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R 250919Z APR 07
FM AMCONSUL CHIANG MAI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0456
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RUEHGZ/AMCONSUL GUANGZHOU 0024
RUEHHK/AMCONSUL HONG KONG 0018
RUEHKV/AMEMBASSY KYIV 0001
RUEHMO/AMEMBASSY MOSCOW 0002
RUEHPNH/NVC PORTSMOUTH 0001
RUEHGH/AMCONSUL SHANGHAI 0024

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 CHIANG MAI 000078 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT ALSO PASS TO EAP/PD JESSICA DAVIES AND EAC/EC/CU 
HILARION MARTINEZ 
DEPARTMENT FOR EAP/MLS MELANIE HIGGINS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: CVIS CMGT OEXC SCUL TH
SUBJECT: GROWING SUMMER WORK AND TRAVEL EXCHANGE PROGRAM RESHAPES 
WORKLOAD AT SMALL POST 
 
REF: BANGKOK 2246 
 
CHIANG MAI 00000078  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
¶1. Summary. The explosive growth in the Student Work and Travel 
(SWT) program in Thailand has reshaped the way Consulate General 
Chiang Mai manages its visa workload and consular outreach 
strategies. SWT visa applications have quadrupled over the past 
three years to the point where they now account for more than 55 
percent of all visas processed during the months leading up 
Thailand's summer break. Despite glowing reviews from 
participants, some warning signs of trouble ahead warrant 
attention from consular and public diplomacy officers. End 
Summary. 
 
SWT'S POPULARITY LEADS TO SIGNIFICANT VISA GROWTH 
 
¶2. As detailed in Embassy Bangkok's report (reftel), the 
March-June summer break for Thai college students has led SWT 
companies to recruit increasing numbers of Thai students to work 
in U.S. amusement parks, restaurants, and other tourist locales. 
Coordinating with U.S.-based sponsoring organizations, local 
companies recruit students for the program, collect 
participation fees (usually about $1,000), coordinate their J 
visa applications and travel, and turn them over to U.S. SWT 
companies that facilitate employment and housing arrangements. 
 
¶3. The program's growing popularity among Thai students - and 
the popularity of Thai students among U.S. employers - has 
fuelled a dramatic increase in J visa applications at post. In 
January-March 2004, post processed just 103 J-1 applications and 
SWT applicants accounted for 10 percent of the consulate's NIV 
workload during that time period. In the past three years, 
however, SWT has come to dominate the consular section's first 
quarter caseload. During the 2005 SWT season, post received 297 
applications (24 percent of the overall January-March caseload), 
581 in the 2006 season (47 percent), and 1,187 in 2007 (55 
percent). Based on conversations with local recruiters, 2008 
could see almost 2,000 SWT applications in northern Thailand 
alone. To put the caseload growth in perspective, post processed 
just 2,052 visas from every category in all of 2003. 
 
¶4. Post has adapted its consular outreach and management 
strategies to handle the wave of SWT applications. With high 
confidence in the ability of SWT applicants to overcome 214b 
requirements (reftel details Embassy Bangkok validation studies 
showing near-perfect return rates), one officer can handle more 
than 100 cases per morning. Ensuring that applicants arrive for 
the interviews prepared is key to an efficient process. Post 
invests considerable staff hours in the weeks leading up to SWT 
high season, coordinating with recruiting companies to make sure 
documents, DS-2019s, and appointments are in order before 
students arrive for their interviews. This investment paid off 
in 2007, as post was able to accept all SWT applications without 
delaying overall NIV interview wait times (historically less 
than one week throughout the year). 
 
¶5. Working off of Embassy Bangkok's lead, post identifies SWT 
coordinators and meets with them to discuss the application 
process. Local SWT agencies are proliferating almost as quickly 
as the number of applicants and post's outreach efforts missed a 
handful of smaller operations that opened this year. With 
continued growth in the program likely, post is coordinating 
with universities, academic advising offices, and other SWT 
companies to pass the word to new agencies about planning SWT 
applications in concert with the consular section. 
 
PROGRAM'S SUCCESSES MAKE GOOD PUBLIC DIPLOMACY 
 
¶6. Current and former SWT applicants give overwhelmingly 
positive reviews of their SWT experiences. Most students point 
to opportunities for travel, meeting new friends, and improving 
English skills as the program's chief attractions. Indeed, SWT 
veterans are among the best English speakers who consular 
officers interview during SWT high season, displaying a comfort 
with the language and grasp of slang nearly unseen among the 
region's other college students. 
 
