{"id":42720,"date":"2012-05-25T21:20:12","date_gmt":"2012-05-25T21:20:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?p=42720"},"modified":"2012-05-27T20:38:51","modified_gmt":"2012-05-27T20:38:51","slug":"wikileaks-alternative-ways-to-enter-america-all-types-of-sri-lankans-visa-and-passport-frauds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wikileaks-alternative-ways-to-enter-america-all-types-of-sri-lankans-visa-and-passport-frauds\/","title":{"rendered":"WikiLeaks: Alternative Ways To Enter America – All Types Of Sri Lankan’s Visa And Passport Frauds"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Colombo Telegraph<\/a><\/span>–<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThe Airline Liaison Officers\u00a0\u00a0report that Sri Lanka’s poor airport controls are well known throughout the region; in addition to Sri Lankans, other nationalities such as Burmese, Chinese, Indians, Iranians, Pakistanis, Somalis, and Russians are increasingly taking advantage of the airport’s weaknesses.\u201d the US Embassy Colombo informed Washington.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The\u00a0Colombo Telegraph<\/a>\u00a0found the related cable from WikiLeaks<\/a>\u00a0database, which details the background of all types of Visa Frauds. The cable is signed by the Ambassador Patricia Butenis on November 18, 2009.<\/p>\n

Ambassador Butenis wrote “Post has discovered evidence that relatively large numbers of Sri Lankans are entering the United States without inspection across the U.S.-Mexico border. This information has come to light from both IDENT hits showing arrests at the border and from information provided by the Canadian High Commission in Colombo about Sri Lankans making asylum claims at the U.S.-Canada border. One NIV applicant whose IDENT results showed he had been apprehended in Brownsville, Texas, told us that connections between Sri Lankan smugglers and Mexican coyotes are well established. In June 2008, the Canadian High Comission provided a list of more than 100 Sri Lankans who claimed asylum at the U.S.-Canada border who had no records in CCD, and we strongly suspect that all of them entered the U.S. without inspection from Mexico. Post expects this trend to accelerate as several South American countries have dropped visa requirements for Sri Lankans in recent years, making it even easier to reach Latin America and enter the smuggling pipeline. ”<\/p>\n

Read the cable below for further details;<\/p>\n

VZCZCXRO1155\r\nRR RUEHBI RUEHCI RUEHDE RUEHHT RUEHMT RUEHVC\r\nDE RUEHLM #1045\/01 3220743\r\nZNR UUUUU ZZH\r\nR 180743Z NOV 09\r\nFM AMEMBASSY COLOMBO\r\nTO RUEHC\/SECSTATE WASHDC 0778\r\nRUEHPNH\/NVC PORTSMOUTH 0048\r\nINFO RUEHNE\/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 3474\r\nRUEHCI\/AMCONSUL CALCUTTA\r\nRUEHCG\/AMCONSUL CHENNAI 9640\r\nRUEHDE\/AMCONSUL DUBAI 0180\r\nRUEHJI\/AMCONSUL JEDDAH 0385\r\nRUEHKP\/AMCONSUL KARACHI 2571\r\nRUEHMT\/AMCONSUL MONTREAL 0017\r\nRUEHBI\/AMCONSUL MUMBAI 6934\r\nRUEHON\/AMCONSUL TORONTO 0018\r\nRUEHVC\/AMCONSUL VANCOUVER 0022\r\nRUEHAD\/AMEMBASSY ABU DHABI 0482\r\nRUEHBK\/AMEMBASSY BANGKOK 3972\r\nRUEHKA\/AMEMBASSY DHAKA 2049\r\nRUEHIL\/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD 9077\r\nRUEHHT\/AMCONSUL HAMILTON 0013\r\nRUEHBUL\/AMEMBASSY KABUL 1412\r\nRUEHKT\/AMEMBASSY KATHMANDU 7319\r\nRUEHKL\/AMEMBASSY KUALA LUMPUR 0394\r\nRUEHKU\/AMEMBASSY KUWAIT 0506\r\nRUEHLO\/AMEMBASSY LONDON 5223\r\nRUEHMK\/AMEMBASSY MANAMA 0265\r\nRUEHMS\/AMEMBASSY MUSCAT 0013\r\nRUEHOT\/AMEMBASSY OTTAWA 0044\r\nRUEHGO\/AMEMBASSY RANGOON 1010\r\nRUEHRH\/AMEMBASSY RIYADH 0341\r\nRUEHGP\/AMEMBASSY SINGAPORE 5782\r\nRUEHTV\/AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV 0720<\/pre>\n
