t5 b65 gao visa docs 5 of 6 fdr- 4-18-02 gao interview of elizabeth susie pratt- beirut response

8/14/2019 T5 B65 GAO Visa Docs 5 of 6 Fdr- 4-18-02 GAO Interview of Elizabeth Susie Pratt- Beirut Response

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Questions for GAO Interviews on U.S. EmbassyNon-Imm igrant Visas (NIV) Policies and Procedures (as of 4/17/02)N O T E : Jody Woods c onducted a fol low-up t e l ephone in terview wi th M s. Prat t on 5/7/02. H er responsesd u r i n g th e conversat ion app ear below in blue.

% OU I iL-' Name: El izabeth "Susie" Pra t tDate: Ap ril 18, 2002 Post: BeirutM s. Pratt began he r posit ion i n Beiru t on September 21. 2001. Prior to arriving in Beirut, sh e held posit ions i n th eWashington fraud prevent ion offices, th e Africa regional office, Sao Paulo, Mozambique, an d Hong Kong .1) Has your post made any of the following changes to the NIV application and approval p rocess since September11, 2001? (Check al l that apply)

N o N /A:vvch^gedexi3tiDgstandards.meaid date of birffimo4tailte}i^

ofSir*relumed byCLASS(be TOnailarofficm JuErexpicsteforrSecurity A ^^'*~t~ -*-rs-'availability of pfSdaal;aRf*arancc'd,;Increased the percentage of NIV appHcaats-wrKj se. p f f i f c r fjiteaatfspecify)

Please pro vide additional comments, if any.Because of the extreme security situation in Beirut and limited access to the Embassy comp ound, Beirut onlyinterviews students an d humanitarian emergency cases. Beirut stopped normal N IV services in 1984. We areplanning resumption of full NIV services in December and have just started construction of a secure facilityto permit us to do so.The absence of our ability to interview in Beirut (see below) requires that w e rely on courier services to beable to process some visas, particularly renewals and those over 60 years of age. However, if we decide tha tthose submitting through our Personal App earance W aiver (PAW) AK A "courier services" require aninterview, they ar e asked to continue their ap plication elsewhere; usually they go to Damascus or Nicosia.Since September 11 , NTV applications have dropped about 55%. Since that oeriod, ou r refusal rate fo rstudents (F ! visas) is aboutl p., as compared to B1/B2 for the same period ( j f/o).In the past months, w e revised th e courier guidelines and have restricted those who may ap ply this way. A llfirst time applicants, and those who hold visa petitions (such as L and H's), those who have had limited visasor those w hose visas expired over te n years ago, must now seek an interview elsewhe re.Whe n I arrived I also limited our internal referral p ol icy an d refused to accept "referrals" from those outsidethe Embassy who presumed to have "special access"L e g i t i m a t e an d I l l e g i t i m a t e a p p l i c a n t s : M s Pratt .stated t h a t Beirut only sees those appl icants who h a v e had visasbefore, are s t u d e n t s , employees of A m e r i c a n businesses, and dip lomats . A ll other Lebanese appl ican ts must receive


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their visas from Damascus or Nicosia. Bei rut considers bankers, doctors, graduate medical students, an d studentswith degrees from recognized universities as strong cases. They see bad students, people w ho have not completedtheir m ilitary training as bad cases. She emphasized that ju st because the students may receiv e an 1-20 from th eunivers i ty does not mean they will receive a visa.Ant i - f raud efforts: M s. Pratt stated that since her ar r iv a l , she has real ly cu t back on referrals . With on l y a fewexceptions, referrals are now required to go through the same procedures as others and ap p ly in Damascus orNicosia. She has also increased refusal rates to s tudents and has s topped granting applica t ions from cer tainAmer ican u n iv er s i t i e s w h i c h repor t th eir s tudents are not sh o win g up. They have also cut back on the i r co u r ie rprogram, and now o n ly r ece iv e ab o u t 60 passports pe r week, d o wn from 300. The post used to accept al l appl icat ionthat had previously received v isas , even if they hadn ' t traveled to the U.S. since 1982. She also stopped a l l o w in gfamil ies to ap p ly af ter one m e m b e r got a visa in Damascus. She did note, however , that sh e felt m a n y of herapplicants were bei ng honest about their past t ravel .N ew procedures: Of the qualify ing applicant pool for the 20-day wait, 99% also require condors.CLASS match es : M s. Pratt stated that sh e wo uld send in a CLASS match in Beiru t if the first an d las t nam ematched or were syn ony m ous spell ings , and if the d .o .b . was with in a few years. She s tated that one of the problem sthey see, however, is that much of the CLASS information does not include a date or place of birth. When in doubt,she stated that they send in hits.


