US embassy cable - 03KUWAIT2783

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KUWAIT 002783 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: CMGT, CVIS, AMGT, CASC, KU 
SUBJECT:  RESOURCE IMPLICATIONS OF IRAQI VISA PROCESSING IN 
KUWAIT 
 
REF: (A) KANESHIRO-JONES ET AL JUNE 10 EMAIL (B)PAYNE-JONES 
ET AL JUNE 17 EMAIL  (C) KUWAIT 2781 
 
1.   This is an action message.  Please see paragraph 10. 
 
2.   Embassy has reviewed the draft memo on the proposed 
  inclusion of Iraq in Kuwait's consular district for visa 
  processing on a temporary basis (Ref A). Embassy has also 
  reviewed the initial assessment from the Consular officer in 
  Baghdad of how many Iraqi applicants might be processed 
  through Kuwait (Ref B).  We'd like to offer our thoughts on 
  the likely resource implications of continued support of 
  Iraq-related consular operations. 
 
3.   Embassy agrees that specific procedures need to be 
  established to process Iraqi visa applications. We 
  understand that Kuwait would only receive applications from 
  Iraqis whose travel is "funded, organized, and sponsored by 
  USG agencies."  The mechanics of the proposal - specifically 
  the SAO pre-clearance process - appear workable.  We will 
  formally advise the Kuwaiti government of the proposal and 
  request its cooperation. The Kuwaitis have always been 
  accommodating to our requests for clearance of official 
  Iraqi travelers. We believe they will continue to be so, 
  provided the numbers remain small and requests for emergency 
  processing on weekends (Thursday/Friday) and after hours 
  remain limited.  It will be crucial to provide the Kuwaitis 
  complete biographic, document, and travel information two 
  work/work days in advance, rigorously respecting the local 
  weekend. In order to meet this deadline the Embassy must 
  receive that information 72 hours in advance and is likewise 
  closed Thursdays and Fridays. 
 
4.   Ref B estimates that 50 travelers per month might be 
  processed through this channel. This seems optimistically 
  low given that we processed 12 Iraqi delegates to a United 
  Nations meeting this past weekend, more applications are on 
  the way, and procedures are not even formally in place.  The 
  very establishment of a reliable mechanism to obtain U.S. 
  visas for official Iraqi travelers will itself stimulate 
  enormous demand for travel. There will also almost certainly 
  be pressure to broaden proposed criteria for visa processing 
  and to make exceptions to those criteria. Our experience 
  with Iraq-related issues convinces us that there will be 
  strong pressure to expand `official' travel to include any 
  travel in which the USG has an interest.  We expect that 
  requests for exceptions based on humanitarian and other 
  considerations, will quickly follow suit. 
 
5.   Whatever the ultimate number of visa applicants, all 
  will need permission to enter and depart Kuwait, SAOs, an 
  interview with a consular officer, and a visa; some will 
  require passport waivers.  Most of these travelers will be 
  high-profile cases. Experience demonstrates that they 
  require transportation, expeditors, VIP handling, and other 
  kinds of expensive Embassy support. We note that one of the 
  Americans accompanying the Iraqi UN delegation arrived 
  without a Kuwaiti visa and had to be processed separately. 
  All of this activity occurred late at night on the Kuwaiti 
  weekend at considerable overtime cost to the Embassy which 
  so far has not been reimbursed. 
 
6.   Ref B correctly notes that while the proposal is 
  limited to visa processing, Kuwait has already been assigned 
  de facto responsibility for a variety of Iraq-related 
  consular issues. For example, we have already processed two 
  Iraqi parole cases through Kuwait and just submitted a third 
  parole request, this one a high profile case involving a 
  large family group (Ref C). As the Department is aware, 
  these cases are time-consuming, complex affairs requiring 
  extensive coordination between various agencies and between 
  the Embassy and the Kuwaiti government.  As NGOs become 
  increasingly active in southern Iraq we expect many requests 
  for assistance with Iraqis requesting entry to the U.S. for 
  medical treatment. 
 
7.   Processing Iraqi visas is an additional load for our 
  Consular Section, which is already stretched thin by growing 
  workload and staffing gaps. The Section's organization chart 
  shows three full time 0-4 vice consuls, one part time 0-4 
  vice consul, one consular associate, and the Chief of 
  Section. One of the three full time vice consuls departed 
  post two weeks ago and his replacement does not arrive until 
  mid-August.  The second rotates to another Embassy section 
  in August (at the Charge's direction that Section is taking 
  a three-month gap to assist the Consular Section) when her 
  replacement arrives.  The third full time position is a new 
  one that will not be filled until November.  The Consular 
  Associate departed Post two weeks ago and probably will not 
  be replaced until August.  The Section Chief is scheduled 
  for FSI training from July 7-25. 
 
8.   On May 14 Embassy requested TDY assistance during the 
  month of July and the first two weeks of August.  On June 3, 
  Embassy learned and immediately informed CA/EX that the part 
  time vice consul, responsible for about half of NIV 
  interviewing, had been reassigned outside Kuwait effectively 
  immediately, not to be replaced until late August at the 
  earliest.  We amended our initial request to ask for 
  immediate TDY assistance. 
 
9.   The Consular Section has been reduced to two officers: 
  the Section Chief and a vice consul.  Two weeks ago we 
  instituted an appointment system to deal with peak seasonal 
  NIV demand.  The wait for an appointment is already three 
  weeks and growing fast.  We have an increasingly busy and 
  always complex ACS portfolio as well. Since May 1, Embassy 
  has received more than 1,200 new consular registrations. 
  This compares to fewer than 200 in the same seven-week 
  period of 2002.  Most of the new registrants are contractors 
  involved in Iraqi reconstruction; the numbers of such people 
  will only continue to grow. Overall, we have more than 
  12,000 registered Americans in Kuwait, almost double the 
  number last year at this time.  The impact of this growth is 
  beginning to be reflected in our numbers.  We expect to 
  receive about 210 passport applications in June, 20% more 
  than during the same month last year, this despite the fact 
  the much of our traditional ACS clientele left Kuwait before 
  the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom and will not return 
  until schools open in September. 
 
10.  Action Request: This Embassy wants to be as helpful as 
  possible in U.S. efforts to reconstruct Iraq, specifically 
  by providing consular services for certain officially 
  designated Iraqis.  However, we also want to convey a 
  realistic appraisal of the resource implications and of our 
  existing staffing shortage.  Some of the resource 
  implications will need to be addressed with the Office of 
  the Coalition Provisional Authority.  Other issues are 
  properly addressed to the Department. We need, on an urgent 
  basis, two TDY consular officers.  Ideally, one would remain 
  until the arrival of the new vice consuls in August and one 
  would remain for as long as Kuwait is the designated 
  processing point for Iraqi official travelers. None of the 
  costs for lodging, equipment or other support for the latter 
  officer should come from Post funds.  We note that our 
  request is consistent with Ref B suggestion that "at least 
  one" TDY officer be assigned to Kuwait to assist with Iraq- 
  related consular issues.  Assistance appreciated. 
 
11.  This message has been cleared by OCPA.