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 09 COLOMBO 001045 \r\n\r\nSIPDIS \r\n\r\nDEPT FOR CA\/FPP; DEPT ALSO PASS TO KCC; DHS FOR CIS\/FDNS; ADDRESSEE\r\nPOSTS FOR FRAUD PREVENTION MANAGERS; BANGKOK FOR RCO WILL LAIDLAW \r\n\r\nE.O. 12958: N\/A\r\nTAGS: KFRD<\/a> CVIS<\/a> CPAS<\/a> CMGT<\/a> ASEC<\/a> CE<\/a>\r\n\r\nSUBJECT:  FRAUD SUMMARY - SRI LANKA \r\n\r\n----------------------------\r\n\u00b6<\/a>A.  Country Conditions\r\n---------------------------- \r\n\r\n\u00b6<\/a>1.  Political insecurity and socioeconomic conditions put pressure\r\non Sri Lankans of all ages and societal classes to migrate legally\r\nand illegally to the United States.  In May 2009, the Sri Lankan\r\ngovernment announced victory over the Liberation Tigers of Tamil\r\nEelam (LTTE), an armed insurgent group, after more than 25 years of\r\ncivil conflict.  Despite the conclusion of formal hostilities, the\r\nlengthy conflict has left lingering instability.  Severe lags in\r\nsocioeconomic development persist, particularly in the north and\r\neast of the country.  Throughout the country, economic conditions\r\nare relatively poor, with high inflation and weak government\r\nspending on social services.  Large numbers of Sri Lankans\r\ntraditionally migrate for employment to the Middle East, Europe,\r\nEast Asia, and North America, through both legal and illegal means.\r\nEarly indications are that the global economic slowdown has\r\nsignificantly impacted Sri Lankans working both domestically and\r\nabroad. \r\n\r\n\u00b6<\/a>2.  The consular section sees medium to high levels of fraud from\r\nall three major ethnic groups in Sri Lanka: Sinhalese, Tamil and\r\nMuslim.  Many Muslims speak the Tamil language but do not identify\r\nwith ethnic Tamils and are considered a separate ethnic group.\r\nDespite the country's relatively small population and lack of direct\r\nflights to the U.S., Sri Lankans represent the fourth most\r\nfrequently offloaded nationality on U.S.-bound flights, according to\r\n2008 U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) statistics. \r\n\r\n\u00b6<\/a>3.  The largest Sri Lankan diaspora community is in Toronto, Canada,\r\nwhere over 250,000 people of Sri Lankan origin (primarily ethnic\r\nTamils) live.  Severe restrictions imposed by the Canadian\r\ngovernment on Sri Lankan visitor travel have resulted in many mala\r\nfide travelers applying at Embassy Colombo hoping to reach Canada\r\nover the land border.  Within the U.S., preferred destinations for\r\nboth legal and illegal immigrants are New York and California.\r\nHuman smugglers charge as much as $40,000 a person for passage from\r\nSri Lanka to North America. \r\n\r\n-------------------------------------\r\n\u00b6<\/a>B.  Non-Immigrant Visa Fraud\r\n------------------------------------- \r\n\r\nNIV FRAUD - GENERAL TRENDS \r\n\r\n\u00b6<\/a>4.  During the reporting period from March 1 to August 31, 2009,\r\nofficers referred 335 NIV cases to the Fraud Prevention Unit (FPU).\r\nOf those, fraud was confirmed in 42 cases (12.5%) and 39 are still\r\npending further investigation.  During the same period in 2008, 240\r\ncases were referred to FPU, with fraud confirmed in 13 cases\r\n(5.4%). \r\n\r\n\u00b6<\/a>5.  Sri Lankan mala fide travelers with an ultimate destination in\r\nNorth America typically have family or friends waiting with a job\r\nand housing. A significant number of human smugglers and visa fraud\r\nfacilitators operate in Sri Lanka, charging as much as $10,000 for\r\nfalse documentation to submit with a U.S. visa application, and up\r\nto $25,000 for a \"full service\" of documents plus other \r\n\r\nCOLOMBO 00001045  002 OF 009 \r\n\r\nfacilitation, such as by posing as family members or business\r\nassociates. Post has seen false family relationships; fictitious\r\nmarriages and divorces; false financial, employment and academic\r\ndocumentation; ringers posing as members of sports and entertainment\r\ngroups; and false religious workers.  Post recently discovered that\r\na youth kung fu team traveling to a competition in Florida was\r\napparently a cover story for the president of the sporting\r\nassociation to deliver the children to waiting relatives already\r\nillegally in the United States. \r\n\r\n\u00b6<\/a>6.  Sri Lankans use a variety of techniques to fraudulently obtain\r\nvisas.  Small-time document vendors provide fake vital records and\r\nbusiness documents that are relatively easy to spot, while\r\nsophisticated human smugglers provide convincing identity and\r\nfinancial documents that are difficult to detect.  In several recent\r\ncases, Sri Lankans have purchased backdated entry stamps at the\r\nairport to hide overstays in the U.S. and elsewhere. \r\n\r\n\u00b6<\/a>7.  Post continues to see problems with seemingly non-qualified host\r\ngovernment officials and domestics applying for A and G visas.