VZCZCXRO9801
RR RUEHAST RUEHBI RUEHCI RUEHLH RUEHLN RUEHPW RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHEK #1023/01 2810151
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 070151Z OCT 08 ZDK
FM AMEMBASSY BISHKEK
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1420
RUEHPNH/NVC PORTSMOUTH NH
INFO RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE
RUCNCLS/ALL SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA COLLECTIVE
RUEHFT/AMCONSUL FRANKFURT 3797

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BISHKEK 001023 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR CA/FPP AND CA/VO; 
POSTS FOR FRAUD PREVENTION MANAGERS; 
FRANKFURT FOR REGIONAL CONSULAR OFFICER 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KFRD CVIS CPAS CMGT ASEC KG
 
SUBJECT: KYRGYZSTAN FRAUD SUMMARY MARCH - AUGUST 2008 
 
REF: A) State 74840 
      B) Bishkek 366 
 
¶1.  Country Conditions:  Kyrgyzstan, a former Soviet republic of 
five million people, is a country in transition, struggling with the 
aftereffects of years of communist misrule and its recent autocratic 
regime.  Corruption pervades almost all aspects of life and business 
in the Kyrgyz Republic.  Endemic poverty leads many to pursue 
employment abroad, overwhelmingly in the Russian Federation and 
Kazakhstan.  Recent press reports estimate approximately 500,000 
Kyrgyz citizens are living abroad and remitting salaries home. 
Inflation this past year is estimated to be 25 - 30%. 
 
Conditions in Kyrgyzstan vary between the north, where the majority 
population are Kyrgyz and the terrain is mountainous; and the south 
which contains part of the Ferghana valley and a large Uzbek 
population.  Kyrgyzstan's ethnic minorities also include Russians 
who remained after the collapse of the Soviet Union, ethnic Germans, 
Koreans, Uighers and other peoples of Central Asia.  It has not been 
unusual in the past for members of these groups to claim asylum in 
the U.S. based on either religious beliefs or for political reasons. 
 While there is occasionally some tension amongst various groups, 
there have been no serious conflicts or organized repression of 
ethnic groups in Kyrgyzstan. 
 
Agriculture plays an important role in the Kyrgyz economy. 
Unemployment, according to different measures, is estimated to be 12 
- 18%.  As mentioned above, a significant portion of population work 
abroad and remit approximately $710 million USD back to Kyrgyzstan - 
a figure that is approximately 60% of the national budget.  Banks 
are generally not trusted or utilized by the average citizen, which 
results in the majority of people maintaining their savings in hard 
currency.  As a result of the falling value of the US dollar and 
increases in food and fuel prices, conditions have become more 
difficult for the average Kyrgyz citizen over the last year.  Travel 
to and from the Kyrgyz Republic is difficult and expensive.  The 
majority of Kyrgyz will vacation within Kyrgyzstan rather than 
abroad.  It is very rare to encounter an NIV applicant who has 
traveled to destinations other than Kazakhstan or Russia. 
 
¶2. NIV Fraud: 
 
NIV fraud is usually detected during the interview process and is 
refused under 214 (b) of the INA.  NIV fraud primarily consists of 
fraudulent supporting documents such as bad letters of invitation, 
false bank statements or false job letters.  Post does not give 
credence to such documents during routine interviews.  However this 
is a problem when processing student visas.  The reporting period 
saw a steady stream of applicants wishing to study at community 
colleges or English as a Second Language (ESL) programs that are 
low-cost and located where friends or relatives live in the US. New 
York remains the destination of choice for both tourists and 
students who apply for NIV's.  The majority of applicants will only 
open a bank account locally within days of the visa interview and 
deposit the minimum amount of funds required by the I-20 form.  The 
education system in Kyrgyzstan is notoriously corrupt and grades 
cannot be relied upon as an accurate indicator.  Most students will 
take the semester or year off of their studies to go to the US.  In 
order to receive credit for their studies abroad, they are supposed 
to study in a related field to their major.  Post has seen that this 
is not the case with most student visa applicants. 
 
