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DE RUEHC #4280/01 1210127
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 010106Z MAY 09
FM SECSTATE WASHDC
TO ALL DIPLOMATIC AND CONSULAR POSTS COLLECTIVE
RUEHTRO/AMEMBASSY TRIPOLI 7073

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 STATE 044280 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: CMGT
SUBJECT: CONSULAR ISSUES CABLE -- APRIL 2009 
 
TO CONSULAR SECTION CHIEFS FROM ASSISTANT SECRETARY 
JACOBS 
 
 
¶1.  April passed quickly here in Washington.  Between 
complicated arrest cases in Iran and North Korea, the 
H1N1 flu situation, and a myriad of visa-related issues, 
this month brought many interesting and difficult policy 
challenges.  Secretary Clinton continues to take an 
active interest in many of our issues and appreciates 
the hard work and sacrifices you are all making on a 
daily basis.  During a recent Cabinet meeting to discuss 
cost saving measures, the President cited several 
success stories, including the National Visa Center's 
plans to "Go Paperless" by implementing electronic 
correspondence for immigrant visa processing, which will 
save approximately one million dollars a year. 
 
--------------------------- 
Green Committee Site Survey 
--------------------------- 
 
¶2.  The Green Committee continues to explore ways to 
reduce our carbon footprint.  Possible areas for 
improvement include system efficiency, energy use, 
everyday office conservation strategies, and recycling 
programs.  As this is a global effort, the Green 
Committee hopes to receive input from as many of you as 
possible.  To that end, we produced a survey to solicit 
ideas related to conservation in the workplace.  We'd 
like to ask all consular staff to share their ideas. 
The survey only takes two minutes to complete and will 
be accessible until May 15 at 
http://ca.m.state.sbu/GreenCommittee/Lists/CA %20Green%20 
Survey/overview.aspx 

--------------------------------------------- ----- 
The Hague Adoption Convention One-Year Anniversary 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
¶3.  April 1 marked the one-year anniversary of entry 
into force for the United States of the multilateral 
treaty on protection of children and cooperation on 
intercountry adoption.  Although the United States 
issued fewer than 70 Hague visas during the first ten 
months the treaty was in force, more than half of U.S. 
intercountry adoptions are currently in Hague partner 
countries and U.S. adoptions make up more than 50 
percent of all intercountry adoptions world-wide.  Our 
implementation of the Convention is spurring other 
countries' interest and many non-signatory countries are 
now taking steps to improve their adoption programs.  If 
your contacts in child protection ministries seek U.S. 
help, please refer them to adoption.state.gov.  Send 
specific questions to your country officer in the Office 
of Children's Issues Adoption Division or email 
AdoptionUSCA@state.gov.  Detailed Hague visa processing 
guidance is available in 9 FAM 42.21 N.14. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
Upcoming Release of 2009 Hague Abduction Convention 
Compliance Report 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
¶4.  The 2009 Report on Compliance with the Hague 
Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child 
Abduction will be available online in May.  The report 
describes specific compliance problems the Department 
identified in Convention partner countries and describes 
the status of longstanding, unresolved return 
applications.  To prepare for the report's release, CI's 
case officers will contact posts in countries cited in 
the report, and CI will transmit an ALDAC with talking 
points.  After the report's release, we encourage posts 
to review the contents of the report with their 
respective host governments.  Previous reports, as well 
as the current list of Convention partner countries, can 
be found at http://travel.state.gov/childabduction. 
 
----------------------------------------- 
First Time Passport Applications, Updates 
----------------------------------------- 
 
¶5.  Posts may encounter first-time passport applicants 
who present as proof of citizenship Consular Reports of 
Birth lacking either a seal or signature.  Such 
documents are not necessarily fraudulent but may have 
been improperly processed.  If PIERS or ACS records 
 
STATE 00044280  002 OF 004 
 
 
confirm the initial citizenship determination, posts 
should send the FS-240 submitted by the applicant under 
cover of a memo to the Passport Vital Records Office, 
1111 19th St. NW Suite 510, Washington, DC 20524, Attn: 
Sherron Blanks.  Vital Records will issue a free 
replacement to the applicant. 
 
----------------------------------------- 
ACS and Personal Identifiable Information 
----------------------------------------- 
 
¶6.  We remind all users of the ACS system that the same 
rules that apply to PIERS access pertain to ACS and 
other databases containing Personal Identifiable 
Information (PII) for American citizens.  It is 
inappropriate to search ACS, CTF, or other databases for 
case information on private individuals unless you have 
a job-related reason to do so. 
 
-------------------------- 
Outreach Outreach Outreach 
-------------------------- 
 
¶7.  The Department's blog -- DipNote ? is available at 
http://blogs.state.gov/.  CA successfully uses DipNote 
to reach audiences with messages on Spring Break safety 
issues, WHTI/passport compliance, and other ongoing 
outreach campaigns.  The "Spring Break Safety" video by 
the consular team in Merida had more than 7,000 views in 
the first two weeks it was posted.  Other recent 
consular entries on DipNote include an Embassy London 
piece on wardens, and a piece on National Passport Day. 
We invite consular sections to take a look at DipNote, 
especially the consular content, and to be creative in 
your use of this new avenue for outreach.  You may 
submit content ideas or questions to DipNote's editors 
at blogs@state.gov.  If you have consular related 
content that you would like to have posted, please send 
it to CA-P-Outreach@state.gov and CA/P will coordinate 
with PA. 
 