\r\nEmployers of Sri Lankan domestics, who include Middle Eastern,\r\nAfrican, and other Sri Lankan diplomats, typically provide only weak\r\nor questionable evidence that domestics will be paid in accordance\r\nwith U.S. law.  In some cases, diplomats have tried a number of\r\ntactics, ranging from claiming their domestics are actually\r\ngovernment employees eligible for A2 status, to claiming that they\r\nare paid in cash, presumably to avoid paying U.S. minimum or\r\nprevailing wages.  A number of Sri Lankans, in the U.S. both\r\nillegally and legally, regularly adjust onto A visas by obtaining\r\nlow-level jobs at foreign embassies. Indications are that some of\r\nthese embassy jobs do not exist, and Post suspects active\r\nfacilitation on the part of certain missions, particularly African\r\nand other Asian missions, as well as the Sri Lankan missions in\r\nWashington, D.C.; Los Angeles; and New York City. \r\n\r\nNIV FRAUD - H AND L VISAS \r\n\r\n\u00b6<\/a>8.  H&L fraud continues to be a concern for Colombo.  During FY\r\n2008, Post issued 172 H1B visas with a refusal rate of 8.5%.  In FY\r\n2009, Post issued 190 H1B visas with a refusal rate of 32.4%.  This\r\nrepresents cases in \"221g\" status for both further scrutiny and\r\nrecommendations for revocations sent to DHS.  Though the number of\r\nvisas issued has risen only slightly, Post has seen a sharp increase\r\nin the number of mala fide applicants and employers in the H\r\ncategory in particular.  Sri Lankans are increasingly becoming party\r\nto the sophisticated IT-related schemes of their Indian neighbors\r\nthat target the H and L visa categories.  In addition, Post's field\r\nverification efforts have identified a growing number of Sri Lankans\r\nattempting to target the H1B category by posing as skilled\r\nMontessori teachers.  Because nearly every daycare and preschool in\r\nSri Lanka calls itself as a \"Montessori\" school, false or inflated\r\nwork experience documents are readily available.  Post's field\r\nverification visits have been particularly useful in uncovering this\r\ntype of fraud. \r\n\r\nNIV FRAUD - STUDENT VISAS \r\n\r\n\u00b6<\/a>9.  Post has seen a new trend of mala fide travelers increasingly\r\ntargeting the F and J visa categories.  During the first three \r\n\r\nCOLOMBO 00001045  003 OF 009 \r\n\r\nquarters of 2009, the refusal rate for F1 student visas grew to over\r\n58%, as compared to 39% for the same period a year ago and 24% in\r\n\u00b6<\/a>2007.  Although the total number of F1 student visa applications\r\nrose by 46% from 2007 to 2008, the number of F1 applications\r\napproved rose by only 11%.  This suggests that the majority of new\r\ninterest in student visas is coming from unqualified applicants.\r\nPost's assessment is that many of these students have mala fide\r\nimmigrant intent, and we are in the final stages of conducting a\r\nvalidation study of student visas. \r\n\r\n\u00b6<\/a>10.  Schools with relatively low admissions standards, including\r\ncommunity colleges and language schools, are preferred targets of\r\nunqualified and mala fide Sri Lankan applicants.  The initial\r\nresults of a nearly completed validation study show the rate of\r\nSEVIS non-compliance to be high for students issued visas for\r\ntwo-year associate degree and standalone language programs.  Perhaps\r\nin response to Post's increased scrutiny of such applicants, an\r\nincreasing number of students are applying to four-year colleges and\r\nthen transferring upon arrival to language schools, training\r\ncenters, or community colleges where less rigorously enforced\r\nacademic standards and attendance enable students to remain in legal\r\nstatus while working full time.  Post regularly interviews returning\r\nstudents who are clearly not enrolled full-time (based on their\r\ntranscripts), but schools nonetheless report them as being\r\nSEVIS-compliant. \r\n\r\n\u00b6<\/a>11.  Otherwise-qualified Sri Lankan students also target schools\r\nwith generous work-study options.  Post recently learned that one\r\nreputable Texas university long favored by Sri Lankan applicants\r\noffers students the opportunity to earn academic credits while\r\nworking 40 hours a week over multiple semesters, with no requirement\r\nthat they attend any classes and very limited contact with academic\r\nfaculty. \r\n\r\n\u00b6<\/a>12.  