t5 b65 gao visa docs 5 of 6 fdr- 4-19-02 gao interview of david t donahue- islamabad response 824

8/14/2019 T5 B65 GAO Visa Docs 5 of 6 Fdr- 4-19-02 GAO Interview of David T Donahue- Islamabad Response 824

1/7

Questions for GAO Interviews on U.S. EmbassyNon-Immigrant Visas (NIV) Policies and Procedures (as of 4/17/02)

Note: Jody Woods conducted a t e l e p h o n e in te rv iew w i th M r. D o n a h u e on A p r i l 25 , 2002. H is c o mme n t s fromthis conver s a t ion app ea r in b l ue . f . VQ/N\:Zloc&l

Date: 19 April 2002 Post: Is lamabadM r. Donahue is f inishing his t h i r d year as visa chief in Islamabad. Prior to this tour, he has served inK arachi , Tr inidad. Wash ing ton DC . Is lamabad (first tour), an d Singapore.

1) Has your post made any of the fol low ing changes to the NIV application and approv al process since September11 ,2001? (Check al l that apply)

> .a

a. Strengthened anti-fraud programsb. Instituted new or changed existing standards on how closely anapplicant's name an d date of birth must match the name an d dateof birth returned by C LASS (before consular officers submitrequests for a Security Advisory Opinion)c. Reduced th e availability of personal appearance waiverprogramsd. Increased th e percentage of NIV applicants who areinterviewede. Other (please specify) Verifying more I- 20s with U.S.C olleges and Universitiesf. Other (please specify)

YesXX

X

No

XX

N /A

Please prov ide additional comments, if any.Post has been coordinating more closely with US agencies and fraud prevention officers of other embassies. Post issending many more "close" CLASS hits for Advisory Opinion. Amba ssador actively promotes th e Visas Viperprog ram to ensure th at all possible terrorists are being entered into the C LASS system. Po st uses a universal drop-box program. C ases are reviewed in me drop box for those that may qualify to be issued w ithout interview. Posthas established relationships with the most commonly attended U.S. universities and regularly verifies I-20s.Anti-Fraud Programs: M r. Donahue stated that, s ince September 1 ' h . he has al lowed h is fraud officer more t ime todevote solely to fraud. The officer has , in turn, increased the amount of information sharing (s)he does wi t h otherforeign embassies, other U.S . government agencies , an d local la w enforcement. M r. Doahue has also sought toincorporate more fraud detection in every da y visa processing. F or Islamabad, i d e n t i t y f r a u d is a real concern. M r.Donahue stated tha t in just the past week they were able to refer two applicants to local law enforcement, one forp rov id ing false documents an d another for sw i tching the pag es in his passport . Overall , Mr. Donahue f e l t that hisstaff grew better at detecting fraud with experience. After being on the ground fo r another year, h is officers ar emore able to detect f r a u d than they were when t hey f i r s t arrived. He also stated that the s t a f f is more aware of theimplicat ions of t he i r v i s a decisions since September I l l h . an d therefore look at all cases more carefu l ly .CL A SS hi ts : Mr. Donahue stated that prior to September 1 1 t h . Is lamabad often did not refer C L A S S hits that di d notshow exact spe l l i ng mat ches to the app l i can t ' s name or had a different, or no birth date information. H e noted thatthere are a few very common names in Is lamic cu l ture, l i k e Muhamrned . and there ar e also verv common name


2/7

J9/11 Closed by//Statute

f o r m a t i o n s t h a t m a k e i t o f t e n d i f f i c u l t to d i s t i n g u i s h a p p l i c a n t s . S i nc e S ep t em b er 1 l ' h , h o w e v e r . l i l a n i a r J a d ha sc h o s e n t o e r r o n t h e s i d e o f c a u t i o n a n d s end in m a t c h e s i l i a t s ou nd a l i ke o r h a v e bi r t h d a t e s in a / s i m i l a r r a n g e .

