VZCZCXRO7633
PP RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHLN
RUEHLZ RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHTL #0395/01 3151531
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 101531Z NOV 08
FM AMEMBASSY TALLINN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0922
RHMFIUU/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY WASHINGTON DC
RUEAORC/US CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION WASHINGTON DC
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 0023
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 0038
RUEHGP/AMEMBASSY SINGAPORE 0004
RUEHBD/AMEMBASSY BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN 0002
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 0019
RUEHWL/AMEMBASSY WELLINGTON 0009

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 TALLINN 000395 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR CA/VO/F/P, CA/P, EUR/NB, EUR/PGI 
 
DHS FOR OFFICE OF INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS, ICE OFFICE OF INTERNATIONAL 
 
AFFAIRS AND CBP OFFICE OF INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: CVIS CMGT PREL KPAO KHLS EN
SUBJECT: ESTONIAN VISA WAIVER AND ESTA OUTREACH 
 
REF: SECSTATE 118460 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary:  Embassy Tallinn has embarked on a long-term 
commitment to educate Estonian travelers on the intricacies of the 
Visa Waiver Program (VWP).  The Embassy has organized a variety of 
outreach activities, including numerous press interviews, 
presentations to travel professionals and an event scheduled at the 
 
Tallinn airport for November 17, the first date on which visa-free 
travel to the United States will begin for Estonian citizens. 
Embassy's efforts appear to be successful as the VWP discussion has 
 
evolved from misinformation to nuanced clarity regarding the nature 
 
of VWP and its requirements.  Nevertheless, the possibility of 
confusion or even anger among travelers remains high, especially 
given shortcomings in ESTA.  End Summary. 
 
THE CANDIDACY PERIOD 
 
¶2.  (U) Post's initial outreach focused on the GoE, following 
President Bush's announcement in Tallinn in 2006 of his desire to 
expand the VWP program, as well as DHS Secretary Chertoff's signing 
 
of a VWP Memorandum of Understanding in Tallinn in March, 2008. 
Following numerous meetings between Conoffs and counterparts in the 
 
Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Interior, key GoE officials 
developed a nuanced understanding of VWP and the Electronic System 
for Travel Authorization (ESTA).  For example, in a television 
interview on the subject in 2008, Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas 
Paet appeared to recite VWP and ESTA FAQs by heart, expertly 
answering a journalist's questions regarding the VWP biometric 
passport requirement, information required by ESTA, the reason for 
ESTA, ESTA travel authorization validity period, data privacy and 
other minute details of the program. 
 
INTEREST IN VWP GROWS 
 
¶3.  (U) As Estonia's participation in VWP became realistic and 
imminent, Post organized a number of activities in order to get out 
 
the message on VWP and ESTA to travelers and travel professionals. 
 
Post has sought to "piggy-back" on existing events, or requested 
cooperation from the GoE to provide venues, since no funding has 
been 
made available to engage in VWP and ESTA outreach.  Post also 
reorganized its website material to put VWP front and center, 
including the creation of a new interactive VWP eligibility tool, or 
 
"wizard," that will help travelers determine whether they are 
eligible to travel under VWP.  Post-organized outreach activities to 
 
date are listed below, as requested by Reftel.  Post is also seeking 
 
other outreach options, such as cooperation with Estonian Air in 
including VWP content in their marketing materials (e.g., website, 
in-flight magazine, etc.). 
 
a.  Date - 17 October 2008. 
Location - Street in front of chancery. 
Type of Outreach - Individual press interview. 
Audience - Conoff interview with Kanal 2 News (television). 
 
b.  Date - 17 October 2008. 
Location - Street in front of chancery. 
Type of Outreach - Individual press interview. 
Audience - Conoff interview with PBK News (television). 
 
c.  Date - 17 October 2008. 
Location - Street in front of chancery. 
Type of Outreach - Individual press interview. 
Audience - Conoff interview with ETV Russian-language News 
(television). 
 
d.  Date - 17 October 2008 
 
TALLINN 00000395  002 OF 004 
 
 
Location - Embassy conference room 
Type of Outreach - Press event to accompany AETN live broadcast of 
White House ceremony on VWP expansion. 
Audience - host country government officials and press/news media 
Number of attendees - 20 (including representatives of Ministry of 
Foreign Affairs and press).  Event included a press conference 
involving Ambassador, DCM and Conoff, as well as individual 
interviews by the Ambassador with Estonian language Postimees 
(newspaper), Russian-language Postimees (newspaper), 
Russian-language 
Molodjozh Estonia (newspaper), Estonian Television and TV3, as well 
 
as an individual interview by Consul with Estonian Radio. 
 
e.  Date - 20 October 2008. 
Location - Street in front of chancery. 
Type of Outreach - Individual press interview. 
Audience - Conoff interview with TVN Russian-language News. 
 
f.  Date - 23 October 2008. 
Location - Ministry of Foreign Affairs Building. 
Type of Outreach - VWP Presentation, with opening remarks by head of 
 
MFA Consular Department. 
Audience - Travel agents. 
Number of attendees - 50. 
 
g.  Date - 29 October 2008. 
Location - Prime Minister's Office. 
Type of Outreach - Press conference with Prime Minister of Estonia 
and DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff, including individual press 
interviews. 
Audience - TV, Radio and print journalists. 
Number of attendees - 20. 
 
