CNS News.Com - Obama Freezes Budget for Program Designed to Stop Terrorists from Getting U.S. Visas

From my archive of press clippings:

CNS

Obama Freezes Budget for Program Designed to Stop Terrorists from Getting U.S. Visas

Wednesday, May 05, 2010


By Penny Starr, Senior Staff Writer


This Dec. 2009 photo released by the U.S. Marshal's Service on Monday Dec. 28, 2009 shows Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab in Milan, Mich. Abdulmutallab, 23, is charged with trying to detonate an explosive device on a Dec. 25 flight from Amsterdam to Detroit. (AP Photo/U.S. Marshal's Service)

(CNSNews.com) – Four months after the attempted Christmas Day bombing of Northwest Flight 253 over Detroit and nine years after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, only 14 of the 57 U.S. consulates identified as being at “high risk” for potentially providing visas to terrorists have been furnished with units of the Department of Homeland Security’s Visa Security Program (VSP).

Read the whole article here.

Snippet(s):

"President Barack Obama, meanwhile, is planning to freeze the program’s budget for fiscal 2011.

The VSP, established by the Homeland Security Act of 2002, puts Department of Homeland Security officials in the field at U.S. consulates to vet the backgrounds of people applying for U.S. visas. DHS uses a broader range of databases than the State Department to review the backgrounds of visa applicants. Also, many policymakers believe DHS officials tend to be more security-minded than State Department consular officers when reviewing visa applications.

While administration officials have said publicly that five additional VSP units should be in place at high risk consulates by the end of 2011, President Barack Obama’s fiscal Year 2011 budget for DHS--submitted almost two months after the Christmas Day bombing attempt—does not increase funding for the program from its fiscal 2010 level."

&

"Congressional sources told CNSNews.com that Yemen and Jerusalem are believed to be among the four planned VSP units to be deployed in 2010. The visa-issuing process and the progress of the VSP came under scrutiny after the failed Christmas Day attack Northwest Flight 253, when the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee held hearings on the incident. At the April 21 hearing, Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), chairman of the committee, said the Obama administration was not making the expansion of VSP a priority. “Here’s why I reached that conclusion,” Lieberman (I-Conn.) said. “DHS and the State Department have identified 57 high-risk consular posts around the world – that’s out of 200 posts that issue visas. But only 14 of those have received … Visa Security Program offices.”"

AP - Mexico investigating US teen's death as homicide

From my archive of press clippings:

AP

Mexico investigating US teen's death as homicide

By MARK WALSH (AP) – 20 hours ago

MONTERREY, Mexico — The body of a Texas high school student reported missing by her mother has been found in Mexico and police are investigating her death as a homicide, authorities said Wednesday.

Read the whole article here.

Snippet(s):

"Elisabeth Mandala, 18, and two Mexican men were found dead Saturday in a crashed pickup truck near Mina, a town in the northeastern state of Nuevo Leon.

Autopsies revealed that all three died from severe blows to the head and body, according to a spokeswoman from the Nuevo Leon state Attorney General's Office.

Investigators believe the accident was staged, she said, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with agency policy."

&

"The two men killed were taxi driver Luis Angel Estrella Mondragon, 44, and merchant Dante Ruiz Siller, 38. The spokeswoman said the two were friends from Cuauhtitlan, near Mexico City, but police did not know why they were in Monterrey with Mandala.

A representative of the U.S. Consulate in Monterrey reclaimed Mandala's body with authorization from her father, the spokeswoman said."

_____
Associated Press Writer Diana Heidgerd in Houston contributed to this report.

CNN - What to do if disaster hits your trip

From my archive of press clippings:

CNN

What to do if disaster hits your trip

By Jim Kavanagh, CNN

Hundreds of tourists were stranded for several days in January by flooding and mudslides near Machu Picchu in Peru.


(CNN) -- Earthquakes. Rogue waves. Tsunamis. Flooding. Landslides. From Machu Picchu, Peru, to Madeira, Portugal, travelers have been socked with one natural disaster after another in recent weeks.

Read the whole article here.

Snippet(s):

"The State Department also urges Americans to register their itineraries before leaving. This can be done for free at https://travelregistration.state.gov. It's also a good idea to write down local phone numbers and addresses for U.S. embassies and consulates in the places where you will be traveling."

&

"The U.S. State Department provides assistance 24 hours a day, seven days a week to U.S. citizens in crisis abroad. Call 1-888-407-4747 if calling from the United States or Canada, or 00-1-202-501-4444 if calling from overseas."

re: "Mistaken identity this is not, US ConGen Nuevo Laredo bombed!"