During this past reporting period, post processed 1,035 Summer Work 
and Travel (SWT) applications.  This was a 146% increase from the 
previous year.  Post was pleasantly surprised to find very few cases 
of fraudulent students.  However since this was only the second year 
SWT was offered in Kyrgyzstan, post is not optimistic this will 
remain the case in the future.  While 32.5% of SWT applications were 
refused, it was mainly due to poor English language skills and 
214(b) concerns.  As per ref B, 35% of SWT participants overstayed 
last year.  Post plans to conduct another 100% validation study 
later this year.  In one serendipitous find, consular staff 
discovered a hand-out left behind by a SWT student after their 
interview.  Four pages long, this document was a complete guide on 
the interview process and gave such advice as to "always look the 
consul in the eye," "tell them that you are the future of civil 
society in your country," and much more.  Post promptly shared this 
with its RCO, VO and all other CIS posts as it originated in Belarus 
and had found its way to Bishkek. 
 
¶3. IV Fraud: Post has seen no significant trends in IV fraud. The 
majority of marriage cases involve Kyrgyz citizens marrying US 
citizen who are local contractors or servicemen on active duty. 
Post has seen an increase in U.S. petitioners incorrectly completing 
the I-130 Petition for an Alien Relative.  It is not unusual for the 
 
BISHKEK 00001023  002 OF 003 
 
 
petitioner to "forget" to list previous marriages so as to avoid 
having to secure copies of divorce records for petitions.  IV's for 
Kyrgyz citizens are processed in Almaty, Kazakhstan. 
 
¶4. DV Fraud: Post does not process diversity visas. 
 
¶5. ACS and Passport Fraud: Passport and CRBA issuance is relatively 
low in Bishkek.  The large number of contractors working at the 
nearby coalition airbase has increased the number of marriage-based 
petitions filed as well as CRBA applications, but to date post has 
not seen any fraud. 
 
Post has seen an increase in potential wire fraud against U.S. 
citizens.  As with other former Soviet countries, U.S. citizens are 
meeting alleged single women via the internet.  As the on-line 
relationship develops, these women begin requesting money.  In the 
cases seen this past reporting period, U.S. citizens are instructed 
to wire money either directly to the "women, "to "the visa center" 
or their new "e-gold wire money system" which promises visa issuance 
and plane ticket purchase in one transaction.  Post received 
increasing numbers of e-mails from U.S. citizens requesting 
confirmation of the "visa center" and the visa application 
requirements.  In some of the e-mails, a complete address and 
telephone number was provided.  Post's investigation showed that the 
addresses are non-existent and the telephone numbers are false.  The 
scammer usually asks for $2,000 - $4,000 US from the potential 
victim.  Post worked with RSO on these investigations and informed 
inquirers of the dangers of money transfer to unknown parties. 
 
¶6. Adoption Fraud: 2006 changes in the Kyrgyz Family Code have 
directly resulted in a dramatic increase in the number of Kyrgyz 
children adopted by US citizens.  Kyrgyzstan ranked #18 on CI's list 
of top 20 adoption source countries for FY 2007. According to the 
Ministry of Education, there are eight adoption agencies registered 
in Kyrgyzstan.  There is little control over civil documents. 
Rampant corruption in all parts of the Kyrgyz government ensures 
that post cannot rely on presented documents.  A recent criminal 
prosecution case of a false document ring demonstrated the ease of 
obtaining any and every Kyrgyz document.  Additionally, document 
stock is often unreliable.  During the reporting period, no birth 
certificates were available for issuance anywhere in Kyrgyzstan for 
over three months.  A full investigation is carried out for each 
I-604 issued for every child.  While Kyrgyz adoption law resembles 
adoption law found in the Russian Federation, much of the procedures 
are lacking or missing in Kyrgyzstan.  The definition of orphan 
under Kyrgyz law does not always match the definition of orphan 
according to US immigration law.  To date, there seems to be no 
minimum age or minimum wait time before a child can be given up for 
an adoption.  During the past reporting period, post has seen 
adoptions where the orphanage would go back and generate records - 
such as parents' death certificates - after the child was put up for 
adoption.  The reason given was that local authorities had never 
gotten around to reporting the death.  While post has not referred 
an I-604 Orphan Investigation to USCIS for denial, post continues to 
remain concerned.  This past reporting period also saw many 
shake-ups within the Ministry of Education.  Post's normal adoption 
contact suddenly resigned with little explanation.  The new Ministry 
of Education official in charge of adoptions is still familiarizing 
herself with Kyrgyz law and adoption procedures. 
 
¶7. Use of DNA testing: During the reporting period, post had no 
cases that required DNA testing. In general, post rarely performs or 
has need to perform DNA testing. 
 