2) Ab ou t w h a t p e r c en t o f N I V ap p l i c a n t s wer e i n t e r v i ewed a t y ou r post (a) in the 12 m o n t h s ,prior to September 1 1 ,2 0 0 1 , a n d ( b) s ince Sep tember 11 ,2001? / / I |1a . 12 m o n t h s p r io r to September 11 , 2001

b. Since Septem ber 1 1 , 2001

P l ease p r ov i d e ad d i t i ona l c om m en t s , if a n y . ; \ \ \e S e p t e m b e r 11 , 2001, the nu

th is i s d u e l a rgely to sev e r a l f a c t o r s : I } } \ g i l l e g a l i m m i g r a n t s b e l i e v e t h a t t

Appl icant s bel ieve v i sa of f i cer s a r e n o w m ore res t r i c t ive in i ssu ing visas. ; \ g the same periods from

T ot a l nu m b er issued

September 1 1 , 2000 - Apr i l 19,200188,666Septem ber 1 1 , 2 0 0 12002 -April 19:,; ;24,490 ; \\

Th e c h a r t s h o w s t h a t r e g a r d l es s o f t h e n u m b e r o f app l i ca t ions , t here i s a core o f l eg i ti m a t e a p p l i c a n t s , m a n y wh


3/7

a) Security AdvisoryOpinion for selectedindividuals fromStatesSponsoring InternationalTerrorism (see State109933)b) VisasViper Committeesc) CLASSname check sd) The 20-day waitingperiod for selectedapplicants (see State196355)e) Requirement thatapplicants provideinformation on the DS-157formf) The Visas Condorprocess (see State 015702)

Great extentX ( M r .Donahuerevised hisanswer)

XX

X

Some extent No extent Not sure Nobasisto judgeX

X

X

Please provide additional comments, if any.Th e DS-157 provides valuable background information that helps in selecting cases for closer scrutiny.StOTjda rxLSAQi M r. Do n a h u e s t a t ed t h a t t h e st an da rd SA O p ro cedu re i n p l ace p r i o r t o Sep t emb er 11 *1, i s ex t r emel yhelpful in t h a t i t en ab l es c o n su l a r o ff i ce r s t o f l ag su sp i c i o u s cases fo r fur ther r ev i ew by m a i n s t a te .yisa.Vjpers/CLASS: Mr. Donahue s t a ted tha t j u s t a s M ary R y a n emp h as i zed i n h e r t e s t i mo n y , t h e m o st i mp o r t an tw a y io s top ter ror i s t s i s to p ro v i de co n su l a r o f f i ce rs w i t h t h e i r n a m e s . H e e m p h a s i z e d t he need t o i n c l u de a nypo t en t i a l t e r ro r i s t n am es k n o w n t o U.S. o r fo re ig n l aw en fo rcemen t i n C L A SS , regardless of the qual i ty of theb io g ra p h ica l i n f o rm a t io n on t h e m . H e s t a t ed t h a t ev en if the i n fo r m a t i on on a hit is v a g u e , i t w o u l d s t i l l g i v e t h em achance to run the appl i ca n t by head quar ters to see i f they pose a t h rea t .DS.:J j_7; M r . Dona hue st a ted tha t by g iv i ng consu lar off icers access to i n fo r m a t i on o n t h e ap p l i c an t ' s edu ca t i o n ,w o r k , an d o v erseas t r a v e l his tory they a re bet ter ab le to assess the l eg i t im a cy of the ap pl ica n t . In a sense, Mr .D o n a h u e felt t h a t t he DS -157 en ab l es co n su l a r o ff i ce rs t o o b t a i n i n f o r m a t i o n t h a t t h ey p rev i o u s l y o n l y wo u l d h a v egot ten t h r o u g h a n i n t e r v i e w . F or e x a m p l e , i f a s t u d e n t i s a p p l y i n g for a v i s a , but do es not h a v e the b ack g ro u n dnecessary to qua l i fy for that un iver s i ty , i t i s easy to d e n y t h e v i s a . H a v i n g the work his tory al so helps consularofficers root ou t eco n o mi c f r a u d .2 0 - day w a i t a nd Condors: M r. Do n ah u e s ta t ed t h a t I s l ama b ad h as n o t y et r ece i v ed an y co me b ack fromheadqua r te r s on these tw o procedures.