¶8.  CA/P recently established a Public Affairs Working 
Group comprising representatives of all CA offices to 
coordinate public affairs activities bureau-wide and 
better engage posts and CA domestic offices in outreach 
efforts.  Our goal for this group is to engage in 
proactive outreach, make us better prepared to respond 
publicly to events, and create a mechanism for sharing 
best practices and outreach materials among posts. 
 
¶9.  Americans abroad want to hear from us!  At a recent 
meeting with the organization American Citizens Abroad 
(ACA), representatives urged the Department to do more 
outreach to overseas Americans, which was music to our 
ears.  Posts are encouraged to think creatively about 
ways to reach out to your local American communities. 
Town Halls are a great way to convey information, hear 
from our citizens, and put faces to names.  But we 
encourage you to think of other ways to use DipNote, web 
seminars, teleconferences, radio call-in shows, and 
columns in local American newsletters or websites.  If 
you have great ideas for reaching out, please share them 
with CA and your colleagues through ACS Plus Plus. 
 
---------------------- 
Updated Planning Tools 
---------------------- 
 
¶10.  Expecting a visit from a Front Office Principal to 
your post?  Writing a briefing checklist (BCL) for the 
upcoming consular bilateral meeting with Russia?  The 
Regional Outreach team in CA/P can assist by 
coordinating document submission, obtaining clearances, 
and compiling briefing books.  We recently updated our 
templates and example documents to help you select the 
proper format and necessary content for your briefing 
checklists.  Check it out on CA Web: 
http://intranet.ca.state.gov/offices/p/region al/9802.asp 
x. 

-------------------------------------------- 
Fee Exemptions for USG-Funded J Participants 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶11.  Posts are reminded that J-1 visa applicants 
participating in U.S. Government sponsored programs with 
program number prefixes that begin with "G-1," "G-2," 
"G-3," and "G-7" and their dependant spouses and 
children are not required to pay the MRV and SEVIS fees. 
Additionally, all U.S. Government sponsored J-1 visa 
applicants and their dependents are not required to pay 
any applicable reciprocity fees.  We will clarify the 
 
STATE 00044280  003 OF 004 
 
 
guidance in 9 FAM 41.62 N9.2 ? N9.4 to reflect this. 
For additional information, please contact VO/F/P. 
 
---------------------------- 
Changes to H Visa Processing 
---------------------------- 
 
¶12.  We recently sent two ALDACS that provide guidance 
on new DHS regulatory changes affecting H-2A and H-2B 
visas (State 00044000 and STATE 00044004).  A third 
cable is forthcoming, outlining provisions of the 
economic stimulus legislation that place conditions on 
the employment of aliens in H-1B status by recipients of 
funding under the "Troubled Asset Relief Program" (TARP) 
or the Federal Reserve Act, and requires you to verify 
that an employer has not received funding under TARP in 
some cases.  All three cables contained FAM notes that 
are being added to 9 FAM and we urge you to review them 
carefully. 
 
¶13.  Also new to H-1B processing:  on April 15, 2009, 
the Department of Labor launched the new iCERT system -- 
a portal for the electronic filing of labor condition 
applications (LCAs) with DOL in H-1B cases.  The iCERT 
System allows employers to visit a single account to 
prepare, submit, and check the status of the ETA Form 
9035E LCA application.  After a 30-day transition 
period, use of iCERT will be mandatory for all LCA 
filings. 
 
-------------------- 
FAM Sections Updated 
-------------------- 
 
¶14.  The Foreign Affairs Manual (FAM) Certification 
Project, initiated by the Under Secretary for 
Management, was launched last spring to identify and 
update out-of-date information in the FAM.  Similar to 
the FAM-X initiative, Volume 9 FAM must be certified as 
current annually.  Subject matter experts throughout the 
visa office took part in this project as well as our 
colleagues from other Bureaus and DHS.  As a result, 
Volume 9 of the FAM is now current and supersedes 
outdated SOP's and cables.  If older cable guidance 
contains information different from the recent FAM 
update, ignore the old cable.  Sections of the FAM will 
be continuously updated to ensure compliance of this 
annual certification initiative. 
 