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2) About wh at percent of NTV applicants were interviewed at your post (a) in the 12 months prior to September 11,2001, and (b) since September 11, 2001?a. 12 months prior to September 11, 2001b. Since September 11, 2001Please provide add itional comm ents, if anyBecause we only interview students and have not kept statistics that indicate walk-in/interviews we brokedown th e information as follows an d have extrapolated accordingly. You will note that renewals fo r studentvisas were allowed to apply using the courier system prior to September 11 . This is no longer the case and allmust come in person now . W hat we cannot capture is how many presented themselves for interview based onhumanitarian reasons, but on the whole, in my experience, it would not be more than a low percentage. Youwill also note the difference in the number of cases processed in Beirut in the 12 months prior to September10,2001 (18,202); Since September 1, 2001 to April 18 ,2002 we processed on ly 4,573 cases. M uch of the fallin demand, of course, was due to the drop off of interest in travel to the United States in the aftermathofSeptember 11 .I ranNIV reports for the following periods:a) 10 Sep 2000 to 10 Sep 2001:Total NIVcases processed: 18, 202Total Fl, F2, Jl, J2, Ml andM2: 3,425Thepercentage would come up to 19%, however during that time Fl, F2, Jl, J2, Ml and M2swere able to apply through the courier for renewals. We were only interviewing first-timeapplicants. It is hard to estimate howmany of the 3425 cases were first time issuanceswhocame in for interview or those whowere able to renew using the courier;b) 11 Sep 2001 to 18 Apr2002:

Total NIVcases: 4,573Total Fl, F2, Jl, J2, Ml and M2: 847The percentage is 18.52%. For this period we can assume all of the 847 cases came in forinterview.


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3) In your opinion, to what extent, if any, do the follow ing security procedures and requirements help your post'sconsular officers identify potential terrorists?(Please check one box m each row.)

a) Security AdvisoryOpinion for selectedindividuals from StatesSponsoring InternationalTerrorism (see State109933)b) Visas Viper Committeesc) CLASS name 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 extent

X

Some extent

X

N o extent Not sure No basis to judgeX

X

X

X

Please provide additional comments, if any.(a ) - w e received very few applications that need these SAO's fo r individuals of certain countries.(b) Visas v iperMs. Pratt stated that she meets quarterly with the visas viper com mittee. She noted one case inwhich she ran names from a local arrest report throug h other colleagues from law en forcement agencies. Shestated that since people serve fo r only I year in Beirut, it is hard to maintain continuity in cooperation m atters.She could not speak to cooperation pre 9 / 1 1 , but estimated that her colleagues are both receiving m ore

information on pote ntial terrorists, an d providing more information to consular affairs. I n the past, she f e l tthere was some reluctance to enter names i n t o CLASS on shaky inform ation, because of the fear if theinformation w as bad, it w ould prec lude that person from ever g etting a visa.( d ) (e) and (f) My responses to d, e and f as "unsure" reflect that, although most of our male applicants in theag e 16-45 ca tegory are subject to these procedures, we have never received an y adverse information onthese applicants as a result of this process or been asked to not issue a visa or seek further information.M s. Pratt stated that th e only information she has received from Washington are based on CLASS checkinformation, which should wo uld have received regardless of the new procedures. In addition, thesupplemental questionnaire, the DS 157 does not request all the information we are required to capturefor th e condl*|MWCcdures. Fo r example, th e form asks for ten years of travel, bu t condor requires al ltravel to certiilrareas be reflected, if applicable. W e did submit suggestions fo r modifications to the DS157 via e-maff fetlte Visa Office, as I believe they are looking at revising th e form. DS-157: M s. P r a t tstated that sh e would like to see more space on the DS-157 for applicant answers, particularly the feiled t h a t

asks for prior travel She also stated t h a t some information t h a t does no t appear to be useful, like spelling t h e i rname in their native alphabet, should be removed.