4/7

4) Fo r your post, to what extent, if any, would the following proposed changes to the NIV application process helpidentify potential terrorists? (Please check one box in each row.)

a. Interview a greater percentage of all applicants( I f yo u check very or somewhat helpful, pleaseindicate th e percentage % )b. Interview allapplicantsc. Fingerprint a percentage of all applicants ( I f youcheck very or so mew hat helpful, please indicate thepercentage %)d. Fingerprint all applicantse. Improve training fo r consular officers in identifyingsuspected terrorists, cooperating with other agencies/international organizations, and cultural sensitivityg. Make the visa process a law enforcementfunction ( I f you check yes, please elaboratein thecomments section on how this should beaccomplished, e.g., should the function remainwithin State or be moved to another agency)h. Other (please specify) Legislative change to languageo f l N A 2 1 2 ( a )i. Other (please specify)

Veryhelpful

X

X

Some-whathelpful

X

Nothelpful

XXX

X

Not sure

Please provide additional comments, if any.W e ar e already calling in all those cases where we think an interview will improve our ability to detect terrorism orfraud.Fingerprinting will only identify terrorists who have already been fingerprinted by U.S. law enforcementagencies. I suspect that most potential terrorists do not have fingerprints on file anywhere. Fingerprintingcould be helpful in starting a database of immigrants and visitors to the U.S. The eventual database may behelpful in reducing identity fraud by immigrants and nonimmigrants to the U.S. including terrorists. Itwou l d be difficult to determine who should be fingerprinted since immigration f raud (and potentiallyterrorism) is not restricted by gender, age, or purpose of visit.I see little advantage to making visa adjudication a law enforcement function. Regardless of who isadjudicating the visas the best weapon against terrorism and fraud is a deep understanding of the localcountry and culture.In terviews: Mr.Donahue did not feel it was necessary to interview all applicants. Applicantswho have al ong hi s to ry of rravelback and forth to the U.S..and those membersof the elite who a re well and favorablyk n o w n to the embassy d o n o t need interviews.Fingerpr in t ing : M r. Donahue fe l t tha t the U.S.s h o u l d deve lop a database system t ha t tracks visa applicantsfrom th e mom ent ; t hey apply for the f i rst; t ime , to the m o m e n t t he y become naturalizedci t izens, and a llsteps in between. He felt this database should conta in some form of biometric indicator so that both Stateand IN S w o u ld be able to pu l l up the applicants history and see if they are indeed w ho they cla im to be. Hef e l t that , a system like th i s w o u l d drast ica l ly cu t d o w n o n f r aud a nd i d e n t i t y the f t .


5/7

Training: M r. Donahue fe l t t h a t consula r off ice rs should be given more t ime to ge l out into the ir loca lenvironments to really get to know the demographic, educational, and business patterns of the country's inwhich they are serving. He fe l t that due to workload demands, consular officers never have enough t imeto really get. to know the coun t ry l ike they should , and thus are less able to j u dg e w h e th e r an applicant'sstory makes sense. He also fe l t that consular officers should receive more in-depth anti- fraud training andtraining by l aw enforcement on h ow to conduc t invest igat ions.Other- Legislative change; M r. Donahue fe l t that th e lega l requirements posed by the curren t 212(a ) rulesare too strict in that t h e y do not a l low consular officers to deny easily on the basis of terrorism or crime.He supported inc luding lang uage s imi la r to the drug clause of the INA, that allows re fusa ls on the basis o f"reason to believe". He did not express a preference as to whether the ability to deny on terrorism groundsshould reside with th e consular officer o r main State, but did note that many consu lar officers wouldpre fe r th e latter.

