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FM AMEMBASSY KINGSTON
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INFO RUEHWH/WHA DIPLOMATIC POSTS COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 KINGSTON 000864 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPT FOR CA/FPP 
 
DEPT ALSO PASS TO KCC WILLIAMSBURG 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KFRD CVIS CPAS CMGT ASEC JM
SUBJECT: FRAUD SUMMARY - KINGSTON 
 
REF: A) 08 KINGSTON 000425  B) 08 KINGSTON 00091 
 
KINGSTON 00000864  001.2 OF 005 
 
 
¶1. (U) SUMMARY.  This cable is Kingston's first report on the new 
semi-annual schedule, covering April-September 2008.  In the second 
half of FY 2008, the FPU focused on NIV petition-based visa fraud, 
as well as enhanced cooperation with our partners at the British and 
Canadian High Commissions.  In June, FPU organized a half-day joint 
conference for the fraud units of the U.S., British, and Canadian 
Missions; trained 219 airline representatives on fraudulent document 
detection; and implemented a new prescreening system to verify the 
enrollment of 875 students applying for J-1 summer work and travel 
visas.  FPU received 1936 Nonimmigrant Visa (NIV) cases, 59 new 
Immigrant Visa (IV) cases, one ACS case, and 305 external requests 
(database checks from DHS, airlines, local immigration, etc.).  FPU 
processed an additional 376 walk-in cases and entered 481 CLASS 
records based on I-275 turn around reports and other tips.  Of all 
the NIV cases referred, 1902 were closed, 235 were confirmed fraud 
(confirmed fraud rate: 12%).  19 IV cases were closed, with seven 
confirmed fraud (confirmed fraud rate: 37%).  END SUMMARY 
 
------------------ 
COUNTRY CONDITIONS 
------------------ 
 
¶2. (U) Jamaica, located 550 miles south of Florida, has a population 
of 2.75 million and a 2007 GDP of USD 10 billion. Independent since 
1962, Jamaica is a member of the British Commonwealth of nations 
with a constitutional parliamentary democracy with relatively high 
literacy rates, an outspoken and vibrant press, and an open market 
economy. Two parties, both originating from labor movements, 
dominate the political scene: the Jamaica Labor Party, elected in 
2007 and led by Prime Minister Bruce Golding, and the Peoples 
National Party. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Jamaica is a major producer of marijuana ("ganja") for the 
U.S. market.  The economy is so dependent on ganja that the Minister 
of Agriculture recently stated publicly that were it not for the 
ganja crop, many rural communities would cease to exist.  Jamaica is 
also routinely exploited as a narcotics transshipment hub with an 
estimated 20-25% of the cocaine that reaches the United States 
transiting the country or its territorial waters.  Jamaica is also a 
significant transit hub for other contraband, particularly weapons 
smuggling in the form of a robust guns for drugs trade with Haiti. 
The Department rates the crime rate in the capital city of Kingston 
as critical. Depressed economic conditions and the presence of the 
drug trade contribute to civil unrest and criminal activity, 
including significant visa and citizenship fraud. Illegal migration, 
transnational crime, economic inertia, and a formidable HIV/AIDS 
presence adversely affect U.S. national security, economic, 
democracy, and other strategic interests. 
 
¶4. (U) Jamaica's proximity to the U.S. mainland and well-developed 
sea lanes and air links facilitate the transit of over two million 
travelers, including well over one million American tourists 
annually between the United States and Jamaica. An estimated 24,100 
U.S. citizens reside in Embassy Kingston's consular district. 
Kingston's Consular Section supports consular agents in Montego Bay 
and the Cayman Islands. 
 
¶5. (SBU) The incidence of suspected fraud in many government 
agencies is high. Visa applicants often submit forged or altered 
birth, marriage, and police certificates.  Transparency 
International's annual index of corruption, announced 25 September 
2008, showed Jamaica falling 12 places (from 84 to 96) during 2008 
on the list of 180 countries surveyed. 
 
