VZCZCXYZ0043
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHTU #2910 3481534
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 141534Z DEC 06
FM AMEMBASSY TUNIS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2346
INFO RUEHDM/AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS 3033

UNCLAS TUNIS 002910 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR NEA/MAG (M.HARRIS); HR/EL DIVISION 
DAMASCUS FOR RCO MARY ELLEN HICKEY 
 
E.O. 12958: NA 
TAGS: SOCI CVIS SY TS
SUBJECT: Beywatch: American Passports and African Development? 
 
 
¶1. INTRODUCTION: This report is one of a series drafted by Post's 
entry level officers which have the "Beywatch" caption.  We believe 
the perspectives offered in the following vignette will give the 
reader a sense of everyday life in Tunisia.  For more information 
about Tunisia or the Embassy Tunis' Entry Level Officer Development 
initiative, see our Siprnet website. END INTRODUCTION. 
 
¶2. The African Development Bank (ADB) is temporarily headquartered 
in Tunis, and since its move here in February 2003 has had an impact 
on life in the city, including the Consular Section at Embassy 
Tunis. In large part because of the Bank's presence, Embassy Tunis 
processed non-immigrant visa applications from 75 different 
nationalities in FY-06, compared to only 46 nationalities in the 
fiscal year (FY-02) before the Bank relocated from Abidjan.  Also, 
of those 75 nations represented at the visa window in FY-06, 47 
percent were sub-Saharan African.  (Only 26 percent of FY-02's 
applicants came from that region of the world.) While the large 
majority of NIV applicants affiliated with the ADB tend to obtain 
visas based on their histories of prior travel and strong economic 
and social ties outside the United States, a surprising number of 
them have some very close American family bonds. 
 
¶3. For the period between September and November 2006 about 36 
percent of Tunisian applicants claimed to have family living in the 
United States.  ("Family" in this cable refers specifically to the 
close relations enumerated on the DS-156 Application Form, i.e. 
mother, father, brother, sister, etc.).  In contrast, over 61 
percent of applicants affiliated with the ADB listed family members 
living in the United States (These statistics include applicants who 
are applying for visas unrelated to their family's presence in 
America, such as official or student visas.) 
 
¶4. Somewhat surprisingly, many ADB applicants also have U.S. citizen 
children.  A quarter of all NIV applicants associated with the ADB 
indicated having American children on their application forms. 
(Note: That means that the number of Tunisians claiming to have any 
family in the U.S. for any reason is only about 10 percent more than 
the number of ADB employees with Amcit kids.)  According to the 
American Cooperative School of Tunis, about 20 percent of the 
students paid for by the ADB are holders of an American passport.  A 
look at Embassy Tunis' warden rolls shows 92 Americans registered as 
ADB affiliates, with over half of those registrants under the age of 
¶18.  (Note: There are only two USG-employed Americans with 
school-age children assigned to the Bank.) 
 
¶5. At first glance, these statistics seem to indicate a paradox: 
Because of their frequent travel and socioeconomic stability, ADB 
staff members are routinely granted U.S. visitor visas, and with 
much higher issuance rates than their compatriots back home. (For 
example, Embassy Tunis refused only about 10 percent of its Nigerian 
applicants in FY-06, while CG Lagos refused about 59 percent. While 
Tunis refused 4 percent of Gambian applicants in FY-06, Embassy 
Banjul refused 72 percent.)  Of course, ADB employees tend to 
represent the wealthier, more educated and more privileged social 
groups of their respective nations, thus making it fairly easy to be 
assured of their proper use of a visa.  It's all the more 
interesting that despite the economic successes that make them good 
visa cases they continue to seek American passports for their 
children, and eventually themselves through family immigration 
petitions. 
 
¶6.  It is not uncommon for Conoffs at Embassy Tunis to meet an ADB 
employee or employee's spouse at the interviewing window who is on 
her way to the United States to either visit her Amcit children or 
to bear another one.  The ADB routinely pays about 80 percent of 
childbirth costs for an employee or spouse.  Given the financial and 
legal means to do so, many ADB employees choose to give birth in the 
United States.  With the generally high quality of Tunisian medical 
care and major European capitals just 2 hours away by plane, it 
seems clear that the decision to give birth in the United States is 
not driven by medical concerns, but rather by the draw of our jus 
soli laws. (Comment: This is not unique to ADB employees; the Consul 
at an African embassy recently explained to Conoff that his wife 
traveled to the United States to give birth to both his children so 
that they could become citizens). ADB families then usually return 
to the Bank and continue with their lives, often not sending their 
children to the United States until it's time to go to college or 
look for jobs.  Coming from a part of the world whose beauties are 
so often overshadowed by political upheaval and economic adversity, 
perhaps evidence of a quest for that blue passport even by the elite 
is not such a surprise.  But that analysis is the subject for 
another cable. 
 
GODEC