Other Western missions in Colombo have shared similar concerns\r\nregarding visa applications to their countries from Sri Lankan\r\nstudents.  In September 2008, Australia upgraded Sri Lanka to its\r\nstrictest category for prospective students, highlighting Sri Lanka\r\nas one of the worst violators of its student visa program.  In order\r\nto qualify under the new conditions, prospective Sri Lankan\r\nundergraduate students must show that they have had three full years\r\nof tuition and living expenses on hand in an earmarked savings\r\naccount for at least six months before they can qualify for a visa.\r\nProceeds from land sales are a frequent source of funds students use\r\nto cover tuition expenses, however, the Australian mission tells us\r\nthat about 90 percent of such sales have been found false.  We are\r\nnow finding that some applicants tell us during the interview that\r\nthey chose a U.S. school because they could not qualify for one in\r\nAustralia. \r\n\r\nNIV FRAUD - OTHER VISA CATEGORIES \r\n\r\n\u00b6<\/a>13.  Post has also seen mala fide applicants increasingly targeting\r\nthe J1 visas, often with the involvement of local agents.  In one\r\ncase, an Israeli national B1\/B2 visa holder with a business card\r\nlisting his U.S. residential address came to the Embassy to complain\r\nafter Post refused a large group of prospective Sri Lankan J1\r\nhospitality industry workers he and a local agent were attempting to\r\nassist.  Most of these J1 applicants, who earned an average of \r\n\r\nCOLOMBO 00001045  004 OF 009 \r\n\r\n$50\/month in hotels and restaurants in Sri Lanka, had borrowed\r\nthousands of dollars to pay for flights and the $1,000 agent fee, in\r\nreturn for the promise of menial hospitality industry work in the\r\nU.S. paying generous tips. \r\n\r\n\u00b6<\/a>14.  Post is currently conducting a validation study of U.S.\r\nGovernment-sponsored exchange visitors and others who received A and\r\nB referrals over the past year. \r\n\r\n-------------------------------\r\n\u00b6<\/a>C.  Immigrant Visa Fraud\r\n------------------------------- \r\n\r\n\u00b6<\/a>15.  Colombo's IV fraud mostly involves false marriages and family\r\nrelationships. While marriages based on love affairs are increasing,\r\narranged marriages are still the norm in Sri Lanka, especially in\r\nmore rural areas.  Even with field visits, verifying the validity of\r\nrelationships is difficult. With re-marriages, Post regularly finds\r\nthat the divorce decree from the previous marriage is fraudulent; in\r\nsome cases, field visits have revealed \"divorced\" couples living\r\ntogether in Sri Lanka despite one partner having supposedly\r\nre-married an American citizen waiting in the U.S.  Although Post\r\nreturns problematic petitions to USCIS, the lack of consequences for\r\nAmerican citizens and LPRs filing fraudulent immigration petitions\r\ncomplicates our work. \r\n\r\n------------------------------\r\n\u00b6<\/a>D.  Diversity Visa Fraud\r\n------------------------------ \r\n\r\n\u00b6<\/a>16.  The Diversity Visa (DV) Lottery remains a popular route for Sri\r\nLankans to migrate to the United States, with over 250 winners in\r\nFY2010.  As Sri Lankans have discovered the DV Lottery, they are\r\nalso learning the rules and increasingly applying well-honed NIV\r\nfraud techniques on behalf of DV winners, often through certificates\r\nwith falsified education examination results.  To counter this, Post\r\nobtains examination results directly from the Sri Lankan Department\r\nof Examinations.  This approach detected four fraud cases in the DV\r\n2009 program, two of which were submitted in Colombo and two\r\nelsewhere.  Because a significant number of Sri Lankan DV winners\r\nare resident outside of the country, Colombo encourages other posts\r\nto contact us to assist with verification of documents related to\r\nSri Lankan DV winners.  In FY2009, collaboration between Colombo and\r\nposts in Australia and the Middle East led to the refusal of two Sri\r\nLankans with falsified examination results.  Post suspects that\r\nadditional Sri Lankan DV winners have taken advantage of the fact\r\nthat U.S. Embassies and Consulates elsewhere are unfamiliar with Sri\r\nLankan educational certificates. \r\n\r\n----------------------------------------\r\n\u00b6<\/a>E.  