Domani Spero at DiploPundit ("Just one obsessive observer, diplomatic watcher, opinionator and noodle newsmaker monitoring the goings on at Foggy Bottom and the worldwide available universe. ") posits a logical surmise.

Money quote(s):

"If that attack on US ConGen Ciudad Juarez was not a targeted attack against US interest, well, then this latest bombing of the U.S. Consulate General in Nuevo Laredo certainly looks targeted and intentional."

ET - US visa-fraud scheme broken up in Brazil

From my archive of press clippings:

Economic Times

US visa-fraud scheme broken up in Brazil

8 Dec 2009, 0400 hrs IST, AGENCIES

SAO PAULO: Authorities arrested 11 people on Monday in an alleged US work-visa scam that raked in more than $50 million from thousands of Brazilians since 2002.

Read the whole article here.

Snippet(s):

"Some of those scammed went to the US and wound up as illegal aliens because promised jobs didn't exist.

Brazilians seeking temporary working visas were charged up to $15,000 each in what a statement from the US Consulate called one of the largest cases of US visa fraud ever."

&

"Officials from the US Consulate in Sao Paulo said American lawyers suspected of involvement are under investigation but none has been charged."

ITN - Online forms for US visas

From my archive of press clippings:

International The News

Online forms for US visas

Friday, February 19, 2010


Islamabad


The US Embassy, Islamabad, and US Consulate, Karachi, will require non-immigrant visa applicants to use a new web-based application form starting February 22, 2010, says a press release. The new DS-160 application form incorporates all existing applications into one interactive, online form, replacing the forms that currently make up the Electronic Visa Application and Parental Information Forms.

Read the whole article here.

Snippet(s):

"The new DS-160 form demonstrates the US commitment to improving the efficiency and accuracy of the visa process to better serve our applicants."

SG - Local artists shine at US Consulate art exhibition

Saudi Gazette

Local artists shine at US Consulate art exhibition

By Amna M. Saleem


Friday, 08 May 2009 - 13 Jumada Al-Awwal 1430 H

THE splendid evening was hosted by Martin R. Quinn, US Consul General, along with Sami Saleh Nawar, the General Director of Culture and Tourism at the Jeddah Municipality. “This is a part of a cultural collaboration that will use art in its many forms to highlight the hard work that goes in building and maintaining a nation,” said Quinn in a welcoming speech.The exhibition was an extension of the “Picturing America” exhibition - held in the second half of April - that aimed to promote development of cultural exchange in Jeddah.

Read the whole article here.

TOI - Five seek US visa with fake papers

From my archive of press clippings:

Times of India

Five seek US visa with fake papers

27 Mar 2009, 0410 hrs IST, TNN


CHENNAI: Five persons including two couples were arrested for producing fake documents while applying for visas at the US consulate in the city.

Read the whole article here.

DT - Seeking a US visa? This is the right time to apply

Daily Times


Seeking a US visa? This is the right time to apply

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

By Amar Guriro

KARACHI: The Consul General of the Consular Section at the United States Embassy Islamabad Christopher J Richard has said that the number of visa application that had dropped after a change in the laws following 9/11, have once again increased in the past two years.


Read the whole article here.


Snippet(s):


"Richard disclosed that US Embassy is planning to reopen the visa service at the Karachi consulate."

WI - As Troops Withdraw, Iraq Provincial Reconstruction Teams to Change

Washington Independent

As Troops Withdraw, Iraq Provincial Reconstruction Teams to Change


Director Expects Phase-Out by 2011


By Spencer Ackerman 3/11/09 2:35 PM


A key State Department program that seeks to bolster the capability of Iraqi provincial and local authorities to govern will remain in place over the next year with some modifications, its Washington-based director said. But concerns remain about whether the program will be sufficient to address the continuing political and economic challenges in Iraq as U.S. troops withdraw.

Read the whole article here.

Snippet(s):

"Since 2005, small groups made of U.S. diplomats, military officers, development experts and legal advisers called Provincial Reconstruction Teams have worked with Iraqi leaders at the province and district levels around the country to bolster their capacity to govern."

