VZCZCXRO8846
PP RUEHJO
DE RUEHLG #0613/01 3201009
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 161009Z NOV 09
FM AMEMBASSY LILONGWE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0062
RUEHPNH/NVC PORTSMOUTH PRIORITY 0030
INFO RUEHJO/AMCONSUL JOHANNESBURG 0266

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 LILONGWE 000613 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT PASS KCC WILLIAMSBURG KY 
DEPT FOR CA/FPP, DHS FOR CIS/FDNS 
JOHANNESBURG FOR DHS BRETT LASSEN AND RCO KENT MAY 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KFRD CVIS CPAS CMGT ASEC MI
SUBJECT: FRAUD SUMMARY - MALAWI 
 
REF: (A)08 STATE 074840; (B)07 STATE 67349; (C)07 STATE 171211; 
(D)05 STATE 205073; (E)03 STATE 340565; (F)00 STATE 98138 
 
¶1. Per reftel (a), Post submits the following semi-annual report for 
the period March 2009 through August 2009. 
 
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COUNTRY CONDITIONS 
------------------ 
 
¶2. Landlocked Malawi is one of the world's most densely populated 
and least developed countries. The economy is predominately 
agricultural with approximately two-thirds of the population living 
in poverty. The Malawi Government faces many challenges including 
developing a market economy, improving educational facilities, 
dealing with the challenges posed by HIV/AIDS, maintaining fiscal 
discipline and reinforcing anti-corruption practices. Faced with the 
difficulty of improving one's economic situation, Malawians often 
seek a better life elsewhere. The United States remains an 
attractive destination for some of those individuals. 
 
¶3. Lilongwe is a medium-low fraud post. Malawian passports and 
residency permits, along with most civil documents, can be obtained 
with falsified identity information.  This situation, coupled with 
its porous borders, understaffed and ill-equipped immigration and 
law enforcement offices, makes Malawi a highly attractive target for 
mala fide travelers and immigrant traffickers.  In view of Malawi's 
location on the land transit route from East Africa to South Africa, 
many refugees, asylum seekers, and other parties headed to South 
Africa often seek fraudulently obtained identity documents in 
Malawi.  Malawian government officials recognize the susceptibility 
of their country to these challenges and threats, but thus far have 
been unable to take effective action to curb this security failing. 
 
--------- 
NIV FRAUD 
--------- 
 
¶4. NIV fraud is generally unsophisticated, with a sizable number of 
cases committed by third country nationals posing as Malawian 
citizens or residents.  In the past, Ethiopians, Eritreans, 
Pakistanis, Somalis, Burundians, Rwandans, Zimbabweans and DRC 
nationals have been discovered illegally transiting Malawi.  These 
individuals are known to have obtained illegitimate documents and 
passports for travel to South Africa and the US.  Post has not 
detected any organized fraud in Malawi.  Typically, consular 
officers do not rely on documentation submitted by applicants 
because of its susceptibility to fraud. 
 
¶5. During the reporting period, post detected an applicant who 
assumed the identity of a previously refused applicant.  The mala 
fide applicant used the prior applicant's passport and photo as his 
appearance and facial features were similar to the prior applicant. 
The mala fide applicant was refused after Post detected his 
attempted subterfuge.  Subsequently, the prior applicant, who Post 
believes was complicit in the fraud, refused to cooperate with 
Post's investigation into the matter. 
 
¶6. Post has experienced a decrease in student visa fraud in the 
years since the Malawi government added enhanced security features 
to Malawi School Certificate of Education (MSCE) certificates 
(roughly equivalent to high school diplomas), making them less 
susceptible to alteration. 
 
¶7. We continue to experience a large number of travelers "sponsored" 
by various churches, religious groups and individual missionaries in 
the United States.  Given the large number of religious-related 
avenues available to travel to the United States, church affiliation 
is viewed in Malawi as an effective method to obtain a visa.  These 
travelers typically apply with another person who is clearly 
approvable or has already been to the United States and returned. 
For example, Post handled a large number of applicants seeking to 
attend the Seventh Day Adventist Youth Camporee in Wisconsin this 
past August.  Post coordinated checks with both the local Church and 
Church leaders in the United States in an attempt to eliminate mala 
fide applicants.  When detected, Post applies appropriate 
ineligibilities for these individuals who knowingly used their 
position and/or travel history to advance the applications of 
unqualified applicants. 
 
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IV FRAUD 
-------- 
 
¶8. IV fraud generally relates to the IV application process rather 
than the applicant's relationship to the petitioner.  Many of our IV 
cases deal with third country nationals (TCN) who reside in Malawi. 
Verification of documentation in these cases is extremely 
 
LILONGWE 00000613  002 OF 003 
 
 
challenging. 
 
-------- 
DV FRAUD 
-------- 
 
¶9. N/A. Post's DV cases are handled and processed by Embassy Harare. 
 
 
--------------------------- 
ACS AND U.S. PASSPORT FRAUD 
--------------------------- 
 
¶10. Post has not detected any cases involving ACS or passport fraud 
during the reporting period.  With our low ACS load, Post is able to 
give considerable oversight and review of our passport and CRBA 
cases. 
 