ACS and U.S. Passport Fraud\r\n---------------------------------------- \r\n\r\n\u00b6<\/a>17.  Although Post sees little fraud in passport and citizenship\r\napplications, Canadian and British Airport Liaison Officers, who\r\nassist Sri Lankan authorities in identifying mala-fide travelers at\r\nthe airport, occasionally ask for assistance in verifying suspect\r\nU.S. passport and\/or U.S. identity documents.  During 2009, Post had\r\none case of suspected fraud by a U.S. citizen of Sri Lankan origin \r\n\r\nCOLOMBO 00001045  005 OF 009 \r\n\r\nwho attempted to obtain a Consular Report of Birth Abroad for a\r\nchild who she claimed to have left in the care of relatives in the\r\nwar-torn north of Sri Lanka for the past five years.  After Post\r\nsought additional documentation, the woman abandoned the case. \r\n\r\n-----------------------\r\n\u00b6<\/a>F.  Adoption Fraud\r\n----------------------- \r\n\r\n\u00b6<\/a>18.  The Immigrant Visa Unit issued two adoption visas during fiscal\r\nyear 2007 and 2008 and five in FY 2009.  The Sri Lankan government\r\ndoes not favor foreign adoptions; adoptions are governed by the\r\nDepartment of Child Care and Probation Service.  Foreign prospective\r\nadoptive parents are not allowed to locate children for adoption\r\nthemselves, and adoption by single persons is not permitted.  To\r\ndate Post has not uncovered any fraud in our adoption visa\r\nprocessing.  However, an LPR couple recently came to the Embassy\r\npresenting a child as their natural born child. After checking, Post\r\nconfirmed that the child was actually adopted.  The LPR couple had\r\napparently obtained a genuine birth certificate for the child\r\nthrough fraudulent means. Sri Lankan authorities are currently\r\ninvestigating the case. \r\n\r\n-----------------------------\r\n\u00b6<\/a>G.  Use of DNA Testing\r\n----------------------------- \r\n\r\n\u00b6<\/a>19.  In cases in which Post cannot sufficiently establish a bona\r\nfide relationship due to a lack of evidence (mostly IV and asylum\r\ncases), applicants are given the option of taking a DNA test. The\r\nprocess takes about three weeks and costs approximately $1,000.\r\nPost recently encountered its first negative DNA test for 2009, an\r\nasylee follow-to-join child; however, upon further examination of\r\nthe case and consultation with CA, the child was still eligible for\r\nthe immigration benefit as a stepchild.  On occasion applicants\r\ndecline DNA testing and abandon their applications, suggesting that\r\ntesting acts as a deterrent in applications involving false\r\nrelationships. \r\n\r\n--------------------------------------------- ------\r\n\u00b6<\/a>H.  Asylum and Other DHS Benefit Fraud\r\n--------------------------------------------- ------ \r\n\r\n\u00b6<\/a>20.   Post would welcome the opportunity to work more closely with\r\nDHS in looking at ways to make the processing and assessment of\r\nasylum claims more robust.  There is a disturbingly high level of\r\nfraud in Sri Lankan Visas 92 cases.  In most asylum follow-to-join\r\n(FTJ) cases, establishing relationships to the petitioner is\r\ndifficult.  Asylum FTJ beneficiaries are typically coached to\r\nprovide as little information as possible, sometimes making it\r\ndifficult to determine whether the beneficiary even knows the\r\npetitioner, much less is their spouse or child.  Post attempts to\r\nverify all birth and marriage documents, but occasionally applicants\r\nhave no identity documents available.  In addition to the usual\r\nproblems associated with arranged marriages, we often see applicants\r\nwho present fraudulent identity documents but have positive DNA test\r\nresults, leaving us to deal with a genuine biological relationship\r\nbut no idea what anyone's true identity is. \r\n\r\nCOLOMBO 00001045  006 OF 009 \r\n\r\n\u00b6<\/a>21.  Of greatest concern is that the overwhelming majority of\r\nsuccessful asylum claims made by Sri Lankan petitioners appear to be\r\nbased on bogus persecution stories.   Although Post believes there\r\nis persecution in Sri Lanka which is significant enough for\r\nfavorable asylum findings, in our experience the majority of\r\nindividuals who are experiencing true persecution within Sri Lanka\r\nsimply do not have the means to leave the country in the first\r\nplace.  