¶8. Asylum and other DHS benefit fraud: Post does not normally 
process any asylum cases but is occasionally called upon to verify 
locally issued documents supporting asylum and immigration 
applications at other posts.  In an extraordinary case, post 
conducted the interviews of three Uzbek families who were 
beneficiaries of I-730 Follow to Join Petitions.  The travel 
documents were ultimately issued by IOM Moscow.  Post worked closely 
with Embassy Tashkent to confirm the documents involved in the case. 
 Post has not received any verification requests during the past 
reporting period. 
 
¶9. Alien Smuggling, Trafficking, Organized Crime, and Terrorist 
Travel: Kyrgyzstan is a country of origin and transit for human 
trafficking.  As per Bishkek's 2008 Trafficking in Person's (TIP) 
report, trafficking occurs for both forced labor and sexual 
exploitation.  The majority of trafficking victims travel to 
Kazkahstan, Russia, Turkey or the UAE.  There is very little 
evidence of trafficking to the US or Canada.  Uzbek and other 
citizens will often transit Kyrgyzstan en route to the UAE or other 
destinations.  Due to the widespread sale of the pre-2005 Kyrgyz 
passport, the US government ceased to recognize it as a valid travel 
 
BISHKEK 00001023  003 OF 003 
 
 
document.  This old version of the Kyrgyz passport was discovered to 
be a key tool for traffickers in transporting people out of 
Kyrgyzstan to other destinations. 
 
The Embassy places restrictions on USG personnel for travel to 
certain parts of Kyrgyzstan, such as Batken Oblast, to security and 
terrorism concerns.  In 2006, suspected militants attacked a border 
post in the Batken region.  The Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan and 
other terrorist organizations remain active in Central Asia.  Press 
reports during the reporting period report "invasions" by Tajiks 
into Kyrgyz valleys.  Land borders, especially in the South, are 
easily crossed by nationals of neighboring countries.  Citizen of 
CIS countries do not need a passport to enter Kyrgyzstan - only an 
ID card. 
 
¶10. DS Criminal Investigations: Post does not have an RSO-I but 
works well the RSO on related cases.  Post has not referred any 
cases to RSO for investigation during this reporting period. 
 
¶11. Host Country Passport, Identity Documents, and Civil Registry: 
Practically any document issued in the country can be fraudulently 
obtained, for a price.  The procedures for issuance of civil 
documents are similar to those in the Russian Federation and other 
former Soviet Republics.  A birth or death is recorded on a 
certificate called a spravka issues by a hospital.  This certificate 
is usually a flimsy piece of newsprint that is completed by hand. 
It has no security features other than a stamp.  The bearer then 
files this certificate with their regional Vital Records Office 
known locally as ZAGS (Zapisi Aktov Grazhdonskovo Sostoyanoye. 
Birth certificates are only issued for Kyrgyz citizens.  The only 
record of birth for foreigners would be the certificate issued by 
the hospital where the birth occurred - a document that is 
vulnerable to fraud. 
 
Previous negligence in the Kyrgyz passport agency led to their 
availability on the black market in several countries.  This led to 
the de-recognition of the 1994 Kyrgyz passport, which has recently 
been replaced by the 2004 version.  While a significantly more 
secure document than the previous passport, it is still vulnerable 
to fraud based on the documents presented to obtain a passport. 
During the reporting period, post encountered one case where a US 
citizen was arrested for illegally obtaining a valid Kyrgyz 
passport.  During attendance of his trial, post heard extensive 
evidence of document sale and production.  Discussions with 
officials at the passport office indicate that while the new Kyrgyz 
passport is a secure document, the basis for issuing it - the Kyrgyz 
Birth Certificate - remains vulnerable. 
 
¶12. Cooperation with Kyrgyz authorities: Cooperation with the 
host-government on visa and immigration matters is good.  Post 
continues to build its relationship with the airport Border Guards 
as mentioned in Ref A. 
 
¶13. Areas of particular concern: Post's major areas of concern are 
adoption fraud and the continuation of the Summer Work and Travel 
Program.  As noted above, adoptions have grown unchecked with little 
indication that the Ministry of Education adequately regulates the 
process or is aware of the practices of adoption facilitators.  Post 
will be conducting a 100% validation study in the fall to see the 
overstay rate from this year's SWT program. 
 
¶14. Staffing and training: Currently, the Fraud Prevention Unit is 
staffed by the Consular Section Chief, who is the sole consular 
officer at post, and a Fraud Investigator.  The consular officer 
received CA's Anti-fraud Training course at FSI.  The new Fraud 
Investigator has begun CA's on-line fraud training and hopes to 
complete the consular correspondence courses within the coming 
year. 
 
GFOELLER