VZCZCXRO6331
RR RUEHMJ
DE RUEHMJ #0087 2712115
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 282115Z SEP 09
FM AMEMBASSY MAJURO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE SECSTATE WASHDC 0009
RUEHPNH/NVC PORTSMOUTH NH
INFO RUEHMJ/AMEMBASSY MAJURO 3112

UNCLAS MAJURO 000087 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR CA/FPP, DHS FOR CIS/FDNS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KFRD CMGT CVIS CPAS ASEC RM
SUBJECT: FRAUD SUMMARY - MAJURO 
 
REF: STATE 057623 
 
¶1.       Fraud Summary for the Republic of the Marshall Islands 
per direction of STATE 057623 is provided below. 
 
a)      Country Conditions:  The Republic of the Marshall 
Islands (RMI) is a country which has signed a Compact of Free 
Association with the United States.  As such, the citizens of 
the RMI may travel, work, and live in the United States without 
visas under their Compact status.  Third Country Nationals are 
few, and generally do not travel to the United States, but do 
transit Guam when traveling to their home countries (China, 
Korea, etc).  There have been no incidents of known fraud on 
travel to and through the United States and its territories. 
b)      NIV Fraud:  None observed 
c)      IV Fraud:  None observed, IVs are not processed in 
Majuro, RMI. 
d)     DV Fraud:  None observed, DV has not been used this past 
year in the RMI. 
e)      ACS and U.S. Passport Fraud:  None observed 
f)       Adoption Fraud:  About two adoptions are performed per 
month by U.S. citizens adopting Marshallese children.  The 
adoptions are done under the auspices of the Marshallese High 
Court and the RMI Adoption Service.  No fraud observed. 
g)      Use of DNA Testing:  None observed during the past year. 
h)      Asylum and Other DHS Benefit Fraud:  None observed. 
i)        Alien Smuggling, trafficking, organized crime, 
terrorist travel:  None observed or reported 
j)        DS Criminal Fraud Investigations: None 
k)      Host Country Passport, Identity Documents and Civil 
Registry:  RMI Passports meet international standards and are 
issued for five year increments.  Naturalized citizens receive a 
Compact Stamp in their second RMI passport after a five year 
period of citizenship, which then authorizes them Compact Status 
for travel to the United States.  One possible change of a name 
on a RMI passport was reported in the open press about a person 
who was alleged to have been deported from the United States and 
then used his mother's maiden name to get another passport.. 
Post is currently asking the GRMI about its process for changing 
names in the passports of RMI citizens. 
l)        Cooperation with Host Government Authorities:  Host 
government authorities are very cooperative in all aspects of 
consular affairs. 
m)    Areas of Particular Concern:  Embassy Majuro is a limited 
consular post, and we cannot issue emergency passports or 
provide other needed emergency assistance to American citizens, 
even though we are thousands of miles away from the United 
States.  This is a problem which needs to be solved.  Recommend 
that CA review the status of this post, realize that it is in a 
foreign country, and authorize the consular officers here to 
provide better emergency services to our citizens, both resident 
and transit, by authorizing this post to have authority to issue 
emergency passports when required to meet our ACS 
responsibilities. 
n)      Staffing and training:  Embassy Majuro has three 
officers with valid consular commissions and one moderately 
trained FSN visa assistant.  When one of the officers departs on 
leave, the consular activities are covered by the remaining 
officers.  When the visa clerk goes on scheduled leave, we 
receive backfill from Embassy Manila.  It would be very useful 
to have a better trained backup visa clerk in the event that our 
visa assistant is sick or for other emergency aspects of issuing 
visas in this remote island nation.  Secondly, if Embassy Majuro 
is given authority to issue emergency passports, then we would 
require training for a passport clerk for ACS.  Currently we 
have no ACS FSN position. 
 
CAMPBELL