5) How feasible would it be for your post to im plement the following proposed changes to the N IV process?(Please check one box in each row.)

a . Interview a greater percentage of all applicants (Ifyo u check very or somewhat helpful, please indicatethe percentage % )b. Interview al l applicantsc. Fingerprint a percentage of all applicants ( I f youcheck very or somewha t helpful, please indicate thepercentage % )d. Fingerprint all applicantse. Improve training for consular officers in identifyingsuspected terrorists, cooperating with other agencies/international organizations, an d cultural sensitivityf . Make the visa process a law enforcement functiong. Institute a secure travel document that incorporates abiometric such as fingerprintsh. Other (please specify)i. Other (please specify)

VeryfeasibleX

XX

XX

XX

Some-whatfeasible

N otfeasible

N otsure

Please provide additional comments, if any.Everything is feasible assuming there is sufficient hum an and financial resources and there is no concern aboutinconvenience to legitimate travele rs. T his post is currently suffering with it s second evacuation in the past eightmonths. Our staffing has been cut by two-thirds. Due to the security situation, Islamabad is the only visa processingpost in Pakistan and it is over 1,000 miles from Karachi. Most of the visa fraud we see involves imposters or altereddocuments. Mu ch of this will not be detected by interviews since legitimate traveler appears for the interview andthen the visaed passport is lost, stolen or sold. Finge rprinting or biometric v isas would help fight the problem withimposters. W ith current resources, implem enting some of these changes (particularly interviewing 100 percent andfingerprinting) would requ ire strict limits on the num ber of cases processed daily resulting in months- or m aybeyears-long wait for an interview.


6/7


7/7

6) Would any of the following factors make it difficult for your post to fully implement the proposed changes listedin questions 4 and 5? (Please check one box in each row.)

a. Consular staffing shortagesb. Lack of space, facultiesc. Anadverse effect on U.S. interestsin the host country (please elaborateincomments section)d. Host country would require sameof U.S. citizens (reciprocity)e. Other (please specify)

Yes, to a greatextentXXX

Yes, to someextent

No

X

Not sure

Please provide additional com ments, if any.Pakistan has a relatively small number of legitimate travelers to the U.S. When travel to the U.S. by this small eliteis restricted, delayed or made more difficult, all other bilateral issues can become more difficult.Adverse affect: Mr. Donahue was concerned that univ ers al interviews mig ht be insultin g to the elite and wo n ' tenhance State 's access to the host count ry government . H e provided an example that if he were to br ing a high-ranking Pakis tani o f f i c i a l in to be scrutinized in a visa inte rview , tha t individ ual might be less cooperative if the U.S .needs his assistance in another area at a later date. M r . Donahue w as also concerned that the 20 and 30 day wai tprocedures may preven t offic ia ls from a t t end ing c ruc i a l mee t ings in the U.S . H e provided th e example of twoAfghan officials \vho w i l l be u n a b l e to attend a conference on Afghan recons t ruct ion in the U.S. because of the 20and 30 day wait .

A D D I T I O N A L C O M M E N T SThroughout th e in te rview, M r. Donahue stressed tha t vi sa i s suance is l ike a pend ulum that sways back an d forthbetween control of borders and facili tation of legitimate travel. He stated that since September 1 1 lh . al l cons ularofficers arou nd the wor ld now see protec t ing A mer ica from terrorists as their number one priority, but they mustbalance that w i t h gran t ing v i s a s to legi t imate appl icants and uphold ing th e ideals of the Uni t ed States, like f a m i l yreun i f icat ion and free trade. September 1 1 t h showed cons ular of ficer s that terrorists can be clean cut and lookl egi t imate .

t5 b65 gao visa docs 5 of 6 fdr- 4-19-02 gao interview of david t donahue- islamabad response 824

Documents