-------------- 
ADOPTION FRAUD 
-------------- 
 
¶11. Adoption fraud is not yet an issue in Malawi.  Malawi's 
restrictive adoption laws and requirements have so far deterred most 
AMCITs interested in pursuing inter-country adoptions.  Previously, 
most adoptions petitions were processed through the I-130 process 
and Post is able to undertake in-depth reviews of the documentation 
and the orphan status of the adoptee child. However, in a recent 
hi-profile adoption court case, the Malawi Supreme Court rendered a 
decision which may serve to open the door to increased inter-country 
adoptions.  Post has already experienced a significant percentage 
increase in I-600 adoption cases with NVC forwarding five approved 
I-600As in the last two months alone.  Normally, Post might receive 
one or two I-600s for an entire year.  Post will track this trend 
and report on any developments. 
 
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USE OF DNA TESTING 
------------------ 
 
¶12. Post did not conduct DNA testing during the reporting period. 
 
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ASYLUM AND OTHER DHS BENEFIT FRAUD 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶13. Post did not handle any asylum or DHS benefit cases during the 
reporting period.  Post did, however, receive approved Visas 92/93 
cases from the National Visa Center (NVC). Establishing the 
relationship between petitioners and beneficiaries is difficult in 
such cases and Post has limited resources to carry out 
investigations to establish relationships between the petitioners 
and the beneficiaries.  Visas 92 and 93 beneficiaries are typically 
not citizens or permanent residents of Malawi.  If possible, the 
Department of Homeland Security and United States Citizenship and 
Immigration Service (DHS/USCIS) should provide additional 
information that could help establish relationships between the 
petitioners and beneficiaries.  For example documents that could 
assist Post in establishing relationships may include birth 
certificates or records, marriage certificates, national 
identification cards, school records, church records, family 
photographs, health records, home village addresses, home town area 
addresses, province/region or district addresses, occupational 
records, clan or tribe, mother language, father language, last 
address before travel to the US, and/or any other relevant 
information that could lead to confirming family relationships. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
ALIEN SMUGGLING, TRAFFICKING, ORGANIZED CRIME, AND TERRORIST TRAVEL 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
¶14. Per Paragraphs 3 and 4 above, Malawi serves as a transit country 
for third country nationals enroute to South Africa. According to 
Malawian Authorities, smugglers reportedly charge aliens transiting 
Malawi the equivalent of $1400 U.S. dollars. 
 
-------------------------------- 
DS CRIMINAL FRAUD INVESTIGATIONS 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶15. The Regional Security Office and Consular Section have a strong 
working relationship and have frequently collaborated on cases and 
issues of concern. 
 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
HOST COUNTRY PASSPORTS, IDENTITY DOCUMENTS, AND CIVIL REGISTRY 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
 
 
LILONGWE 00000613  003 OF 003 
 
 
¶16. Malawi's primary identity documents (passports, birth 
certificates, etc.) create the biggest challenge for Post's fraud 
prevention efforts. Genuine documents containing fraudulent 
information are the biggest threat.  Most documents are easily 
obtained by applicants from any area or level of socio-economic 
status. Birth certificates, death certificates, and marriage 
certificates are often created many years after the event and merely 
reflect the attestation of the individual requesting the document. 
Malawi's lack of document controls means that corruption and bribery 
are not essential to receive any new document desired.  Malawi's 
Commissioner of Immigration has informed us that a new, more secure 
passport may be issued early in 2010. 
 
-------------------------------------------- 
COOPERATION WITH HOST GOVERNMENT AUTHORITIES 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶17. Post has received satisfactory cooperation from host country 
counterparts.  While Malawian Immigration and Police Officials have 
been very cooperative with our requests to verify documents and 
cooperate with investigations, Malawi does not have sufficient 
resources, training or expertise to counter the gaps in the security 
of their identity documents. Post is working to provide the GOM with 
Department sponsored training in this regard. 
 
--------------------------- 
AREAS OF PARTICULAR CONCERN 
--------------------------- 
 
¶18. The availability of genuine identity documents using false 
information is a significant concern.  As a general rule, most 
Malawians do not obtain an identity document until they are an 
adult.  At that juncture, as long as they have a friend or relative 
willing to attest to their chosen "identity", they can receive a 
birth certificate which is then used to obtain an official 
government identity document such as a passport.  This fact, coupled 
with Malawi's porous borders and its location as a transit route in 
proximity to East African nations known to harbor terrorists and 
criminals, raises the specter of mala fide travelers obtaining U.S. 
visas or Malawi passports through fraud. 
 
--------------------- 
STAFFING AND TRAINING 
--------------------- 
 
¶19. Post's Consular Section consists of one Consular Officer, one 
EFM and one LES - there is no dedicated FPU.  The Consul has 
extensive experience and attended FSI's Advanced Consular Course, 
and has previously attended FSI's Analytic Interviewing and Advanced 
Consular Name checking Techniques courses. 
 
¶20. The LES Consular Assistant is designated the fraud investigator 
for the consular section and has received OJT.  This LES (along with 
Consul) have developed excellent working relations with the local 
and national-level Malawi authorities including Immigration, Police, 
Airline representatives, and the Malawi National Examination and 
Testing Board (MANEB). The LES Consular Assistant has not received 
formal fraud training, and was recently denied a training seat in 
the November 2009 FSN Fraud course.  Post has been promised serious 
consideration for the March 2010 convening of this course. 
 
 
BODDE