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4) For your post, to what extent, if any, would the following proposed changes to the NTV application processhelp identify potential terrorists? (Please check one box in each row.)

a.(Ifyou cheek veiryor ^mwhaf h e l p f u l ; pleaseindicate theg^genfagfe^ "' * ''50%

b. Interview all applicants 50%c. Fingerprint a percentage of an applicants ( I f youcheck very or somewhat helpful please indicate th epercentage100

d. Fingerprint all applicants 50e. Improve training for coasular officers in identifyingsuspected terrorists, cooperating with,other agencies/internatii " ' "

100

100function ( I f yott check. ??*!..**within State orbe

in th etfoiwiernatn

100%

i. Other (please specify) . ; . * ' 5;''

Please provide additional comments, if any.(a) (b) It isvery difficult to estimate what any of this would do to improve thevisa process - what we reallyneed is better information sharing.. Other agencies that have inform ation ar e often unwilling to share it -fo r whatever reason, I am not sure, but the consular officer on the line are left out to dry, because we arereviewing the visa applications - and if everything looks in order and the case is not an intending immigrantan d there is no "hit" in the name check fun ction, where are we?. We can interview an applicant in a visawaiting room, but we can't read an applicant's mind. M s. Pratt stated that the trend w i t h i n State recently hasbeen to m ove away from nterviewing applicants, but she also stated that often she cannot adjudicate cases ondocuments alone.(c) and (d) This would certainly help in cases where people chan ge identities; while good f raud work canproduce effective results, it cannot deter everything - such aswhen a sovereign state issues a bone fidepassport to a known m ale fide indivi dual who is seeking to circumv ent a system in which only a name/p laceand date of birtb are known - andchanges iden tity accordingly. Fingerprints - and rapid search for matchesmight be an effective deterrent, but I shudder to think what that will do to our own citizens in othercountries. Countries to respond accordingly and "reciprocity" is the nam e of the game, would be a veryeffective deterrent. But will we correct the right fingerp rints - they identify people after the fact, not before.If we collect at the interview, it would certainly be effective for locating and tracking individuals who haveapplied fo r visas; but we have to consider the workload, space imp lications - and wha t host coun tries wouldthink of us fingerprinting their citizens. W hat about photo/facial recognition technology. Where are we onthat? M s. Pratt also expressed concern t h a t f i n g e r p r i n t information would not be used properly or might not be usedat a l l .(e) Better an d MORE t rain ing is always im portant - particularly from law enforcement an d other agencies;bu t again , they must have the confidence in us that we know how to use the inform ation wisely an d


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\our borders. Information is of no use if it cannot be applied.

As for "cultural sensitivity"-1am not sure what is meant by this; we live in the environment, interview folksevery day, have been trained in the language and are predisposed to learn and adapt quickly by the verycalling to be a Foreign Service Officer. Good and more training is always important, but what we learn indealing with the "clientele" every day is invaluable- in fact consular officers often have a better handleonsociety because of our constant daily contact and the questions we ask.TrainingMs. Pratt stated that sh e w o u l d also l i k e to see more t ime t ra in ing new officers to i n t e rv iew , g i v i n g thema chance to interv iew in Wash ing ton , an d possibly even a l l ow ing them to v i ew airport operat ions . She alsosupported the idea of get t ing per iodic br ief ings on terrorism trends. Overall, sh e emphasized that t ra in ing should beg iven a h igher pr ior i ty , s ince w o r k f l o w is often so demand ing that officers aren't really given a chance to focus onthe train ing .(f ) No, I absolutely do not think that the visa function should be a law enforcement function. This assumesthat consular officers do not know what they are doing, which I believe is a wrong assumption - and, byextension assumes that "law enforcement" will make better judgements, be more sensitive and aware ofcultural issues, etc. It is training, that is required, not shifting the responsibility. Making the visa function alaw enforcement role would assume that we are going to change thewhole concept of who gets a visa to travelto the US - and I am not sure that is what we want to do either. For instance, why is it that we still getcongressional requests to process visas and we still get cables that say "our doors are open" to encouragestudents. We need to seek a balance between security and understanding that we will and must continue tohave legitimate visitors to the US.We also have to acknowledge, that law enforcement exists at the Port of Entry. INS inspectors and borderpatrol agents are law enforcement and they have the final word on who gets in. The consular function is toissue visas - but that does notguarantee entry into theUnited States - that is up to INS.(H) it all gets down to better information - neither consular officers nor law enforcement canoperate effectively in a vacuum.Other- Ms. Pratt stated that main State must better define expectations in light of 9/11. For example, shestated that if ensuring border security is the top priority, State should announce that long waiting lines areo.k. if that's what it takes. She expressed concern that since 9/11 State has sent mixed messages. Shenoted one example that at the same time they were receiving information on new security requirements,they also received a cable encouraging student visa iasuances. When asked if historically she felt pressureto issue visas. Ms. Pratt stated that while no manager ever told her to issue a visa, there was a generalfeeling that issuing visas should be promoted. She blamed part of this on congressional constituent lettersand part on mixed messages coining from the Department.


