VZCZCXRO1852
RR RUEHPT
DE RUEHDN #0227/01 3010048
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 280048Z OCT 09
FM AMCONSUL SYDNEY
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9029
RUEHPNH/NVC PORTSMOUTH 1840
INFO RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 1590
RUEHBN/AMCONSUL MELBOURNE 2662
RUEHPT/AMCONSUL PERTH 0599

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 SYDNEY 000227 
 
DEPT FOR CA/FPP AND CA/VO/KCC 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KFRD CVIS CPAS CMGT ASEC AS
SUBJECT: SEPTEMBER 2009 FRAUD SUMMARY - MISSION AUSTRALIA 
 
¶1. Country Conditions:  Australia is a low-fraud environment for 
consular services.  Local economic and governmental conditions make 
for a qualified visa applicant pool.  Host country identity 
documents are highly reliable.  Challenges in the area of consular 
work are mostly a result of the growing third-country population, 
including recently naturalized Australians.  Our main concerns with 
respect to fraud are the H-1B and E-3 visa categories. 
 
NONIMMIGRANT VISA (NIV) FRAUD 
 
¶2.  Most of the 700,000 Australians who visit the United States each 
year do so under the Visa Waiver Program.  With the many legitimate 
options available for Australians who wish to work and travel in the 
United States, NIV fraud is extremely rare.  Almost all fraud in 
NIVs occurs in the applicant pool of third-country nationals and 
recently naturalized Australians, particularly in H-1B and E-3 visa 
categories.  The fraud almost always involves U.S.-based companies 
making job offers for which they do not have a corresponding, 
qualifying position. 
 
¶3.  During the reporting period of March 2009 to August 2009, 
Mission Australia posts adjudicated a total of 289 H-1B visas.  Of 
these, 57 were refused, a refusal rate of 19.7%.  Prior to officer 
adjudication, a FPU local staff member screened all third-country 
national H1B cases that were not clearly approvable. 
 
¶4. In this reporting period, Mission Australia posts adjudicated a 
total of 962 E-3 and E-3R visas, with a refusal rate of 3%.  Most of 
the qualified skilled workers in Australia travel on the E-3 visa 
rather than the H-1B.  Therefore, the refusal rate difference is a 
reflection of the difference in the education and work experience of 
the two applicant pools. Some of the refused applicants were of 
Indian origin who had recently become naturalized Australian 
citizens, and the bona fides of their respective employers in the 
United States were not credible.  KCC was very helpful in providing 
research for these cases. 
 
IV AND DV FRAUD 
 
¶5.  Immigrant Visa fraud in Australia is extremely rare.  The 
quality and reliability of identity documents are excellent.  While 
some K-1 cases involve tenuous relationships developed over the 
internet, they are, for the most part, legitimate.  DV applicants 
make up 22% of the total IV applicants, and only 24% of allotted DV 
numbers are actually used in Australia. 
 
ACS AND U.S PASSPORT FRAUD 
 
¶6. After a six-month investigation involving the Department and 
Diplomatic Security, Melbourne assisted the Australian Department of 
Immigration by documenting the true identity of an American citizen 
serving a 3-year jail term for identity fraud. 
 
ADOPTION FRAUD 
 
¶7. No adoptions were processed during the reporting period. 
 
USE OF DNA TESTING 
 
¶8. DNA testing has rarely been used in Australia, due to the high 
quality of identity documents. 
 
ASYLUM AND OTHER DHS BENEFIT FRAUD 
 
¶9. No reports of asylum or other DHS benefit fraud were found during 
the reporting period. 
 
ALIEN SMUGGLING, TRAFFICKING, ORGANIZED CRIME, TERRORIST TRAVEL 
 
¶10.  Australian government authorities aggressively investigate 
issues of alien smuggling, trafficking, organized crime, and 
terrorist travel.  As a result, post's main concerns lie in the area 
of technology transfer.  Due to the relatively large number of 
Chinese and Indian applicants, Mission Australia regularly submits 
Mantis SAOs. 
 
¶11.  Mission consular sections have cooperated with LegAtt on 
potential applicants of concern in all of these areas, particularly 
Qpotential applicants of concern in all of these areas, particularly 
in the areas of trafficking and organized crime. 
 
DS CRIMINAL FRAUD INVESTIGATIONS 
 
 
¶12.  There have been no DS criminal fraud investigations in 
Australia involving consular matters. 
 
HOST COUNTRY PASSPORT, IDENTITY DOCUMENTS, AND CIVIL REGISTRY 
 
 
SYDNEY 00000227  002 OF 002 
 
 
¶13.  The Australian government is committed to deterring the misuse 
and/or counterfeiting of Australian passports and identity 
documents.  Given a relatively small population of approximately 21 
million, combined with isolated geography, the Australian government 
is able to effectively monitor and control identity documents. 
 
¶14.  The one area in which occasional fraudulent Australian 
documents have been reported is that of false visas.  These visas 
are most often used in building an applicant's credibility to obtain 
a visa to a third country, such as the United States and Canada. 
Mission Australia has worked with the Australian government 
authorities in order to be better able to identify these forgeries. 
Melbourne's Fraud Prevention LES has established contact with 
immigration document examiners to receive training on current 
document fraud trends. 
 
COOPERATION WITH HOST GOVERNMENT AUTHORITIES 
 
¶15.  Appropriate information sharing with valuable anti-fraud 
contacts at all levels helps to ensure that Australia remains a 
low-fraud post.  Post continues to receive updates from the 
Australian government and other allies regarding fraud that they are 
encountering. 
 
¶16.  On a quarterly basis, Sydney Consulate staff continue to meet 
with counterparts from various Australian government agencies, as 
well as the governments of the United Kingdom, Canada, and New 
Zealand, as part of the 5 Nation Anti-Fraud Working Group.  In these 
meetings, participants share information on trends in immigration 
fraud and border issues.  The productive relationship results in 
extensive information sharing and useful contacts with Australian 
law enforcement and immigration authorities. 
 
¶17. In August 2009, the Melbourne Fraud Prevention LES facilitated a 
meeting between the RSO and Victoria State Police. Senior 
investigators at this taskforce had previously indicated a 
willingness to share information concerning the travel of persons 
and their associates involved in organized crime to the United 
States. 
 
¶18. The Melbourne Fraud Prevention LES has established a working 
relationship with a network of key fraud personnel from various 
agencies in Victoria. The aim is to enable a strategic view of 
emerging fraud trends. 
 
AREAS OF PARTICULAR CONCERN 
 
¶19. Besides the H1B and E3 concerns previously mentioned, there are 
no other areas of particular concern. 
 
 
STAFFING AND TRAINING 
 
¶20.  Using H&L funding, Sydney and Melbourne have hired Fraud 
Prevention LES who will conduct regular fraud investigations. 
In August 2009, Melbourne Vice Consul attended the "Fraud Prevention 
for Consular Managers" at FSI. Both the Melbourne Vice Consul and 
Melbourne Fraud Prevention LES received hands-on training in fraud 
prevention at U.S. Consulate General Sydney. 
 
FERGIN