000174 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: CVIS CMGT CASC KFRD WA SUBJECT: CERTIFICATION OF CONSULAR MANAGEMENT CONTROLS - NAMIBIA ¶1. Post completed its review on February 26, 2010. ¶2. DCM Matthew Harrington, FE-OC, along with ACO/Consular Chief Charles Jarrett, certifies successful completion of the review and that Post is in full compliance. ¶3. Certification comments follow for specific areas cited in reftel: ¶A. Inventory of Accountable Consular Items: On February 26, 2010, ACO and DCM performed a coehensive physical inventory of accountable consular supplies. The results of the inventory were documented in the Accountable Items (AI) module. Post is using the Accountable Items module (AI) to maintain its inventory of accountable consular items for visa foils, CRBAs, passport books and foils. The physical number of items on hand reconciles with inventory records. ¶B. Guidance: The Consular Officer is familiar with and has ready access to the basic references and instructions needed to perform consular functions, including 7 and 9 FAM, 7 FAH-1 and CA Web. The Consular Officer has access to classified systems and checks classified e-mail daily. ¶C. Consular Shared Tables (CST) Management: - Only the ACO/Consular Chief and back-up ACO/Consular Officer (Frank DeParis) have adjudicatory and management roles. - Both Consular Chief and back-up officer have separate user IDs and Passwords for ACRS. - All active users of consular systems and applications are stationed at post and have a current need for their particular role(s); users are authorized system access only at the appropriate level. All other user roles present in CST or ACRS have been deleted or disabled. - User passwords are periodically reset and are randomly chosen by the individual so that no one else, including the system and CST administrators, knows the individual's password. ¶D. Physical Access: Access is generally limited to consular section employees. A half-door is kept closed during working hours and the full door is closed/locked whenever employees leave the section; only consular section employees know the section's door combination. LES are not present outside of office hours unless a cleared American is present, and controlled items are secured and accounted for daily. Unique space constraints prevent post's sole American officer from always working within the section (see below, part O. Oversight of Processing) ¶E. Access to Personally Identifiable Information (PII): Procedures are in place, both in system protocols and workflow management, to assure that collection of PII is performed appropriately and that such information is appropriately protected. For example, when ACS applications are passed from one employee to another or left in the officer's inbox, they are kept in unmarked file folders to prevent occasional outside visitors to the section from reading social security numbers or other sensitive data. Access to consular systems containing PII, including PIERs, NIV and ACS, is restricted to employees with a legitimate need to see such information and records are only accessed in connection with official duties. Post has noted no breaches or incidents involving loss, theft, unauthorized access or compromise of PII. ¶F. Control, Reconciliation, and Destruction of Accountable Items: Accountable Items (AI) is used to track and reconcile daily usage of passports, passport foils, CRBAs, and visa foils. Post has noted no instances of missing controlled items in the past twelve months. Post properly destroys or returns to the Department for destruction any spoiled, unusable or obsolete controlled items. Post records witnessed destruction in AI for passport books, passport cards, CRBAs and visa foils. Post retains paper copies of destruction logs for all destroyed items, which are signed by both the ACO and back-up ACO. ¶G. Cash Accountability: The ACO, back-up ACO, consular cashier, and alternate cashiers have been formally designated using the model letters found under tools on the Consular Fees page on CAWeb. All are familiar with the instructions in Consular Management Handbook chapter 7 FAH-1 H-700. The Daily Accounting Sheets for the last 12 months have been reviewed and signed by both the ACO and FMO, and are on file in the ACO records. ¶H. Periodic comparison of MRV fees and NIV applications: Post does not employ offsite fee collectors. All fees are taken within the section by designated consular cashiers. The ACRS End-of-Day report is reviewed and reconciled daily by the ACO against on-hand receipts for the day's transactions. The Daily Accounting Sheet is also reconciled by comparison of the End-of-Day Report with OF-158 receipts issued for both local currency and U.S. dollars by the Class B Cashier. Transaction receipts are reviewed and signed by the officer for each service provided and MRV receipts are attached to the DS-156. ¶I. Referral System: Per the guidance provided in 09 State 68314 and 09 State 115658, the Worldwide Visa Referral Policy (WVRP) has been implemented at post and replaces all individualized, post-specific referral policies: - The Consular Chief conducted two training sessions on WVRP for all Mission agency and section heads under COM authority currently at post, as well as for any designates they desired to be authorized for referral submission. - The Consular Chief also added a WVRP briefing to the arrival/intake procedures for all direct-hire Americans arriving at post. - Only American Officers under COM Authority who have been briefed on WVRP and have signed the acknowledgement form are permitted to make referrals, and all referrals are signed by both the referring officer and agency or section head as appropriate. - Referral information is captured in the NIV system and scanned into the NIV system with the application form and all supporting documents. Referrals are rarely received at post, but each submission (Class A or B) is thoroughly reviewed before