"(T)he PRT program will change between now and August 2010, when the U.S. combat mission ends. In addition to the 14 PRTs, there are also ten teams that work at the district level, known as Embedded Provincial Reconstruction Teams, or ePRTs, owing to their status as embedded units within the U.S. Army’s Brigade Combat Teams. Over the course of the next 15 months, the Brigade Combat Teams will leave Iraq or transition into Advisory and Assistance Brigades. Weems said the ePRTs’ personnel — a smaller team than the 15 to 25 members of an average PRT — will probably be absorbed into a regular PRT. Regular PRTs rely on partner relationships with the military to move around Iraq, which will continue to be the case."

"No decisions have yet been reached about the pace of consolidating the PRTs into consulates or embassies before 2010."

"The PRTs’ budget request for the next fiscal year will be the same as for the current one, according to State Department spokesman John Fleming, approximately $650 million. That decision may alarm some Iraq specialists in and outside the administration who fear that the department may not be prepared to shoulder a sufficient amount of the burden in Iraq as the U.S. withdraws its troops. The PRTs took years to develop capacity and competence among the Iraqi provincial leadership. But much of that leadership has been voted out of office in January’s provincial elections, and the incoming leadership will not be familiar with Iraq’s arcane budgetary and governing process. On top of Iraq’s continued sectarian strife, a shift to new leadership that’s unskilled in the unglamorous decision making that delivers services to Iraq’s population risks a discontinuity in governance that could invite new violence."

"There are about 460 U.S. officials from the departments of State, Defense, Justice, Agriculture and USAID working for the PRTs currently, as well approximately 250 Iraqis employed by them"

&

"There have been some disagreements between the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad and diplomats out in the field with the PRTs about how rapidly PRT consolidation should occur. Some administration and State Department officials have noted that the PRTs implicitly challenge the notion of traditional diplomacy, in which two governments deal with each other in national capitals, rather than take a more expeditionary approach and work with local or even opposition officials on bolstering aspects of governance. Such a challenge can lead to discomfort with the idea of the PRTs.

But some see the department as adapting to a more expeditionary mindset, however slowly."

re: "Diplomacy, Continued"

Ace at Ace of Spades HQ asks a key question:

"What's the deal with gifts?"

He continues:

"Hm. You work at the State Department, with thousands of native Russian speakers at your easy command."

Maybe not thousands, but certainly about a dozen native Russian language instructors at the Foreign Service Institute, the hundreds of American diplomats trained by them, and the local staffs at our embassy in Russia as well as the several U.S. consulates within Russia.

"(I)t does demonstrate that none of these fucks have any idea what the hell they're doing.
Hillary could have called a native speaker of Russian, but apparently she decided to rely on, who knows, her good buddy Joe Wilson and BabbleFish."

&

"If they can't take the minute necessary to get the small things right, I don't see why I should have confidence they'll spend the hours and weeks necessary to get the big things right."

There is such a thing as a learning curve. I'd much rather see screw-ups like these now, at the micro level, while the new administration is essentially doing a shake-down cruise, then later on when it's for all the marbles.

S&S - Widow’s residency battle hits little snag

From my archive of press clippings:

Stars and Stripes

Widow’s residency battle hits little snag

Officials: Proxy marriage never consummated, therefore it’s not official


By Natasha Lee, Stars and Stripes


Pacific edition, Sunday, January 25, 2009


The Japanese widow of a slain Marine and new mother to the couple’s 2-week-old son faces another speed bump in seeking U.S. residency after the government denied her petition, saying the marriage wasn’t legal, her husband’s family said.

Read the whole article here.

Snippet(s):

"U.S. immigration officials said since the marriage by proxy between Hotaru Ferschke, 24, and Sgt. Michael H. Ferschke Jr., 22, was never consummated, it was never official, the Marine’s mother, Robin Ferschke, said Friday.

Hotaru Ferschke’s application was denied in November, stalling her plans to raise the child in Tennessee, her mother-in-law said."

&

"Michael Ferschke, a team leader with the 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion, 3rd Marine Division, had been in the Middle East about a month when the couple learned in May that Hotaru was pregnant.

The couple were married by proxy July 10 during Michael Ferschke’s deployment in Iraq.

One month later, Michael Ferschke was killed during door-to-door searches in a town north of Baghdad.

The couple’s son, Michael "Mickey" H. Ferschke III, was born Jan. 7 at a Japanese clinic near Kadena Air Base."

"Under the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act, marriage by proxy must be consummated to be recognized for immigration purposes, said Kevin O’Connor, a consular officer at the U.S. Consulate in Naha.

Approval for such visas and green cards is granted by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, he said."