----------------------- 
NONIMMIGRANT VISA FRAUD 
----------------------- 
 
¶6. (U) H-2B PETITION REVOCATIONS: In April, FPU learned that the 
U.S.-based Bright Stars 1, Inc. employment agency had filed multiple 
H-2B petitions on behalf of U.S. employers with whom the agency had 
no existing relationship.  Correspondence from our FPU colleagues in 
Belgrade told us that petitions filed on behalf of the Park Shore 
Resort in Traverse City, Michigan, were fraudulent, as the employer 
had not requested any overseas employees for the 2008 summer tourist 
season.  The manager at the resort also confirmed that his resort 
could not accommodate more than five overseas employees during a 
given season.  However, Bright Stars owner Kathy Nelson and her 
staff had filed a petition on behalf of Park Shore Resort requesting 
25 workers for the summer season.  FPU Kingston immediately canceled 
all visas issued on the petition, both physically and 
electronically, as the passports had not yet left the Embassy.  FPU 
also temporarily refused all pending applications until those 
applicants could apply on a different petition. 
 
KINGSTON 00000864  002.2 OF 005 
 
 
 
¶7. (SBU) The owner of Bright Stars 1, Inc., Kathy Nelson, came up on 
FPU Kingston's radar not long after the H-2B petition fraud was 
discovered.  In May, Ms. Nelson arrived in Jamaica on a 
photo-substituted Jamaican passport, claiming to be a Jamaican 
citizen.  Jamaican immigration officials became suspicious when Ms. 
Nelson could not answer simple questions about Jamaica and 
determined that she had presented a fraudulent document.  She was 
immediately arrested, pending deportation to the United States. 
Because of her status as a U.S. citizen, Jamaican immigration 
officials contacted the ACS Unit to inform them of the arrest.  Our 
ACS officer visited her in prison to ensure her well-being and to 
ask her to fill out a U.S. passport application.  She originally 
refused.  She eventually signed the passport application and was 
later escorted by a member of the U.S. Marshals Service to the 
United States. 
 
¶8. (SBU) While on her trip to the U.S., our colleague from the U.S. 
Marshals Service obtained a compelling first-hand, written statement 
from Ms. Nelson regarding the Jamaican source for the 
photo-substituted Jamaican passport that she had used.  Ms. Nelson 
also revealed damaging information about several prominent Jamaican 
employment agencies that regularly submit H-2B and performing visa 
petitions and applications.  FPU continues to investigate these 
leads, in conjunction with the Jamaica Constabulary Force's Fraud 
Squad Investigative Unit, to determine whether these agencies should 
no longer be allowed to continue to submit visa petitions to the 
Embassy.  These agencies may also face criminal charges for their 
alleged illegal behavior, which could result in permanent visa 
ineligibilities in the future for any culpable staff members. 
 
¶9. (U) J-1 SUMMER WORK AND TRAVEL PROGRAM PRESCREENING: On Saturday, 
April 26, Kingston's Visa Unit conducted over 1300 visa interviews 
to tackle some of the most critical components of Kingston's visa 
backlog.  When deciding which groups of visa applicants to interview 
on this record-breaking "Super Saturday," FPU suggested that 
multiple goals could be reached by selecting groups that could be 
pre-screened for fraud indicators, thus preventing mala fide 
applicants from receiving visas and aiding visa adjudicators during 
their interviews.  Accordingly, the Visa Unit decided that H-2B and 
J-1 summer work and visitor visa applicants would be prescreened as 
well as interviewed on April 26. 
 
¶10. (U) FPU verified the post-secondary school enrollment of each of 
the 875 J-1 summer work and travel (SWT) applicants in less than two 
days and entered case notes regarding each student's enrollment 
status to aid officers in their interviews.  The results were 
outstanding: fraud was confirmed in about seven percent of all 
cases, leading to the refusal of 65 mala fide applicants who may 
have otherwise evaded detection.  The adjudicating officers noted 
that the investigative work done in advance of the interviews helped 
them make sound decisions and saved critical interviewing time.  FPU 
plans to pursue similar prescreening methods for future NIV groups. 
 
