As reported by AILA (The American Immigration Lawyers Association), the Department of State (DOS) Visa Office has confirmed at the March 24, 2010, AILA/DOS Liaison meeting that the Kentucky Consular Center (KCC) has commenced verification of information contained in nonimmigrant visa petitions received from the USCIS (AILA InfoNet Doc. 10072868). Verification of information includes telephonic contact with petitioners related to factual aspects contained in the petition.

Background:

On November 17, 2007, DOS instructed consular posts that they must verify the details of approved NIV petitions through the Petition Information Management Service (PIMS) via the Consular Consolidated Database (CCD). Consular officers access the details of approved nonimmigrant visa petitions through the CCD in a PIMS report, which links an approved petition to a base petitioner record allowing superior tracking of NIV petitioner and petition information. The electronic PIMS record created by the KCC is the primary source of evidence used by consular officers to determine nonimmigrant visa (NIV) petition approval. In addition to the information submitted by the petitioner on the I-129, many of the PIMS reports also contain information from DOS’ Fraud Prevention Unit (FPU). The FPU performs research on petitioners, and as part of a pilot project, the FPU, on a random basis, verifies factual aspects related to the beneficiaries and their proposed U.S. employment.

Petitioner Reviews:

AILA has been advised that lack of information on the petitioner in the USCIS Computer Linked Information Management System (CLAIMS) system has resulted in DOS’ decision to create a base petitioner record as part of the PIMS report for all first time petitioners. To create this base petitioner record, the KCC verifies petitioner information contained in the petition including, but not limited to, review of the company website, company contact information, and use of Google earth to confirm that an office exists in an appropriate physical location. Once the base petitioner record is complete, the KCC will not normally re-verify the petitioner information for two years.

Beneficiary Reviews:

The DOS has also informed the AILA DOS Liaison Committee that the KCC has initiated a pilot program for verifying information related to beneficiaries and proposed U.S. employment. These checks are completed at random and are primarily completed through telephonic contact with petitioners. The telephonic contact by KCC is unannounced and should be anticipated to occur shortly after the petition is transferred to the KCC from the USCIS.

Once the review is completed, the findings of the beneficiary review are normally finalized within two days and available to consular officers. Consular officers are instructed to review the report, question the beneficiary regarding any discrepancies, and request that the KCC correct any information if a finding was in error. If the discrepancies were not in error, the consular officer will provide additional information to the KCC to update their report to include any additional incriminating evidence discovered during the course of the nonimmigrant visa interview.

The FPU has designated 15 contractors who have been authorized by the DOS to conduct these telephonic beneficiary reviews with petitioners. These contractors are authorized to contact the Petitioner and may request to speak to an authorized official. They will then ask a series of questions verifying certain information contained in the approved nonimmigrant visa petitions.

These include, but are not limited to:

1. Whether the petitioner, in fact, submitted the petition;

2. When was the petitioner incorporated

3. Where was the physical location of the petitioner

4. Number of employees

5. Names of shareholders

6. Location of Attorney of Record

7. General information regarding the petitioner’s operations and business plan

We’d like to provide employers with the following information and tips in handling these inquiries:

Request the name of the KCC contractor and confirm the credentials of the contractor with the KCC [(606) 526-7500] prior to providing any information.

1. Contact our office to advise us of the telephonic contact by the KCC contractor.
2. Do not speak with government agents or contractors without a witness present.  Both the witness and the interviewee should prepare notes of what questions were asked and label them “Privileged and Confidential/Prepared at the Direction of Counsel,” and submit them to our office for review and retention.
3. Retain complete copies of your I-129 petitions and supporting documents in a confidential file maintained by the designated company official for easy access during a contractor call.
4. Never guess at the answer to a question about the petition.  If the employer is unsure about some requested information, the employer should indicate that he/she will follow up with the KCC contractor to provide accurate information after such information is obtained.

Employers are reminded that the investigations conducted by the KCC are separate and apart from the investigations conducted by the Fraud Detection and National Security Unit (FDNS) of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).  DHS will continue to conduct its own fraud investigations using the FDNS unit.  FDNS conducts site visits of petitioning employers in an effort to combat fraudulent petitions.  Employers are reminded to contact our office if they receive a site visit from a Department of Homeland Security contractor.