__________

NOTE: See a subsequent article here for a happier update.

re: "Senator Lugar Wants to Bring Back American Centers"

TSB at The Skeptical Bureaucrat ("Giving my fellow Americans the view from my cubicle") examines some of the issues involved with Sen. Lugar's suggestion.

Money quote(s):

"Far be it from me to nit-pick what a U.S. Senator says, especially when I agree with him,"

"(O)nly new embassies - meaning those that were built under the new construction program that started around 2000 - are located far from city centers, and not all of them are. Only 21% of our embassies and consulates are new ones, so I doubt the location factor alone can account for a systemic loss of public access. Many of the remaining 79% of our diplomatic facilities are right smack in the middle of downtowns areas, even those so excessively 'vibrant' (Damascus and Belgrade, for example) that it would be safer for our embassies to be a little more distant. Still, I take his point: our embassies get fewer walk-in visitors than our old American Centers did."

"(A)ll the offices and agencies under the authority of the Ambassador in a given country must be located together on a single compound rather than scattered around town. I must note the collocation requirement is not some State Department security standard, but rather part of Public Law 106-113, Title VI, Section 601, known as the "Secure Embassy Construction and Counterterrorism Act of 1999." The same law also requires every diplomatic facility to have a certain setback distance between it and the perimeter of the property on which it is located, something which is rarely possible in downtown areas and therefore contributes to the embassy remoteness problem."

He suggests:

"If Senator Lugar really wants to be helpful, he ought to sponsor a bill to amend the law so as to exempt American Centers. Then we might be able to open a few in those city centers where he wants them to be."

TAR - Border passport deadline looming

From my archive of press clippings:

The Arizona Republic

Border passport deadline looming

by Dennis Wagner - Feb. 12, 2009 12:00 AM


The State Department is trying to prevent a public-relations mess, not to mention chaos at U.S. border checkpoints, by warning Americans that they won't be allowed to enter the country from Mexico after June 1 without a passport.

Read the whole article here.

Snippet(s):

"Those who are turned away will have to seek emergency documents through a U.S. consular office - a process that may take 24 hours or more.

During an Arizona tour this week, Brenda Sprague, deputy assistant secretary of State for passport services, said her office is prepared to handle an onslaught of up to 30 million applications as the deadline nears."

"The State Department issued a record 18.5 million passports in 2007. Despite the looming deadline,Sprague said the 2009 fiscal year is on track for only 12 million applications."

&

"The government approved the wallet-size cards as a cheap and convenient alternative to passport books. They may be used only by citizens returning to the United States through land or seaports from Mexico, Canada, Bermuda and the Caribbean. Air travelers must carry full passports."

J - Dubai Arrests Man Over U.S. Consulate Hoax Call. The consulate reopened on Thursday after closing to the public for security reasons on Wednesday.

From my archive of press clippings:

Javno


Dubai Arrests Man Over U.S. Consulate Hoax Call. The consulate reopened on Thursday after closing to the public for security reasons on Wednesday.


Published: January 23, 2009 12:06h

Police in the Gulf trading hub of Dubai have arrested a man over a hoax phone call that led to the one-day closure of the U.S. consulate for security reasons, newspapers said on Friday.

Read the whole article here.

Snippet(s):

"The Lebanese-American was held on suspicion of calling police from a public phone to say that a Sudanese man, whom he accused of swindling him of 700,000 dirhams ($191,000), was "planning to do something" against the consulate, police chief Dhahi Khalfan was quoted as saying by Gulf News."

Reuters - U.S. consulate in Dubai closes for security reasons

From my archive of press clippings:

Reuters

U.S. consulate in Dubai closes for security reasons


Wed Jan 21, 2009 1:16pm EST

DUBAI (Reuters) - The U.S. consulate in the Gulf Arab business hub of Dubai closed to the public for security reasons on Wednesday, it said without giving details of any threats.

Read the whole article here.

S&S - To the Okinawan widow of a fallen Marine, a son is born

From my archive of press clippings:

Stars and Stripes

To the Okinawan widow of a fallen Marine, a son is born

By Chiyomi Sumida, Stars and Stripes


Mideast edition, Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Cindy Fisher / S&S


Hotaru Ferschke cradles her newborn son, Michael H. Ferschke III, at a Japanese clinic near Kadena Air Base on Tuesday. Michael, born Jan. 9, was named for his father, Marine Sgt. Michael H. Ferschke Jr., who was killed in Iraq in August.


