VZCZCXRO8501
RR RUEHTRO
DE RUEHTU #2702/01 3070849
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 030849Z NOV 06
FM AMEMBASSY TUNIS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2160
INFO RUEHTRO/AMEMBASSY TRIPOLI 0420
RUEHEG/AMEMBASSY CAIRO 1351

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TUNIS 002702 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR NEA/MAG (M.HARRIS), TRIPOLI FOR CONOFF, CAIRO FOR RCO 
(HICKEY) 
 
E.O. 12958: NA 
TAGS: CVIS CMGT SOCI LY TS
SUBJECT: EMBASSY TUNIS PREPARES NIV APPLICANTS FOR NEW EVAF 
REGULATIONS 
 
Ref: STATE 141880 
 
¶1. SUMMARY: For the last two months, post consular and public 
affairs sections have been engaged in a campaign to increase public 
awareness about the new EVAF requirements. Through press releases 
and a roundtable discussion, liaison with the host government, and 
by using posters and public speaking engagements, post was able to 
coordinate a series of outreach efforts aimed at minimizing 
potential problems from the November 1 policy change. Preliminary 
results indicate that these efforts have increased awareness and 
EVAF usage among our applicant pool. However, post anticipates some 
minor difficulties as our applicant pool (which includes persons 
residing in Tunisia and Libya) becomes accustomed to exclusive use 
of electronic forms. END SUMMARY 
 
¶2. In preparation for the move to the EVAF requirement, Embassy 
Tunis reached out to government officials, media outlets, students 
and the general public.  Beginning September 1, Conoffs took the 
following actions. 
 
¶3. Government Authorities: 
- Post sent a Diplomatic Note to the Tunisian MFA to inform them of 
the change in policy. 
 
- On October 11, the MFA requested a meeting to discuss the EVAF. 
The meeting was attended by two Deputy Directors of Protocol, the 
Director of Protocol, the Director of Consular Affairs and the 
Deputy Director of Consular Affairs.  The MFA's main concerns about 
providing detailed information on high level officials and how to 
fill out the EVAF were readily assuaged by Conoffs, who explained 
that the form and process remain the same. 
 
- Visa Chief sent out letters to other consuls in Tunis asking them 
to help make their colleagues and contacts aware of the new 
regulations. 
 
- Embassy Tunis contacted Embassy Tripoli Conoff and PAO to 
establish a collaborative effort in spreading the word to our wider 
client pool. (Tunis handles Libyan NIV applicants, except for A and 
G visas. Libyan applicants make up more than one third of post's NIV 
workload.) Embassy Tripoli reported that they sent diplomatic notes 
and inquiries to the GOL, asking permission to run EVAF information 
in local newspapers.  They have yet to receive a response and are 
relying on word of mouth and their website to get the word out. 
 
¶4. Media: 
- During the last week of September, Embassy Tunis sent out a press 
release in English, Arabic and French detailing the use of the EVAF. 
 The communique was picked up by the majority of local daily and 
weekly Arabic and French newspapers. 
 
- On October 18, the Section Chief and Conoffs held a roundtable in 
French and Arabic with local journalists at the Embassy.  They were 
shown a presentation on how the EVAF works, and were then brought to 
the consular section and shown the barcode scanners and data entry 
stations where visa applications are processed. This event and the 
EVAF requirement were widely reported in the local Arabic and French 
press over the following days. 
 
¶5. Students and General Public: 
- Conoffs spoke at multiple events to potential student visa 
applicants about EVAF procedures.  Venues included the American 
Cooperative School of Tunis, the Faculte de Droit et des Sciences 
Economiques et Politiques de Sousse, the National Engineering School 
of Monastir, the Faculte des Sciences de Monastir and the Institut 
Superieur d'Informatique et de Mathematiques de Monastir. 
 
- Embassy Tunis contacted the head of the Federation of Tunisian 
Travel Agencies and requested his help in passing along information 
on the EVAF to travel agencies and their customers. 
 
- Conoff placed posters in English, French and Arabic highlighting 
the upcoming move to EVAF in several public access areas around the 
Embassy. 
 
- By October 2, all paper copies of form DS-156 were removed from 
the Embassy public areas, and staff urged applicants to begin using 
the EVAF in order to ease applicants into the process and to 
facilitate word of mouth transmission about the new procedure. 
 
- On October 6, Conoff and LES visited local internet cafes and 
compiled a list of neighborhood sources of internet access for 
applicants who arrive at the consular section without an EVAF 
already prepared. 
 
 
¶6. COMMENT:  Embassy Tunis has made proactive efforts to prepare our 
applicant pool for November 1, and is confident that our outreach 
 
TUNIS 00002702  002 OF 002 
 
 
will result in a smoother transition to the EVAF.  EVAF usage has 
already increased well before the cutoff date.  Two months ago about 
19% of applicants used EVAF, a month ago it grew to 38%, and on 
October 19 63% of our applicants used the EVAF.  While some 
applicants, such as officials at the African Development Bank and 
Libyan businessmen, have been familiar with the EVAF for a while, 
and Embassy Tunis has had information about the form on our website 
for quite some time, Tunisians were generally unaware of this format 
of the DS-156.  Due to this, and because it is estimated that only 
about 8% of Tunisians have internet access, we believe we will see-- 
despite our efforts-- some confusion and distress on the other side 
of the window come November 1.  END COMMENT. 
 
BALLARD