¶7. Most SWT students work until mid-to-late June and then spend 
 
CHIANG MAI 00000078  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
about two weeks traveling the United States. Popular travel 
destinations include Florida (where many are assigned to work), 
New York City, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. Students speak 
highly of American culture, singling out independence, 
creativity, and self-confidence as traits they admire most. 
 
¶8. The positive SWT experiences also are beginning to benefit 
other aspects of visa work, as more people interact with the 
consulate and gain an understanding of U.S. immigration 
policies. Officers note that many F (student) visa applicants 
over the past two years have come from SWT veterans. 
 
SOME CONCERN OVER UNCHECKED GROWTH, LACK OF OVERSIGHT 
 
¶9. Despite the highly positive reviews from most students, the 
rapid growth in the program has led to some negative reports. 
These include stories in which participants are stranded at the 
airport, housed in cramped or overpriced apartments, or not 
provided jobs. For the most part, coverage of these problems has 
not cited the consulate, embassy or USG as responsible parties. 
However, worried parents often call the consular section and ask 
staff for help resolving such issues with their children, many 
of whom are working for someone outside of their family for the 
first time. 
 
¶10. Students from post's consular district report taking on 
second or third jobs after arriving in the United States (one 
sample of 10 SWT participants from 2006 showed nine had signed 
up for extra work). These students said they took the extra jobs 
to make more money, compensate for lower-than-expected hours at 
their primary job, or escape harsh conditions at their original 
employers. Extra jobs mean many of these students work more than 
12-hour days and yet, as temporary employees, did not receive 
paid personal and sick time. In addition, students say some SWT 
participants fall victim to U.S.-based recruiters who sign up 
students for second jobs, only to place them in less desirable 
work or fail to mail students their final paycheck after they 
have returned to Thailand. Some students and local academic 
advising center representatives familiar with SWT suspect 
organized crime networks are involved in the scams, and note 
that many of the suspicious recruiters had Russian- or 
Ukrainian-sounding names. 
 
¶11. The doubling of SWT applications from 2006 to 2007 and 
subsequent slight decrease in quality of the average applicant 
may signal that there is a finite supply of qualified students 
in northern Thailand who want to participate in the program 
primarily for cultural exchange. Consular officers observed a 
decline in overall quality among applicants this year as the 
season wore on, especially among non-traditional students and 
those studying at colleges in the outer provinces. Many 
less-qualified students arrived for the interviews heavily 
coached and unable to answer simple questions in English. Others 
brought transcripts showing weak academic records. However, 
backed by a strong confidence that the students would return to 
Thailand and that past participants had improved their English 
skills, post's officers approved almost all SWT applications. If 
post sees a further decline in applicant quality it will merit 
more scrutiny over what constitutes a "qualified applicant." 
Post recommends that CA and ECA provide further instructions on 
adjudication standards for SWT applicants for consular officers 
to apply during interviews, particularly regarding academic 
qualifications and language ability. 
 
LESSONS LEARNED: MANAGING WORKLOADS AND PUBLIC DIPLOMACY EFFORTS 
 
¶12. The quadrupling of SWT visas over the past three years - and 
the expectation even more growth ahead - has driven consular 
outreach to the forefront of post's agenda. With such heavy 
growth in visas, post's small consular staff of two officers and 
four FSNs must prepare for SWT high season and seek effective 
means to handle the increase in applications, data entry, and 
filing. Working closely with Embassy Bangkok, post will continue 
to actively reach out to SWT recruiters and integrate SWT/J visa 
policy issues into general visa information outreach efforts. 
 
 
CHIANG MAI 00000078  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
¶13. COMMENT: SWT has for the most part been a boon for the U.S. 
image among Thai students. However, unchecked growth in the 
program could risk that these positives turn into negatives. 
With some SWT companies more interested in profits than cultural 
exchange programs for foreign students, local recruitment 
standards are falling and SWT participants find themselves 
vulnerable to exploitation and scams. U.S. sponsors must closely 
monitor their local recruiting partners to ensure all students 
are well-screened, qualified, and prepared for their experience 
working in the United States. If the program simply becomes a 
source of cheap labor for U.S. employers seeking to bypass 
existing rules on importing unskilled labor, the integrity of 
the program will suffer. 
CAMP