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

. 1 . , , . , - , , . , .a Interview a greater percentage ofall applicants (Ifyou checkvery orsomewhat helpful, please indicatethe percentage % )b. Interview allapplicantsc. Fingerprintapercentage of all applicants (I f youcheck very or somewhat helpful, please indicate thepercentage' ,%) Sid.Fingerprint all applicantse. Improve training for consularofficers in identifying ;!suspected terrorists, cooperating with other agencies/ *internationalorganizations, and cultural sensitivity * :-t "BtaMlJ&vi procesig. Institute a securetravel document that incorporates a 'biometricsuch as fingerprints 1 _ ~ -h. Other (please specify) , "r;*LOfljflr (pleasespecify) , 7 ^ 1

Very ^ - feasible Some- j- - ' -" ' - 'whatfeasible

X

X

Notfeasible

X

XX

X

X

Notsure

Please provide additional comm ents, if any.(a) (b) and (c) - the only reason I check "not feasible" is the par ticular security constraints of Beiru t; if wedecide to interview all applicants, we would simply have to send them elsewhere, such as Damascus or Nicosiaand eliminate accepting visa applications here; in the future when we have a visa facility, we could move inthat direction. At this point we are simply not equipped to interview those other than hum anitarianemergencies or students.M s. Pratt stated that an y changes like fingerprinting would require drastic resource shifts.


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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 ea ch row.)

a. Consular staffing shortagesb. Lack of space, facilitiesc. An adverse effect-on U.S. interestsin the host country (please elaboratein comments section)dHost country would require sameof U.S. citizens (reciprocity)e. Other (please specify)

Yes, to a greatextentXXX

Yes, to someextent N o Not sure

X

Please provide additional comments, if any.Any recommended changes would demand a high increase in staffing and space for processing. Alreadycondor cables take up a significant amount of work, for example. W e currently lack th e space an d facility toimplement changes as suggested, although an NIV section is being constructed. As it is, I worry aboutstaffing for a new visa section; any new security regulation, as we have seen in the past few months in Beirut,even with limited visa services, requires new bu reaucratic tracking procedures, new cab les and a publicinformation campaign. The latest requirement to capture all photos refused applicants adds another step toour procedure - more staff time and equipmen t (e.g. cam eras). I don't disagree with therequirement, andthink it is a good chan ge, bu t from a managem ent perspective an y increase in internal visa proceduresrequires more staff and leaves us less time to deal with applicants. We always seem to be under pressure todo more with less.As for the host country (Lebanon) requiring the same of US citizens, I think we may see the possibility th at itwill be more difficult for Americans to travel to this area of the world if we layer on increasing securityprocedures (like fingerprints) for their ow n citizens. A lready we are seeing a decline in interest by potentialtravelers to go to the United States from here (a 55% decline in visa applications over last year, as Imentioned earlier). While Lebanon would like to increase its tourism revenue, American citizens are notnecessarily the m ost important target group; tourists from neighboring Arab countries and the Gulf statesprovide far more revenue to Lebanon. Any changes in visa policy will always have reciprocal results - andalso may be a reason for Arab League states to band together and reciprocate. As we become more law-enforcement minded and app arently seek to limit trav el to the United States, are we not reversing the trend ofglobilization and the need to interact in a global environment?

t5 b65 gao visa docs 5 of 6 fdr- 4-18-02 gao interview of elizabeth susie pratt- beirut response

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