 
¶11. (SBU) H-1B PETITION REVOCATIONS: In the third quarter of 2008, 
FPU continued to investigate a trend of fraudulent H-1B visa renewal 
applications.  Two such cases revealed the source of many of 
Kingston's fraudulent applications: U.S.-based immigration 
consultant, Taylor Lee & Associates of Miami, Florida.  Each of the 
applicants in these two cases confirmed that Ms. Sharon Lee of 
Taylor Lee & Associates had approached them about finding employment 
in the United States.  According to the applicants, Ms. Lee told 
them that she could provide all the requisite paperwork to obtain an 
H-1B skilled worker visa, which then also allowed the applicants' 
families to accompany them on H-4 visas. 
 
¶12. (SBU) In the first case, the applicant presented falsified 
documents during her original H-1B visa interview in 2005 and 
obtained the visa.  The applicant admitted to the FPM during her 
renewal visa interview in April 2008 that her supposed employer, 
Eden House Foundation of Atlanta, Georgia, did not exist and that 
she had been working illegally as a practical nurse in the New York 
area for the previous three years.  She also admitted that Ms. 
Sharon Lee had provided her with a cover story and had prepared her 
for her initial interview in exchange for a large fee. 
 
¶13. (SBU) In the second case, the applicant did not present 
fraudulent documents to obtain the H-1B visa.  Three years earlier, 
when she had expressed a desire to live with her sister in the U.S. 
and work as a tax accountant, the applicant claimed that Ms. Lee 
advised her to file incorporation paperwork in the state of Florida, 
where her sister resides.  Lexis Nexis research revealed that the 
applicant had incorporated her own business in the state of Florida 
just one month before her sister, who the applicant had named in the 
incorporation documents as the company's "president," filed the H-1B 
 
KINGSTON 00000864  003.2 OF 005 
 
 
petition in the U.S.  The applicant admitted that she learned about 
Ms. Lee's services through a friend in Jamaica and that she had some 
misgivings about working with her.  She claims that she has not 
heard from Ms. Lee after she paid the requisite fees to Taylor Lee & 
Associates in 2005. 
 
-------------------- 
IMMIGRANT VISA FRAUD 
-------------------- 
 
¶14. (U) In May and June, FPU staff conducted field investigations on 
eight immigrant visa cases.  Two of the Unit's LES Fraud 
Investigators organized the trips and invited entry-level officers 
to participate each day as a training opportunity.  The field trips 
covered four areas and resulted in the completion of four immigrant 
visa case investigations, of which one was determined to be a 
fraudulent relationship.  FPU plans to continue to organize these 
field trips bimonthly. 
 
¶15. (U) Drawing on the success of our colleagues in Santo Domingo, 
where the vast majority of petitioners are present at immigrant visa 
interviews, Kingston has encouraged (but not required) many 
applicants in romantic relationship cases (IR1, CR1, K1, K3) who do 
not immediately convince the adjudicating officer of the bona fides 
of their relationships to bring petitioners to their follow-up 
interviews.  The higher percentage of petitioners present at 
follow-up interviews has improved the officers' ability to detect 
relationship fraud.  Also, FPU's LES investigators have conducted 
more "split" interviews of the petitioner and applicant in recent 
months, applying their wealth of local knowledge and years of 
experience to garner more confessions of relationship fraud and 
saving adjudicating officers interview time.  These successful 
"split" interviews also save FPU time and resources by reducing the 
number of local field investigations required to complete fraud 
reviews of questionable immigrant visa cases. 
 
-------- 
DV FRAUD 
-------- 
 
¶16.  (U) Jamaicans are not eligible to participate in the DV 
program.  Kingston processes only a minuscule number of cases for 
applicants from other countries. 
 