In many cases, local government administrative structures\r\nprevent persecuted minorities from obtaining valid international\r\ntravel documents; the alternative of using a human smuggler or\r\ndocument vendor is incredibly expensive by Sri Lankan standards.  A\r\nSri Lankan who is able to make it to the U.S. or elsewhere to file\r\nan asylum claim typically has significant financial and social\r\nresources that are simply not consistent with their asylum claim.\r\nFor example, a large number of successful Sri Lankan gem merchants\r\nwith extensive U.S. and European travel to participate in\r\ninternational gem exhibitions recently attempted to claim asylum in\r\nCanada.  In another case, a well-off employee of Sri Lankan Airlines\r\nadmitted to us that he sent his wife and children to the U.S. to\r\nmake an asylum claim so that they would have a better standard of\r\nliving; he continues to work here, making regular trips back and\r\nforth for the children's birthdays (although his tourist visa was\r\ncancelled following this admission). \r\n\r\n\u00b6<\/a>22.  Other gross misstatements range from petitioners claiming to be\r\nmembers of a persecuted ethnic minority when they are not of that\r\nethnicity, to stories of harassment that contradict known facts.\r\nUnfortunately, the stories of prospective asylum claimants seem to\r\nbe taken at face value when asylum claims are adjudicated in the\r\nUnited States.  Contributing to our doubts about many claims is the\r\nfact that successful asylum claimants often later return to Sri\r\nLanka to wed other Sri Lankans or for regular tourist visits,\r\ncasting serious doubt on any \"credible fear\" claim.  We also often\r\nsee asylee claimants who have spent many months living in\r\notherwise-safe second countries such as Canada, East Asia or the\r\nMiddle East before deciding to make their claim in the U.S., where\r\nthey felt economic opportunities would be greatest. \r\n\r\n--------------------------------------------- ---------\r\n\u00b6<\/a>I.  Alien Smuggling, Trafficking, Organized Crime, Terrorist Travel\r\n--------------------------------------------- --------- \r\n\r\n\u00b6<\/a>23.  The trend of increased numbers of Sri Lankans and other\r\nthird-country nationals, such as Indians and Chinese, using\r\nfraudulent or altered documents for travel to Europe and North\r\nAmerica continues.  Sri Lankan nationals mostly target travel\r\ndocuments of countries like Malaysia, Singapore, U.K., Germany and\r\nCaribbean countries.   The number of Sri Lankan deportees from\r\nMalaysia, Japan, Singapore and the UAE has increased significantly,\r\nand irregular Malaysian travel documents have become the preferred\r\ndocuments of mala fide Sri Lankan passengers, while their hub port\r\nhas shifted from Bangkok to Kuala Lumpur.  Human smugglers charge as\r\nmuch as $40,000 a person for passage from Sri Lanka to North\r\nAmerica. \r\n\r\n--------------------------------------------\r\n\u00b6<\/a>J.  DS Criminal Fraud Investigations\r\n-------------------------------------------- \r\n\r\nCOLOMBO 00001045  007 OF 009 \r\n\r\n\u00b6<\/a>24.  Post does not have an ARSO-I.  However, consular officers often\r\nconsult the RSO FSN Investigator during the course of routine\r\ninvestigations on visa cases, a partnership which has proven\r\nfruitful in dealing with Sri Lankan law enforcement authorities. \r\n\r\n--------------------------------------------- ---------\r\n\u00b6<\/a>K.  Host Country Passport, Identity Documents, and Civil Registry\r\n--------------------------------------------- --------- \r\n\r\n\u00b6<\/a>25.   Fraudulent civil documentation is common in Sri Lanka and can\r\nbe easily acquired, including falsified passports, identity\r\ndocuments, court records, and entry\/exit stamps.  Civil registry\r\nfunctions are relatively inefficient due to a lack of automation;\r\nall documents are kept on file in countless stacks of paper that\r\nmust be hand-checked and are often missing or incomplete.  Because\r\ndocument fraud is rampant, document verification is a routine part\r\nof IV, DV and asylee follow-to-join petition processing.  