VZCZCXRO2359
RR RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHNH
DE RUEHCHI #0106/01 1631025
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 121025Z JUN 07
FM AMCONSUL CHIANG MAI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0499
INFO RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE
RUEHCHI/AMCONSUL CHIANG MAI 0547
RUEFHLC/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY WASHINGTON DC
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 0021
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0015

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 CHIANG MAI 000106 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
FOR CA/VO, CA/EX, EAP/MLS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: CVIS PGOV PHUM PREF TH
SUBJECT: STATELESS APPLICANTS AND VISA PROCESSING 
 
 
CHIANG MAI 00000106  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1. SUMMARY. By virtue of Thailand's large stateless population 
and Consulate General Chiang Mai's location near the Lao and 
Burma borders, visa officers here handle dozens of applications 
annually from those without a passport or evidence of 
citizenship. This cable discusses the Consulate's experience 
with such individuals and how the added dimension of 
statelessness impacts consular work. Septel will explore the 
political issues surrounding the growing number of stateless 
people in Thailand. End Summary. 
 
¶2. Thailand is home to one of the world's largest populations of 
stateless people, with its border regions filled with refugees, 
political exiles, migrant workers, and ethnic minorities unable 
to secure citizenship in Thailand. Thailand's stateless groups 
include both ethnic hill tribes whose families have lived in 
Thailand for generations but did not or could not register for 
citizenship at birth, as well as more recent arrivals from Burma 
and other countries fleeing political or economic instability. 
Of the estimated 1-2 million stateless people currently in 
Thailand, two relatively small elements regularly seek visas to 
the United States through the Consulate: ethnic hill tribe 
members wishing to visit relatives who emigrated to the United 
States and exiles from Burma headed to meetings with U.S.-based 
organizations. 
 
¶3. These two groups produce 30-40 NIV applications each year - a 
relatively small number, but because of their complexity and the 
consular section's small staff, they are an important aspect of 
the overall workload. Consular officers must be familiar with 
the political issues that cause statelessness and the complex 
color-coded system the RTG uses on national ID cards and housing 
registration booklets. The color of these documents - presented 
by applicants during visa interviews - indicates the level of 
citizenship of the holder, and anything other than standard 
"ethnic Thai, full citizen" colors can signify restricted 
movement outside of a home village or restricted rights in other 
areas. 
 
Burma Exiles 
 
¶4. Northern Thailand is home to many leaders in the Burma exile 
community. Groups such as the ethnic Karen National Union, human 
rights advocates Assistance Association of Political Prisoners, 
and non-political Mae Tao medical clinic operate with tacit RTG 
approval on Thai territory. Several of these exiles travel for 
meetings with the USG, Congress, UN, and other Burma interest 
groups, sometimes on short notice. Many are high-profile 
recipients of humanitarian awards, such as Mae Tao medical 
clinic founder Dr. Cynthia Maung, who media reports often 
describe as "Southeast Asia's Mother Theresa." Managing the 
sensitive nature of these visas has become an important part of 
the consular section's operations. 
 
¶5. The RTG, wishing to avoid publicity over the existence of so 
many activists opposed to the government of a country with which 
it shares an 1,800 km-long border, offers some protection to 
these groups. But this protection is not always communicated 
effectively to local Thai law enforcement officials, who might 
detain or arrest those traveling from the border to the 
Consulate for their visa interview. In addition, Dr. Cynthia and 
many others hold only expired, altered or forged Burmese 
passports. These invalid documents are sometimes sufficient 
enough to avoid an arrest with local law enforcement in 
Thailand, but not enough to escape an ineligibility under 
Section 212(a)(7)(B) of the Immigration and Naturalization Act 
for their visa applications. 
 
¶6. In such instances, a consular officer works closely with 
other staff and contacts to vet the applicant before 
recommending the case for a waiver of inadmissibility. Since the 
introduction of the CCD's Admissibility Review Information 
Service (ARIS) system last year, officers have noticed a 
drastically improved turnaround time for Department of Homeland 
Security responses from several weeks under the old system to 
two days for the most recent case. Officers have found it 
helpful to make sure DHS reviewers also understand the specifics 
of the exile situation, explaining why some of DHS's preferred 
supporting materials for recommending waivers - such as 
background checks from local law enforcement agencies - are not 
possible to submit. Following DHS approval for a passport 
waiver, post issues the visas along with a letter the traveler 
can present to airline and immigration officials at the port of 
departure. 
 
Hmong Family Reunions 
 
¶7. With an estimated 250,000 Hmong now living in the United 
States, many Hmong Americans frequently invite relatives and 
friends living in Thailand to cultural events in Minnesota, 
 
CHIANG MAI 00000106  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
Wisconsin, California, and elsewhere. Each year, the Consulate 
processes hundreds of B1/B2 NIV applications from Hmong 
residents of Thailand, the majority of which have Thai 
citizenship. However, a smaller number of citizenship-less Hmong 
have officially documented residency and are able to acquire 
"travel documents" that serve as a passport. An even smaller 
number have no legal status - usually either because their birth 
was never recorded by the government or because they reside 
illegally in Thailand after fleeing Laos. These latter two 
groups face a greater challenge to demonstrate significant ties 
to a country that has not given them citizenship, especially 
when they have family members who are U.S. citizens. Very few 
truly stateless Hmong are able to overcome INA Section 214(b), 
although the Consulate has issued visas to Hmong with restricted 
or limited citizenship status in Thailand. 
 
¶8. The Hmong community in the U.S. has made a concerted effort 
to bring over cultural groups and, with the support of 
congressional delegations from states with significant Hmong 
populations, has reached out to the Consulate over the past 
several years to explain its need for participants from 
Thailand. Working with Hmong leaders to better understand their 
community, the Consulate has issued visas to applicants who 
would be unable to demonstrate ties to their residence with only 
their limited RTG-issued documentation. In the past several 
years, the Consulate has issued visas to village leaders, 
singers, actors, beauty pageant contestants, and soccer teams. 
Close monitoring of the applicants' return has shown most 
U.S.-based cultural groups to be responsible hosts who help 
ensure their guests return to Thailand. Post has detected a few 
overstays from these groups, but uses the specifics of each case 
to better profile future applicants and detect fraud. 
 
¶9. COMMENT. Thailand's stateless residents are sure to be a 
factor in the Consulate's operations for years to come. With 
thousands of Karen refugees from Burma now resettling in the 
U.S., we expect their relatives who chose to stay behind - as 
well as their ethnic cousins who have lived in Thailand for 
generations - will seek to join or visit them in the U.S., just 
as Hmong do now. In addition, several more Burmese exiles will 
have their now-legitimate passports expire in the next few 
years, adding to the pool of those unable to document 
citizenship. Given these factors, we expect to see visa 
applications from stateless residents of Thailand to grow. 
 
¶10. While most walk-in applicants with no demonstrable 
citizenship pose obvious difficulties for visa issuances under 
various INA sections, many applications in fact come with 
advance notification and are closely coordinated with 
trustworthy organizations in the United States. CG Chiang Mai 
faces an uncommon challenge in getting these unusual 
applications over initial bureaucratic hurdles to a point where 
they can be better adjudicated and ultimately qualified 
applicants can travel to the United States, often on business in 
the interests of U.S. policy. End Comment. 
CAMP