-------------------------------------------- 
AMERICAN CITIZEN SERVICES AND PASSPORT FRAUD 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶17. (U) U.S. PASSPORT FRAUD: In the third quarter of 2008, FPU and 
the ACS Unit detected two fraudulent U.S. passports.  Jamaican 
immigration officials flagged one of the false passports when they 
noticed a suspicious traveler who presented the fraudulent document 
in an attempt to board a flight from Montego Bay to the United 
States.  FPU confirmed that the document was fraudulent, and the 
individual was detained and processed by the local police.  The 
second fraudulent document was detected when an individual submitted 
the passport to ACS in order to obtain a "renewed" U.S. passport. 
The document had been photo-substituted and was quickly confirmed to 
be fraudulent using PIERS records.  Kingston's ARSO-I interviewed 
the individual and ACS entered the appropriate PLOTS lookouts. 
 
-------------- 
ADOPTION FRAUD 
-------------- 
 
¶18.  (U) FPU regularly investigates adoption cases where the 
applicant's orphan status is uncertain.  Jamaica has a tradition of 
"informal" adoptions, which makes it difficult for Jamaican 
applicants to establish their eligibility as orphans under U.S. law. 
 Often, an applicant's relatives in the United States will adopt the 
applicant, despite the fact that the applicant does not qualify as 
an orphan.  FPU conducts regular field investigations to the 
applicants' homes in order to determine who is caring for the 
applicant and whether the family meets the poverty definitions of 
the INA. 
 
------------------ 
USE OF DNA TESTING 
------------------ 
 
¶19. (U) Kingston processes a high volume of cases where DNA testing 
is recommended. It is common in Jamaica for fathers not to be listed 
on their children's birth certificate, or for their name to be added 
later, with little or no supporting documentation provided proving 
the relationship at the time the name is added. As a result, the 
biological relationship of IV and ACS applicants is often 
 
KINGSTON 00000864  004.2 OF 005 
 
 
questionable. Approximately 20% of all cases where DNA is done 
resulted in no biological relationship. 
 
----------------------------------- 
ASYLUM AND OTHER DHS BENEFITS FRAUD 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶20. (U) Post's DHS/USCIS Officer-in-Charge reported no asylum cases 
for the period of March - August 2008. 
 
------------------------------ 
ALIEN SMUGGLING, TRAFFICKING, 
----------------------------- 
--------------------------------- 
ORGANIZED CRIME, TERRORIST TRAVEL 
--------------------------------- 
¶21. (SBU) In July 2008, the Jamaican Constabulary Force (JCF) 
Anti-corruption branch, with technical assistance from DHS/ICE 
Kingston, arrested JCF Superintendent Harry George Daley (a.k.a. 
"Bungles") for extortion in an undercover sting operation.  As a 
wealthy, high-ranking police officer who is allegedly connected to 
Jamaican criminal gangs, such as "the One Order" and "the Clansman," 
Mr. Daley was demanding protection money from business owners.  In a 
country where gang leaders are known as "dons", Daley is allegedly 
known as the "Don of Dons."  According to ICE, Superintendent Daley 
was heavily involved in drug smuggling and human 
trafficking/smuggling.  FPU revoked Mr. Daley's B1/B2 visa 
immediately after his arrest. 
 
----------------------------------------- 
HOST COUNTRY PASSPORT, IDENTITY DOCUMENTS, 
----------------------------------------- 
------------------ 
AND CIVIL REGISTRY 
------------------ 
 
¶22. (U) Document forgers, corrupt government officials and poor law 
enforcement assist alien smuggling rings operating in the country. 
The incidence of suspected fraud in many government agencies is 
high.  The Jamaican government (GOJ) has issued a new secure 
passport, but issuance procedures are poor and a new identity 
complete with a GOJ issued passport continues to be easy to attain. 
 
 
¶23. (U) In March, FPU coordinated an off-site field trip to the 
Registrar General's Department (RGD) to learn about the process of 
obtaining local birth and marriage certificates, as well as 
certificates of no impediment to marriage. The RGD provided an 
insightful presentation and tour of their facilities. The field trip 
provided a better understanding of the RGD and built confidence in 
the RGD's ability to help prevent fraud with respect to the civil 
documents they produce. 
 