----------------------------------------- 
Overseas Responsibilities vis-a-vis PLOTS 
----------------------------------------- 
 
¶15.  CA/FPP reminds posts of their responsibility for 
entering passport lookouts into PLOTS.  Posts are 
responsible for local scanning of documents into the ACS 
case file and for sending the paper lookout file (and 
relevant supporting documents) to the Department 
(Passport Services Records Services Division) for PLOTS 
scanning.  Designated consular officers in ACS sections 
and Fraud Prevention Managers (FPMs) have the authority 
to enter certain categories of lookouts into CLASS via 
PLOTS.  For internal controls reasons, consular 
supervisors should make certain that the paper lookout 
files are sent to Washington on a weekly basis by 
registered pouch.  Any delays in shipment will prevent 
users worldwide from seeing the case file.  Additional 
instructions on entering lookouts at post can be found 
in 07 State 120430. 
 
------------------------ 
CA IT Systems Recognized 
------------------------ 
 
¶16.  The American Council for Technology and Industry 
Advisory Council (ACT-IAC) recently honored two CA 
systems as finalists for Excellence.gov awards.  ACT-IAC 
is a non-profit group encouraging cooperation and 
collaboration between industry and government IT 
professionals.  The two systems are the WHTI-(Western 
Hemisphere Travel Initiative) compliant Passport Card 
and Border Crossing Card, and our extensive website 
presence through the TSG portal including:  CEAC, the 
Consular Electronic Application Center; IBRS, the 
Internet-Based Registration System; Travel.State.gov; 
EVAF, the Electronic Visa Application Form; and ATS, the 
Adoption Tracking Service.  The Excellence.gov awards 
recognize best practices in the federal government's 
management and use of information technology by honoring 
federal programs and their managers who have achieved 
exceptional results in the management of information 
technology (IT) to support the USG's mission.  It is an 
 
STATE 00044280  004 OF 004 
 
 
honor for two of our CST designed systems to be selected 
as finalists. 
 
-------------- 
Good Bye, ART! 
-------------- 
 
¶17.  After careful study, CST has decided to stop any 
further development of the Ad Hoc Reporting Tool (ART). 
You may continue to use the version of ART currently 
installed on your workstation.  You may also continue to 
contact the CA Service Desk (supportdeskca@state.gov) 
with any ART-related problems.  CST is reviewing options 
that would allow consular staff to create custom reports 
for consular applications' data.  They will not, 
however, be accepting any ART change requests. 
 
-------------------------- 
Systems Deployment Updates 
-------------------------- 
 
¶18.  NIV 04.06 - CST has started general deployment of 
NIV 04.06.  This latest version contains many important 
new features including importation of on-line visa 
applications from the Consular Electronic Application 
Center (CEAC), increased integration with the Petition 
Information Management System (PIMS), the ability to use 
ten-print scanners for fingerprint verification and the 
ability to use visa foils with alphanumeric foil 
numbers.  New versions of Ten-Print Live Scan (TPLS) 
02.02.00 and Consular Systems Division Reusable 
Components (CSD-RC) 01.03.00 are to be installed at the 
same time and are included with the deployment package. 
Prerequisite database upgrades should be completed by 
May 8, and all NIV posts should complete the upgrade by 
July 1.  Additional details are in STATE 039780. 
 
¶19.  We anticipate deploying an accountable items 
upgrade in early May that will change the way Posts 
receive items into their AI inventory.  Via the CCD, AI 
will interface with the Department's Integrated 
Logistics Management System (ILMS) used by CA/EX/GSD 
(and your GSO).  Officers will be able to accept 
incoming inventory using the AI Transfer functionality. 
 This will largely eliminate the need for posts to enter 
manually information about incoming items (item type, 
container type, serial numbers, etc.) on the AI Receive 
screen.  We will inform posts when the upgrade is 
implemented. 
 
¶20.  We remind post systems staff that the ACS 01.05.01 
update (patch) is available for download at: 
http://csdcm.ca.state.gov/CM/CST%20Systems/AC S+/010501/A 
CS.asp.  This upgrade includes changes in the 
Citizenship Service functionality in ACS, including: 
 
-- Receiving and QA'ing passports using the AIT reader; 
-- Resolving delivered books stuck in the Awaiting 
Delivery tab in CPAL; 
-- Resolving the "null value" error on opening a new 
citizenship service; and 
-- Resolving the "phantom alias"/blank alias error. 
 
CST strongly encourages all posts to install this patch 
as soon as possible.  It may be deployed gradually ? a 
section may have some workstations running ACS 01.05.01 
while others are still at 01.05.00 ? but posts should 
install the patch on all their ACS machines.  Contact 
the Service Desk (supportdeskca@state.gov) in the event 
of problems or questions. 
 
------------------- 
WRAPS?  QRG?  EEDS? 
------------------- 
 
¶21.  Ever wonder what some of those crazy IT acronyms 
mean?  Help is now just a mouse-click away.  The CA/CST 
Terms and Acronyms Glossary contains most consular- 
related IT terms plus clear explanations of what they 
mean.  The CA Service Desk regularly monitors and 
updates this Glossary, which you can find on CAWeb via 
the Related Contents links at: 
http://intranet.ca.state.gov/systems/7505.asp x or 
http://intranet.ca.state.gov/systems/user/con sular/7061. 
aspx. 
 
 
¶22.  MINIMIZE CONSIDERED. 
CLINTON