VZCZCXRO4312
RR RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHNH
DE RUEHGP #0225/01 0320329
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 010329Z FEB 07
FM AMEMBASSY SINGAPORE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2361
INFO RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE
RUEHBD/AMEMBASSY BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN 1313
RUEHCG/AMCONSUL CHENNAI 0207
RUEHCI/AMCONSUL KOLKATA 0011
RUEHBI/AMCONSUL MUMBAI 0272
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 1674
RUEHGO/AMEMBASSY RANGOON 1954
RUEHHK/AMCONSUL HONG KONG 6147
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 2409
RUEHGH/AMCONSUL SHANGHAI 0043
RUEHGZ/AMCONSUL GUANGZHOU 1096
RUEHCN/AMCONSUL CHENGDU 0058
RUEHSH/AMCONSUL SHENYANG 0085
RUEHDN/AMCONSUL SYDNEY 0721
RUEAORC/USCBP WASHINGTON DC
RUEAHLC/HOMELAND SECURITY CENTER WASHINGTON DC
RUEHPNH/NVC PORTSMOUTH 1723

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 SINGAPORE 000225 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR CA/FPP AND INL/HSTC 
DEPARTMENT PLEASE PASS TO KCC FRAUD MANAGER 
POSTS FOR FRAUD PREVENTION MANAGER 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KFRD CVIS CPAS CMGT ASEC SN
SUBJECT: SINGAPORE QUARTERLY FRAUD SUMMARY - Q1 FY2007 
 
REFS: (A) Kuala Lumpur 00008 (B) 06 SINGAPORE 03469 (C) 06 SINGAPORE 
01335 
 
SINGAPORE 00000225  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1. SUMMARY: H-1B fraud remained the most common fraud activity that 
we saw in Singapore this quarter.  Post began utilizing Lexis Nexis 
this quarter to support fraud-prevention activities. The number of 
H-1B applications from unqualified and/or short-term residents of 
Singapore originating from India seems to have dropped this quarter. 
 Post devoted significant resources to addressing potential adoption 
fraud. END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2. Singapore Fraud Summary 
 
¶A. COUNTRY CONDITIONS:  Singapore remained a low-fraud environment 
for consular services.  Singapore's pool of visa applicants is 
comprised of well-qualified individuals with reliable documentation 
for the most part.  Our key concern continued to be the potential 
for fraud by the Indian H-1B applicant pool. 
 
¶B. NIV FRAUD 
 
Post continued to implement more stringent measures in the 
adjudication of H-1B IT applicants originating from India.  The FPU 
unit utilized Nexis Lexis to vet petitioners' information submitted 
through tax returns, W-2 forms, payroll registries, LCAs, I-129s, 
and other documents.  In addition, post continued to exchange 
information with nearby posts concerning the legitimacy of local 
companies.  Officers applied the enhanced understanding of USCIS and 
its requirements that they gained through attendance at fraud 
conferences to improve the focus and substance of memos recommending 
petition revocation for suspect petition-based visa applications. 
Our sense is that there has been a drop in fraudulent applications 
as well as a decrease in applications from recent arrivals to 
Singapore, though it is too early to develop meaningful statistics. 
 
 
¶C. IV FRAUD:  See adoption fraud. Otherwise, IV fraud remained 
minimal. 
 
¶D. DV Fraud:  No change. 
 
¶E. ACS AND PASSPORT FRAUD: No change. 
 
¶F. ADOPTION FRAUD:  In August 2006, post's IV unit noticed a trend 
in American citizens inquiring about applying for immigration 
benefits for Malaysian babies to be adopted in Singapore. 
Prospective adoptive parents gave inconsistent information to IV 
staff and officers concerning whether or not they had already 
identified a child for adoption and the details surrounding the 
prospective adoption.  While absolute numbers were low (half a dozen 
in a few months), on a relative scale for this post it was a surge. 
Post's immigrant visa officer swiftly engaged Embassy Kuala Lumpur 
(ref A), CA, and USCIS Hong Kong, as some of the information 
provided by inquirers raised concerns about potential child 
trafficking.  In particular, it was noted that the children 
apparently had been brought to Singapore on social visit passes by 
un-named "agents" of some sort for the purpose of adoption, possibly 
without compliance with Malaysian laws on adoption or guardianship. 
Only one couple has filed a formal application for immigration 
benefits (I-600), which post referred to USCIS for adjudication. 
USCIS denied the case w.  We have posted a notice on our website 
urging American citizens who wish to adopt in Singapore to consult 
with the Embassy, submitted an updated adoption flyer to CA for 
clearance and posting, and scheduled joint outreach activities with 
USCIS for the current quarter to educate potential adoptive parents 
about the intricacies of international adoption and U.S. immigration 
requirements. 
 
¶G. ASYLUM AND OTHER DHS BENEFIT FRAUD:  No change. 
 
¶H. COOPERATION WITH HOST GOVERNMENT AUTHORITIES:  The GOS in general 
 
SINGAPORE 00000225  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
remained eager to share information related to non-Singapore 
citizens involved in alien smuggling or mala fide travel schemes. 
The GOS also remained reluctant to release information about 
Singapore nationals due to strict privacy laws, though there are no 
significant cases to report. 
 
¶I. AREAS OF PARTICULAR CONCERN:  None 
 
J: STAFFING AND TRAINING:  Embassy Singapore hosted the CA-organized 
EAP Fraud Conference in November.  Post's Fraud Assistant and all 
officers attended all or parts of the conference.  Officers had the 
opportunity to meet their counterparts in the region and discussed 
face-to-face issues previously approached only via emails or phone 
calls.  Post's FPM also attended the KCC-hosted L-1 Visa Fraud 
Prevention Conference in October, which was a great success.  The 
FPM brought back invaluable information on work visa fraud and 
trends to share with other officers at Post.  The FPM encouraged all 
LES staff to complete the online training related to detecting 
impostors and almost all LES staff members have completed the 
course. 
 
HERBOLD