-------------------------------------------- 
COOPERATION WITH HOST GOVERNMENT AUTHORITIES 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶24. (U) Building on the success of the RGD field trip the previous 
month, in April, along with our colleagues at the British and 
Canadian High Commissions, the FPM and ARSO-I participated in a 
roundtable discussion with the head of the RGD, which issues all 
civil documents in Jamaica.  The purpose of the meeting was to 
foster better cooperation between the three Missions and the RGD, 
particularly in cases where the Missions have detected forged or 
counterfeit birth, death and marriage certificates.  FPU has formed 
an outstanding working relationship with the RGD over the years and 
has implemented a streamlined process for document verification. 
However, there had not been much information sharing between the 
three Missions and the RGD in the past in order to determine the 
sources of these fraudulent documents.  To better prevent this type 
of fraud, the meeting participants agreed to refer all cases 
involving altered RGD documents to the RGD's fraud department, 
regardless of whether the fraud would result in potential visa 
ineligibilities.  This new system has helped the RGD to attempt to 
pinpoint the sources of these fraudulent documents and will 
hopefully lead to the arrests of all responsible individuals. 
 
¶25. (U) FPU continued our public outreach efforts with airline and 
immigration officer training in April.  FPU trained approximately 40 
new airline representatives on the detection of fraudulent 
documents, facial recognition and U.S. travel document requirements. 
In July, FPU hosted two representatives from DHS/CBP for additional 
training of airline representatives and Jamaican immigration 
officers. Over two weeks, a total of 179 representatives were 
trained in Kingston and Montego Bay. 
 
 
KINGSTON 00000864  005.2 OF 005 
 
 
------------------------------- 
COOPERATION WITH OTHER MISSIONS 
------------------------------- 
 
¶26. (SBU) Cooperation with our colleagues at the British and 
Canadian High Commissions is one of FPU's highest priorities.  All 
three Missions face common fraud threats, so it is clear that we can 
each target fraud more effectively through communication and 
information sharing.  FPU organized a conference for the three 
Missions' fraud prevention units and adjudicating officers on June 
¶18.  The purpose of the conference was three-fold: to introduce 
everyone so that lasting formal and informal relationships could 
develop; to learn about each other's immigration systems and 
document security features; and to brainstorm new avenues of 
collaboration in order to detect and prevent fraud.  The conference 
was a success on all three fronts.  The thirty conference attendees 
enjoyed presentations by each of the three Missions that focused on 
explaining the similarities and differences of each country's 
immigration laws, as well as comparing passport and visa security 
features.  There was lively discussion during each of the 
presentations that addressed bedrock immigration issues, such as how 
visa decisions are made, who can qualify to migrate to each country, 
and what constitutes a visa ineligibility.  The participants left 
with a better understanding of the rules governing the other 
Missions' visa decisions, along with more open lines of 
communication.  FPU, in conjunction with our British and Canadian 
partners, plans to make the conference an annual event. 
 
--------------------------- 
AREAS OF PARTICULAR CONCERN 
--------------------------- 
 
¶27. (U) Post hopes to implement more FPU involvement in the H2 
process.  FPM Melissa Bishop participated in the H2 Conference in 
Guatemala City in August and brought many ideas back to post 
including more comprehensive prescreening processes.  Post has also 
recently submitted the H2 Data Call Cable requesting H/L funding to 
cover among other things new H/L funded LES to focus primarily on 
H2b fraud prevention and validation studies. 
 
---------------------------- 
STAFFING AND TRAINING ISSUES 
---------------------------- 
 
¶28. (U) The FS-02 Fraud Prevention Manager (FPM) position, which had 
been vacant since 2003, was finally filled by Melissa Bishop in 
August 2008.  She also serves ad Deputy Chief of the Visa Unit, with 
primary responsibility for NIV operations.  Currently one other 
officer, Christiana Foreman, is assigned to the Unit for a six-month 
rotation as Fraud Prevention Operations Officer.  In August, Ms. 
Foreman attended the Fraud Prevention for Managers course at FSI; 
and two of the three FPU LES were able to attend the Fraud 
Prevention course at FSI in March and September of 2008. 
 
JOHNSON