A staff\r\nmember must physically go to the Registrar's office to check\r\ndocuments, making the verification time consuming.  Other Western\r\nmissions in Sri Lanka require petitioners in suspect cases to pay a\r\n$500-$1,000 \"verification fee,\" then contract with local agents to\r\nconduct the legwork. \r\n\r\n--------------------------------------------- ---------\r\n\u00b6<\/a>L.  Cooperation with Host Government Authorities\r\n--------------------------------------------- --------- \r\n\r\n\u00b6<\/a>26.  Post enjoys a high level of cooperation with many Sri Lankan\r\ngovernment agencies.  Post receives positive assistance on matters\r\nranging from simple document verification to complex cooperation on\r\nfraud cases over long periods.  Good relationships are maintained\r\nthrough regular outreach and meetings with key officials.\r\nAdditionally, Post's full-time FSN fraud investigator's excellent\r\nrange of contacts has proven invaluable in advancing our fraud\r\nmanagement goals.  Cooperation with local law enforcement has proved\r\nessential in maintaining Post's successful zero-tolerance policy\r\ntowards false and fraudulent documentation.  Nearly all applicants\r\nturned over to Sri Lankan authorities are charged and prosecuted\r\nunder Sri Lankan law.  Post regularly works together with the\r\nCriminal Investigation Department (CID) and its Anti-Human Smuggling\r\nInvestigation Bureau, as well as the Colombo Fraud Investigation\r\nBureau (CFIB).  Furthermore, Post cooperates with the Immigration &\r\nEmigration Department, State Intelligence Service, the Registrar\r\nGeneral's Department, and the Attorney General's Department. \r\n\r\n\u00b6<\/a>27.  Post has implemented an arrest program in cooperation with\r\nlocal immigration authorities and police.  When Post encounters\r\nforged documents in the course of an NIV interview, we contact the\r\nCriminal Investigation Department (CID) or the Colombo Fraud\r\nInvestigations Department (CFIB) of the Sri Lanka Police, and\r\napplicants are taken into custody, often on the same day as the visa\r\ninterview.  Most are convicted of felony crimes under Sri Lankan\r\nlaw.  This policy, and the arrests it generates, has proven\r\neffective in combating prospective fraudsters.  The program was\r\nintroduced in late 2002, and the number of arrests peaked with 84 in\r\n\u00b6<\/a>2004.  Ten were arrested in 2008, and 13 have been arrested thus far\r\nin 2009.  Other Western missions without similar programs report\r\nthat they see a much higher level of document fraud, demonstrating\r\nthat this program is a clear deterrent. \r\n\r\nCOLOMBO 00001045  008 OF 009 \r\n\r\n\u00b6<\/a>28.  Though Post sees fraud in its IV\/DV cases, it typically does\r\nnot rise to the level of an arrestable offense under Sri Lankan law.\r\n Instead, these cases are simply sent back for revocation.  However,\r\nin early 2009, a Diversity Visa applicant was arrested with\r\nfraudulent documents, Post's first DV arrest in over five years. \r\n\r\n\u00b6<\/a>29.  If an applicant submits a forged document as part of their\r\napplication, they are charged with tendering or forging a fraudulent\r\ndocument under the Sri Lankan Penal Code.  The maximum sentence\r\nvaries by type of fraud committed, but the penalties are all\r\npotentially severe.  However, recent amendments to Sri Lankan law\r\nhave relaxed bail provisions.  Most offenders can now post bail\r\nimmediately after appearing before the court, whereas in the past\r\noffenders were required to spend from a few weeks to several months\r\nin remand prison before being allowed to post bail.  Local law\r\nenforcement authorities tell us that passport and visa fraud have\r\nincreased as result, and they expect such trends to further\r\nescalate. \r\n\r\n--------------------------------------\r\n\u00b6<\/a>M.  Areas of Particular Concern\r\n-------------------------------------- \r\n\r\n\u00b6<\/a>30.  Post enjoys positive and consistent collaboration with other\r\nEmbassies, particularly the Canadian and British High Commissions.\r\nCanada has the largest Sri Lankan diaspora in world, and our close\r\ncooperation with the Canadian and British Airline Liaison Officers\r\n(ALOs) has proven effective in spotting trends and mala-fide\r\napplicants.  