VZCZCXYZ0001
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHVI #1355/01 2891515
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 161515Z OCT 09
FM AMEMBASSY VIENNA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3450
RUEHPNH/NVC PORTSMOUTH

UNCLAS VIENNA 001355 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR CA/FPP, DHS FOR CIS/FDNS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: CVIS CPAS CMGT ASEC KFRD AU
SUBJECT: FRAUD SUMMARY - VIENNA 
 
REF: STATE 57623 
 
 
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Country Conditions 
------------------ 
 
¶1.  Austria is a Visa Waiver Program (VWP) country and a party to 
the European Union's (EU) Schengen Agreement covering border 
controls and immigration.  Border officials and airline personnel 
have been vigilant and effective in deterring transit through 
Austria by undocumented or fraudulently documented travelers.  A 
strong economy, relatively low unemployment, and generous social 
benefits make Austria a desirable destination for immigrants from 
the 12 Central and Eastern European countries that joined the EU in 
2004 and 2007, not to mention other immigrants that are attracted to 
Europe.  Austria has been relatively generous in granting asylum, 
particularly in the late 1980s when many Bosnian refugees fled to 
Austria.  Today they are fairly well integrated into Austrian 
society. Although Vienna's Schwechat Airport is a major transit 
point for travelers from Eastern Europe, the consular section seldom 
encounters sophisticated visa or passport fraud.  Austrian 
authorities do intercept individuals traveling on altered 
U.S.documents and consult with the local Department of Homeland 
Security Immigration and Customs Enforcement (DHS/ICE) office on 
such cases. 
 
¶2.  Austria began issuing machine-readable passports (MRPs) on 
January 1, 1996.  Approximately 95 percent of all its valid 
passports are MRPs.  The issuance of MRPs began simultaneously at 
Austrian passport agencies and at diplomatic missions abroad.  The 
green-cover non-MRPs issued prior to January 1, 1996 were phased out 
at the end of 2005.  The Austrian government has been issuing 
e-passports from a new centralized location since June 16, 2006. 
Overseas applicants are also issued e-passports through this 
facility unless they have urgent travel. Issuance of official and 
diplomatic e-passports began in September 2006. 
 
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NIV Fraud 
---------- 
 
¶3.  About 40 percent of Vienna's NIV workload involved third-country 
nationals (TCNs), but most of these applicants are long-term 
residents of Austria.  Many are employed by United Nations offices 
in Austria or are associated with third-country diplomatic missions. 
 
 
¶4.  Some young Austrians present themselves as tourists but plainly 
intend to work informally as au pairs or in the service industry. 
Visa shoppers appear occasionally, usually from Iran, but are easily 
identified by their lack of Austrian residence permits as well as 
previous refusals, usually in Dubai.  Most NIV applicants who have 
permanent residence in Austria are usually able to demonstrate good 
ties, so problems common elsewhere, such as false job letters and 
altered bank statements, are relatively rare.  TCN NIV refusals are 
generally based on typical 214(b) considerations, and post makes few 
212(A)(6)(c)(i) determinations. 
 
¶5.  Post occasionally comes across applicants for J-1 work/study 
visas who seem to have no background in the hospitality or tourism 
industry.  These are often young people interested in working in the 
U.S. for six months who have found a legitimate training program, 
usually in a hotel or country club.  However, the applicant will 
have no intent in working in the hospitality industry after 
returning to Austria.  While we have not seen any direct evidence of 
fraud in either the application or the work/study program, there 
seems to be a lack of understanding of program requirements on both 
sides of the program. 
 
¶6.  In late spring 2009, four Iranian applicants purporting to be 
members of the Iran Taekwondo Union applied for NIVs in Vienna. 
None of the four traveled in time to attend the competition that was 
their stated purpose of travel, and as of the date of this cable, 
only one of the four has departed the U.S.  When more applicants 
claiming to be Taekwondo athletes and members of the Iran Taekwondo 
Union appeared for interviews in late September 2009, post found 
them all unqualified under 214(b), based on the applicants' previous 
refusals as well as post's experience with the aforementioned 
applicants.  Post is investigating whether the three applicants who 
traveled but have not yet departed the U.S. applied for asylum. 
 
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IV Fraud 
-------- 
 
¶7.  Post processes a comparatively high percentage of TCNs for IVs 
in Vienna.  Vienna has been designated an IV-processing post for 
Iranians, and consular officers are forced to rely on Iranian 
government documents whose authenticity cannot be verified.  IV 
numbers for Austrian citizens are much lower.  As citizens of the 
EU, Austrians are entitled to live and work in most of Europe, but 
Austrians generally do not emigrate from Austria, and often return 
to live in Austria after retirement.  Post has seen a significant 
drop-off in the number of K-1 and IR-1 petitions in which the 
petitioner is a low-income American woman and the beneficiary a 
young Nigerian man.  Of the two cases received since post's last 
Fraud Summary cable, one is potentially fraudulent, while the other 
appears to be well-qualified. 
 
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DV Fraud 
--------- 
 
¶8.  Historically, Austrian immigration to the United States has been 
fairly low, especially compared to other Western European countries. 
 As a result, post processes few DV cases. DV fraud is low to 
non-existent among Austrians and resident TCNs. 
 
----------------------- 
ACS and Passport Fraud 
----------------------- 
 
¶9.  Since the last reporting period, post has come across one case 
of passport fraud, in which a West African was trying to pass 
himself off as a U.S. citizen using a photo-subbed passport.  This 
was reported to RSO, who worked with the local Austrian authorities 
to determine the actual identity of the fraudster. 
 
-------------- 
Adoption Fraud 
-------------- 
 
¶10.  Austria's low birth rate and strict adoption requirements make 
it difficult for foreigners to adopt.  Non-residents may not adopt 
Austrian-born children at all.  Post has not processed an adoption 
case since 2005. 
 
----------------------------------- 
Asylum and other DHS Benefits Fraud 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶11.  Vienna's DHS/CIS office processes all Visas 92/93 requests and 
reports no fraud. 
 
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Cooperation with Host Government Authorities 
-------------------------------------------- 
¶12.  Austrian authorities are quite cooperative in confirming 
information from tax and business files.  Airport authorities work 
principally with post's DHS/ICE office, but immigration authorities 
readily assist consular staff with inquiries. 
 
--------------------- 
Staffing and Training 
--------------------- 
¶13.  Post's FPM is also the visa chief.  She attended the Fraud 
Prevention for Consular Managers course in 2007, as well as the Iran 
Fraud Prevention course in September 2009.  Post has a part-time LES 
FPA, whose primary duties are as an ACS assistant.  The LES in the 
visa section whose portfolio includes visa fraud will be attending 
the Fraud Prevention Workshop for Foreign Service Nationals at FSI 
in November, 2009. 
 
 
 
 
UNCLASSIFIED 2 
 
 
 
          UNCLASSIFIED 
 
 
 
           UNCLASSIFIED