CHATAN, Okinawa — Michael H. Ferschke III, the son of a Marine who was killed on a mission in Iraq last August, was born Friday on Okinawa. Hotaru Ferschke delivered the healthy child at 1:18 p.m. at a Japanese clinic near Kadena Air Base. He weighed 7 pounds, 8.8 ounces and was 19.7 inches long.

Read the whole article here.

Snippet(s):

"The much-awaited arrival brings to a close another chapter in a story that began Aug. 10, when Sgt. Michael H. Ferschke Jr., a team leader with Okinawa-based 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion, 3rd Marine Division, was killed conducting door-to-door searches north of Baghdad.

It was exactly one month after Ferschke and Hotaru exchanged marriage vows by proxy while thousands of miles apart. Hotaru, supported by her in-laws, has vowed to raise her son in the Tennessee town where his father grew up."

"She said her husband’s parents, whom she first met in Tennessee during Christmas 2007, are to arrive on Okinawa next month to see their new grandson and make arrangements to bring him and his mother to their home in Marysville, Tenn."

&

"She said she would soon apply for a passport for the baby, and her six-month temporary visa should be ready before they leave for the United States in late February.

She said she was grateful for all the help provided by the U.S. Consulate and the Marine Corps to process the paperwork for the visa and passport.

At first, she will be on a six-month temporary visa, which can be extended for another six months.

She and her family in the States hope to change the visa status before the visa expires."

I hope they're able to change her visa status as well.

This is the sad case you might have heard about where DHS can't recognize her proxy marriage since it was never consummated subsequent to the wedding ceremony.

It sounds crazy, especially in a situation where the woman has given birth to a fallen marine's child, but neither the consulate nor USCIS gets to pick and choose which laws and regulations to apply and which ones to ignore.

With the attention of the Marine Corps and, IIRC, a friendly congressman or two, I hope an immigration judge will apply some discretion, the valor already having been provided by Sergeant Ferschke.

ARN - Planning to travel outside the U.S.? Know the laws first

From my archive of press clippings:

Abiline Reporter News

Planning to travel outside the U.S.? Know the laws first

Saturday, July 12, 2008

Michelle Richart

Summer is a time of fun and vacation. Are you planning on traveling internationally?

Read the whole article here.

Snippet(s):

"A passport is required for travel outside of the United States, even if you are driving to Mexico.

Be sure your passport is valid for at least six months from the end of your trip, otherwise you may not be admitted into your destination country once you land.

Check with the Department of State to see if the country to which you will be visiting requires a visa or if the country participates in the Visa Waiver Program. Most European countries do not require a visa for a short visit, but all require a passport."

&

"Notify the U.S. Embassy or Consulate in your destination country of your trip and where you will be stay. That way, in case of an emergency or natural disaster, the U.S. Embassy will be better able to find and assist you and notify family members."

Fox - U.S. Consulate Mistakenly Sells Secret Files in Jerusalem

Fox News


U.S. Consulate Mistakenly Sells Secret Files in Jerusalem

Tuesday, January 27, 2009 By Reena Ninan

FOX News obtained hundreds of sensitive files mistakenly sold by the U.S. consulate in Jerusalem at a public auction.

EXCLUSIVE: Hundreds of files — with social security numbers, bank account numbers and other sensitive U.S. government information — were found in a filing cabinet purchased from the U.S. consulate in Jerusalem through a local auction.

Read the whole article here.

IE - Moksha-seeking teenager lands cops, US Consulate in spot

From my archive of press clippings:

Indian Express

Moksha-seeking teenager lands cops, US Consulate in spot

Mouparna Bandopadhyay

Posted online: Monday, May 19, 2008 at 0327 hrs

Kolkata, May 18 : Nineteen-year old Eric Paul came to India to attain divine freedom by following the path of Lord Krishna. His belief has now put American Consulate officials and regional passport office authorities in a tight spot.

Read the whole article here.

Snippet(s):

"He arrived in Kolkata from San Francisco two months back in search of “a guru, a mantra and meditation,” in his own words."

"In these two months, he made the pavements his home, depending on alms and charity for sustenance.

He was, however, in touch with his mother in San Francisco.

When she learnt of her son’s sufferings thousands of miles away, the doting mother promptly sent him Rs 1.5 lakh and asked him to return home immediately."

&

"Eric kept searching for his freedom in Baguihati.

In the process, he lost all his belongings, including his passport and all his money.

A local resident spotted him and handed him over to the US Consulate here.

Two senior consulate officers brought him to the regional passport office. “I haven’t eaten for two days. I am very hungry,” he told the officers, who then arranged for food."