being accepted by the Consular Chief. No unofficial or informal referrals are accepted. ¶J. Training: American and locally employed staff are adequately trained for their responsibilities: - The section's sole LES has been accepted recently for training at FSI, taking PC122 Workshop for Senior American Citizen Services LES and PC 542 Fraud Prevention Workshop for Foreign Service Nationals. This is her first training at FSI. - All ACOs have taken the on-line distance learning courses PC-400 Consular Management Controls, PC-417 Accounting for Consular Fees Training for the ACO, and the on-line user training for the Automated Cash Register System (ACRS). - All cashiers have taken PC-419 Collecting Consular Fees: Training for the Consular Cashier. - All employees with access to PIERS have taken PC 441 Passport Data Security Awareness. ¶K. Standards of Employee Conduct: All consular employees are familiar with the standards of ethical conduct expected of them. Post operations are regularly reviewed and supervised by the Consular Chief to ensure no influences leading to a perception of impropriety are being brought to bear on the visa or passport process. ¶L. Namecheck and Clearance Reviews: All namecheck returns are reviewed by the interviewing officer and consistent standards are applied in determining when a hit is close enough to warrant further action. When insufficient information is present to rule out a potential match to a namecheck hit, that hit it treated as if it were a match. The Consular Chief has completed specialized namecheck training - PC126A - Advanced Consular Namechecking and Identity Recognition Techniques Overview. ¶M. Visa Lookout Accountability (VLA): All issuing officers at post fully understand VLA provisions and requirements, as well as the consequences for failing to comply with VLA procedures. The DCM regularly reviews the issuances of the Consular Chief, and the Consular Chief reviews issuances by the back-up officer to verify that VLA requirements were met. ¶N. Intake, Interview, and Screening: Post is in compliance with the Department's instructions on visa intake, interview, and document review procedures. Screening of applications does not encroach on adjudication, and only ensures that all required application materials are provided. The consular officer interviews all NIV applicants who have paid the appropriate fees and have a completed application. ¶O. Oversight of processing: Adequate supervision of processing is exercised by American officers. The Consular Section is extremely small and there is no space for the Consular Chief to have an office within the section; instead, the Consular Chief's office is located in the CAA. Continuous line-of-sight is therefore not practical. The Consular Chief compensates for this by working from an interview window in the section when possible, walking through the section often, and checking-in with consular employees regularly throughout the day. Accountable Items are accounted for as they are used and reconciled before consular employees leave the Embassy each day. Printed visas, passports, and CRBAs are reviewed by the officer before distribution. Post's need for DNA testing or a Panel Physician is extremely rare. Post is aware of guidance in 9 FAM 42.44, in the event that DNA collection is necessary. ¶P. Biometric Collection: Fingerprinting for biometric purposes is being done only by consular officers. ¶Q. Photo Standards: Post ensures that NIV and passport photos are recent and meet applicable standards. With implementation of the DS-160, applicants will begin uploading their own photos. Post has linked the "Photo Standards Guide" from travel.state.gov to the website and has also added detailed instructions for filling out visa applications, to ensure quality in photo submissions. ¶R. Visa Adjudication Oversight: NIV refusals and issuances, including those of the Consular Chief, are being reviewed by supervisors. Comments are entered into the system for each adjudication. All visa applicants for whom a personal appearance is required are being interviewed. Post has no written re-application process for previously refused applicants and in no way bars re-application. ¶S. Files: Consular files are being managed in accordance with the Record Disposition Schedule and visa files in particular are being maintained per instructions. All consular personnel understand that visa records are to be safeguarded in accordance with INA Section 222(f). NIV records are filed chronologically per instructions. ¶T. Passports and CRBAs: Procedures and controls are in place to ensure the accuracy and integrity of U.S. passport, CRBA, and other nationality determinations: - Post conducts passport name checks for all passport services, including extra visa pages. Before signing application forms, the Consular Chief notes in the signature box whether a CLASS check has been completed. - The Consular Chief audits passport cases adjudicated at post to ensure that biographic information, annotations, endorsements and limitations are entered accurately and according to guidelines. - Post returns all defective or spoiled passport books to the Department for destruction, as required. ¶U. Fraud Prevention Programs: The sole Consular Officer also serves as Fraud Prevention Manager. Incidents of fraud are low and fraud investigations have, thus far, been limited to occasional document verifications. Field investigations have not been necessary for any NIV cases; post does not process IV or DV cases. ¶V. Wilberforce Act: Post is in compliance with the Wilberforce Act. All consular personnel understand their responsibilities under the Wilberforce Act. Post has sufficient copies of the brochures on hand, located in the interview windows, and hands them out to relevant applicants as required. ¶W. Oversight of Applicant Service Centers (ASCs): Post does not employ an ASC. ¶X. Consular Agents: Post does not supervise any Consular Agents. MATHIEU MATHIEU