Further, our three missions continue to co-host airline\r\nand airport staff training seminars on our countries' proper travel\r\ndocuments, their basic security features, and applicable visa\r\ncategories. \r\n\r\n\u00b6<\/a>31.  From our close collaboration with the Canadian and British\r\nALOs, Post is aware of major security concerns at Sri Lanka's single\r\ninternational airport, Bandaranaiyke International Airport, located\r\nnear the capital, Colombo.  The ALOs tell us that, despite extensive\r\nand repeated training, check-in staff and immigration authorities\r\nregularly accept obvious forgeries and fraudulent documents.  Many\r\nairline staff at document checkpoints are temporary workers who have\r\nlittle incentive to good a job or be loyal to the airline.\r\nPractically no screening is conducted of travelers with non-Sri\r\nLankan passports; instead, airline staff assume that a final\r\ndecision will be taken by other airline staff in the hub city once\r\nthe passengers reach their transit point.  Passengers who have\r\nchecked in and gone through immigration regularly disappear once\r\nthey see that an ALO is on duty at their gate; somehow, they are\r\nsecreted out through three layers of airport security.  Often these\r\npassengers return to make successful attempts a few days later when\r\nno ALO is on duty.  Although the airport has multiple closed circuit\r\ntelevision (CCTV) systems, the CCTV systems are often turned off or\r\ncritical segments unavailable (erased) when requested.  A lack of\r\nseparation between arriving and departing passengers makes boarding\r\ncard and identity document swaps simple.  The ALOs report that Sri\r\nLanka's poor airport controls are well known throughout the region;\r\nin addition to Sri Lankans, other nationalities such as Burmese,\r\nChinese, Indians, Iranians, Pakistanis, Somalis, and Russians are\r\nincreasingly taking advantage of the airport's weaknesses. \r\n\r\nCOLOMBO 00001045  009 OF 009 \r\n\r\n\u00b6<\/a>32.  Post has discovered evidence that relatively large numbers of\r\nSri Lankans are entering the United States without inspection across\r\nthe U.S.-Mexico border.  This information has come to light from\r\nboth IDENT hits showing arrests at the border and from information\r\nprovided by the Canadian High Commission in Colombo about Sri\r\nLankans making asylum claims at the U.S.-Canada border.  One NIV\r\napplicant whose IDENT results showed he had been apprehended in\r\nBrownsville, Texas, told us that connections between Sri Lankan\r\nsmugglers and Mexican coyotes are well established.  In June 2008,\r\nthe Canadian High Comission provided a list of more than 100 Sri\r\nLankans who claimed asylum at the U.S.-Canada border who had no\r\nrecords in CCD, and we strongly suspect that all of them entered the\r\nU.S. without inspection from Mexico.  Post expects this trend to\r\naccelerate as several South American countries have dropped visa\r\nrequirements for Sri Lankans in recent years, making it even easier\r\nto reach Latin America and enter the smuggling pipeline. \r\n\r\n------------------------------\r\n\u00b6<\/a>N.  Staffing and Training\r\n------------------------------ \r\n\r\n\u00b6<\/a>33.  Colombo's Fraud Prevention Unit (FPU) consists of one part-time\r\nofficer Fraud Prevention Manager (FPM), and one full-time Fraud\r\nPrevention Foreign Service National (FSN) investigator.  During\r\nFY2010, Post will hire a new H&L anti-fraud clerk.  All three\r\nAmerican officers have completed PC-541, Fraud Prevention for\r\nConsular Managers. \r\n\r\nBUTENIS<\/pre>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":42724,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,2187,1,2375,27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-42720","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-colombotelegraph","category-most-popular","category-news","category-stories","category-wikileaks"],"yoast_head":"\nWikiLeaks: Alternative Ways To Enter America - All Types Of Sri Lankan's Visa And Passport Frauds  - Colombo Telegraph<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wikileaks-alternative-ways-to-enter-america-all-types-of-sri-lankans-visa-and-passport-frauds\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"WikiLeaks: Alternative Ways To Enter America - 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