h.  Date - 29 October 2008. 
Location - Radisson SAS Hotel Tallinn. 
Type of Outreach - Individual press interview by DHS Secretary 
Michael Chertoff. 
Audience - Estonian-language Postimees newspaper. 
 
i.  Date - 4 November 2008. 
Location - Tallinn Airport. 
Type of Outreach - VWP Presentation. 
Audience - Supervisors for Tallinn Airport check-in counter 
personnel. 
Number of attendees - 7. 
 
j.  Date - 5 November 2008. 
Location - ETV Television Studios 
Type of Outreach - Individual press interview. 
Audience - Conoff interview with ETV Russian-language News about VWP 
 
(at Embassy's U.S. Presidential Elections Morning). 
 
k.  Date - 17 November 2008 (planned). 
Location - Tallinn Airport. 
Type of Outreach - Embassy "help desk" for travelers in airport's 
international check-in area. 
Audience - Travelers.  Also, a wide variety of Estonian television, 
 
radio and print press will be invited for interviews. 
 
 
ESTA SHORTCOMINGS COMPLICATE OUTREACH 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Shortcomings in ESTA complicate Post's outreach efforts, 
creating a realistic possibility of travelers arriving at U.S. ports 
 
of entry without proper documentation to be admitted to the U.S. 
under VWP.  Since opening to Estonian applicants, in anticipation of 
 
the 17 November VWP travel date, ESTA has provided a positive 
response to applicants who are not eligible to travel under VWP. 
For 
example, an Embassy FSN holding a non-biometric Estonian passport 
received an "Authorization Approved" response from ESTA accompanied 
 
TALLINN 00000395  003 OF 004 
 
 
 
by the following standard language: 
 
Your travel authorization has been approved and you are authorized 
to 
travel to the United States under the Visa Waiver Program. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) More distressingly, Post has learned that ESTA grants an 
"Authorization Approved" for stateless residents of Estonia holding 
 
an "Alien" passport--the so-called "gray" passport issued to 
residents of Estonia who have no citizenship.  (This would occur if 
 
the traveler erroneously, but understandably, selects "Estonia" from 
 
the dropdown list of participating countries when completing the 
on- 
line ESTA application.)  The GoE has publicly used VWP as a means of 
 
encouraging stateless residents to consider naturalization as 
Estonian citizens.  By and large, these "stateless" residents are 
ethnically Russian, and comprise one-tenth of Estonia's population. 
 
Since re-independence, the GoE has had to compete with Russia for 
their allegiance. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Because Post is concerned that erroneous ESTA approvals 
will mislead Estonian citizens carrying older non-biometric 
passports, as well as stateless residents carrying "Alien" 
passports, 
that they are eligible to travel visa free to the United States, 
Post 
has focused particular attention on training Tallinn airport 
check-in 
personnel to warn against the risk of boarding passengers who hope 
to 
travel visa free but who do not hold an Estonian biometric passport. 
 
Post has provided information to DHS so that a future release of 
ESTA 
will be able to differentiate between biometric and non-biometric 
Estonian passports, as well as between passports issued to Estonian 
 
citizens and those issued to stateless residents of Estonia. 
 
JUST WHO IS DENIED UNDER ESTA? 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Post shares the concern of its counterparts at Posts in 
other VWP countries that the method by which ESTA determines who is 
 
approved or denied is not transparent, making outreach efforts more 
 
difficult.  In particular, Post is anxious to understand how ESTA 
interfaces with CLASS to determine which hits (if any) result in an 
 
ESTA denial.  Post understands that CLASS hits reflecting visa 
ineligibilities (e.g., for serious criminal convictions) do not 
automatically result in an ESTA denial.  In this regard, Post ran a 
 
test ESTA application for a local convicted child rapist for whom a 
 
hit appears in CLASS, and ESTA disturbingly provided a response of 
"Authorization Approved."  Although ESTA specifically requires 
applicants to certify that they have no previous criminal 
convictions, press stories about turn-arounds at U.S. ports of entry 
 
will inevitably focus on misleading answers from ESTA or unfair U.S. 
 
border personnel, rather than the traveler's lack of truthfulness 
when completing the on-line ESTA application. 
 
¶8.  Post is also concerned about how to properly communicate the 
effect of ESTA/VWP on the existing visa process.  Post understands 
that a traveler who has previously been denied under 214(b), whether 
 
years ago or very recently, will be able to get an ESTA approval. 
Post is unsure whether previous 214(b) refusals will cause 
 
TALLINN 00000395  004 OF 004 
 
 
additional 
scrutiny, or even a turn-around, at ports of entry for such 
travelers.  Post would welcome guidance on what to tell visa 
applicants who are refused under section 214(b) regarding their 
ability to travel visa free under VWP. 
 
CONCLUSION 
 
¶9.  While too early to determine the overall effect of Post's 
outreach program, Embassy Tallinn has thus far been pleased with the 
 
GoE's and the media's ability to internalize and disseminate the 
information we are providing them.  Post will continue its outreach 
 
efforts using print and television media, the Internet, the 
Embassy's 
Regional Outreach Program and through training seminars for airline 
 
and travel industry personnel.  Post is anxious to obtain more 
guidance from the Department and DHS on ESTA, in order to ensure a 
clear and correct outreach message that supports both visa-free 
travel under VWP as well as the existing visa application system. 
 
DECKER