VZCZCXRO9150
RR RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHJO RUEHMR RUEHRN
DE RUEHSB #0877/01 3081904
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 041904Z NOV 09
FM AMEMBASSY HARARE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5108
INFO RUEHJO/AMCONSUL JOHANNESBURG 0577
RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AF DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HARARE 000877 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT CA/VO/P AND CA/FPP FOR M. LEDESMA-LEESE 
DEPT CA/EX FOR R. BOETTCHER 
DEPT AF/S FOR B. WALCH 
DEPT ECA/A/S/A FOR C. DANZ AND D. YOUNG 
DEPT AF/PD FOR BRUCE WHARTON 
DEPT PLEASE PASS TO KCC 
JOHANNESBURG FOR RCO KENT MAY 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: CMGT CVIS OEXC KFRD KPAO ZI
SUBJECT: EDUCATING ZIMBABWE'S NEXT GENERATION 
 
REF: STATE 017314 
 
HARARE 00000877  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1. SUMMARY:  In a conscious decision to effect change through the 
education of Zimbabwe's next generation of leaders, Mission Zimbabwe 
actively seeks the country's best and brightest for study in the 
U.S.  In the past ten years the number of Zimbabweans studying in 
the U.S. has grown from approximately 500 to over 1,500.  In a 
just-completed student visa validation study, Post discovered that 
overall, 93 percent of student visa recipients remained enrolled and 
in "good status" a year following their visa issuance, while 100 
percent of those sampled that were enrolled in the Embassy's 
EducationUSA Advising Center (EAC) were found in good status.  END 
SUMMARY. 
 
---------------------- 
PAS - Consular Synergy 
---------------------- 
 
¶2.  The U.S. Embassy Public Affairs Section's EducationUSA Advising 
Center (EAC) provides comprehensive services to serious Zimbabwean 
students seeking to further their education in the U.S.  The EAC is 
a membership-based center that works closely and personally with 
prospective students to ensure they are successful in identifying 
appropriate colleges and universities, completing the application 
requirements for those universities, and financing their education. 
In a robust program that includes seminars, presentations, a review 
of academic achievement, and individual counseling, the EAC screens 
prospective students to admit only those whose academic 
qualifications and desires meet the goals of the program.  In FY 
2009, the EAC responded to over 30,000 requests for information, 
which led to 346 new students enrolled in the program.  In 
appreciation of the portal the EAC provides for outreach to the 
Zimbabwe student population, consular officers participate in 
numerous EAC sponsored events, such as student visa seminars, 
college fairs, and presentations at local universities.  In return, 
the EAC benefits from direct consular participation and its students 
come prepared for their visa interviews. 
 
----------------------------------- 
Validation Methodology and Findings 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶3.  In FY 2009, Harare had 592 student applications, which 
represented 13 percent of Post's non-immigrant visa (NIV) workload. 
Among the 592 applications, 327 were approved, resulting in an 
overall approval rate of 55 percent.  Of note, 160 of the 592 total 
applications were from EAC students (27 percent of the total). 
However, these same 160 were also among the 327 approved visas, 
comprising 49 percent of the approvals.  The EAC did not have a 
single refusal in FY 2009. 
 
¶4.  June through December represent Post's busiest student visa 
workload.  In CY 2008, 258 F1 visas were issued during this period, 
which defined the total population of the validation.  (NOTE: Among 
these 258 approvals, 127 were enrolled in the EAC, about half.  END 
NOTE.)  We used a Chi Square distribution to determine the true 
standard deviation (with a 95 percent confidence level), assumed a 
variation of 0.7, and chose a 0.05 precision factor.  This resulted 
in a required sample size of 135.  We then used a random generator 
to select 135 applicants from the total population of 258 for 
verification through the Student and Exchange Visitor Information 
System (SEVIS), DHS' Arrival Departure Information System (ADIS), 
and direct contact with school registrars. 
Qand direct contact with school registrars. 
 
¶5.  Of the 135 cases verified, 126 were found to be enrolled in 
school and in good status a year after arriving in the U.S.  This 
resulted in a 93 percent validation rate.  Of the 9 negative 
verifications, 3 never showed-up (enrolled) at school and 6 
dropped-out within a year of arriving.  Of the 9, only 1 has a 
record of departing PH9cations 
have a departure record in ADIS and are presumed to be residing in 
the U.S.  Post has entered P6G (Quasi-Student Visa Abuser) lookouts 
for each. 
 
¶6.  Not surprising, students who applied after being enrolled in the 
EAC did very well during their visa interview.  Of the 127 EAC 
applicants who applied during the validation period, all were issued 
visas.  Further, none of the negative validations were EAC students. 
 In general, EAC students have outstanding academic records, applied 
 
HARARE 00000877  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
to prestigious colleges and universities, and obtained qualifying 
funding.  Additionally, many excelled on their SATs and garnered 
prestigious scholarships.  In short, the EAC screens its applicant 
pool for academic intent and potential, while only enrolling those 
who have a serious chance of succeeding at a U.S. university.  By 
the time these students arrive for their interview, they "jump out" 
as highly qualified. 
 
--------------------------- 
Residence Abroad and 214(b) 
--------------------------- 
 
¶7.  As is the case in other impoverished countries with limited 
opportunity for professionals, judging residence abroad and a 
student's intent to return following a course of study are often 
challenging tasks for adjudicators in Harare.  While it is natural 
for students not to possess ties of property, employment, family 
obligation, or continuity of life that are typical of B visa 
applicants, a cynic could also argue that the economic and political 
reality in Zimbabwe makes it unlikely for any Zimbabwe student to 
return.  In judging the residence abroad requirement for Zimbabwe 
students, Post has adopted a broad interpretation of the statute 
which dwells on a student's immediate intent.  Officers are 
instructed to judge immediate intent based on a student's desire to 
complete a course of study in the U.S. and return, or remain in 
legal status.  Acknowledging Post's reliance on accurately judging a 
student's immediate intent, it is useful to compute validation 
results that omit EAC students.  After all, before their visa 
interview, EAC students have already been screened and selected for 
the program based on their intent. 
 
¶8.  If we subtract EAC students from both the total and sample 
populations for the validation study outlined above, Post issued 131 
visas to students "at large" that were judged to have the immediate 
intent of successfully pursuing a course of study in the U.S.  From 
this total population, post sampled 62 "at large" student approvals. 
 Among these 62 "at large" approvals, 9 were found to be "out of 
status" a year after visa approval, resulting in an adjudication 
validation rate of only 85 percent, significantly below the overall 
93 percent that included EAC students.  As a result of this study, 
Post has identified "at large" student visa adjudications as an 
emphasis item for continuation training, and has pulled the files 
for the 9 known cases in search of common characteristics. 
Interestingly, 4 of the 9 applicants were previous student visa 
holders (renewing their visas), and 2 of the 6 no shows were 
enrolled at major universities. 
 
----------- 
Conclusions 
----------- 
 
¶9.  With a 95 percent confidence factor, 93 percent of our overall 
student visa approvals between Jun-Dec 2008 were correct in 
determining immediate student intent, assuming a margin of error of 
5 percent. 
 
¶10.  When subtracting students enrolled in the Embassy's EAC, only 
85 percent of the "at large" student visa approvals between Jun-Dec 
2008 were correct in determining immediate student intent. 
 
¶11.  Post has identified "at large" student visa adjudications as an 
emphasis item for weekly continuation training. 
 
RAY