9/11 Commission Request for Documents about Visa Issuance from State Department

8/14/2019 9/11 Commission Request for Documents about Visa Issuance from State Department

1/6

TAB 1

Thomas H. KeanC H A I R -

Lee H. HamiltonV I C E C H A I R

Richard Beo-VenisteMax ClelandFred F.FieldingJamie S. GordickSlade GortonJohnLehmanTimothy J. RoemerJames R. ThompsonPhilip D. ZelikowE X E C U T I V E DIRECTOR

DOS DOCUMENT REQUEST NO. 4

The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (the"Commission") requests that the U.S. Department of State (DOS or the"respondent") provide the Commission with copies of the following documents nolater than August 8, 2003 (the "production date"):1. State OIG Investigations.

a. Documents created and collectedpursuant to the State OIGinvestigation of the issuance of visas to the nineteen September 11 hijackersin response to a request from Rep. Frank Wolf (OIG Review ofNIVIssuance Policy and Procedures M emorandum, ISP-I-03-26, December2002, and Review of the Issuance of Visas, ISP-CA-03-27, March 2003),including: interview notes and reports; documents collected at posts and atthe State Department facilities in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area onvisa policies and procedures; the list of questions asked of the consularofficers; and congressional correspondence relating to the report.

b. Documents created and collected pursuant to the State OIGinvestigation of the issuance of visas to Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman(OIGReview of the Visa-Issuing Process PhaseI: Circumstances Surroundingthe Issuance of Visas to Sheik Omar All Ahmed Abdel Rahman 4-CI-007March 1994), including: interview notes and reports; documents collected atposts, at the State Department facilities in the Washington, D.C.metropolitan area, and from other agencies, and congressionalcorrespondence relating to the report.c. Compliance Reports prepared in connection with OIG reviews of theissuance of non-immigrant visas for the period from 1994 through 2003.

d. Inspector General semi-annual reports to Congress for the periodfrom 1994 through 2003.

2. State - White House Border Policy in Response toSeptember 11.Regarding border security, border policy and controls, border securityarrangements with Mexico and Canada, passport, visa, and refugee securityreviews and clearance matters arising out of the events of September 11,2001:

a. State Department records of meetings held in the White House fromSeptember 11 through September 20,2001, attended by State Departmentofficials, to discuss immigration andborder security issues arising out of theSeptember 11 attacks, and a list of Departmental personnel who attendedthose meetings andwere responsible for follow-up to those meetings;

b. State Department records describing the current policies concerningthose matters raised in these White House meetings; and

c. Communications from the Secretary of State to the President or theNational Security Adviser or the heads of the Office of Homeland Securityor the Homeland Security Council, discussing proposed and implemented

T E L (202) 331-4060F A X (202) 296-5545

http://www.9-Hcommission.gov


2/6

DOS Document Request No. 4Page 2

measures concerning these matters, from September 11,2001 through September 20,2001.3. State Department Consular Reference Materials.

a. Best Practices Handbook. A copy of the State Department's Best PracticesHandbook, 2000 edition, including subsequent updates;b. Consular Management Handbook,2000 edition, including subsequent updates;c. Appendix A (Classified) to the Visa FAM, 2000 edition, including subsequentupdates;d. Standard Operating Procedures. SOP's concerning clearances, security advisory

opinions, and terrorism-related determinations included in cables to posts, from1998 through 2003; and

e. INS Forms. Guidance to posts concerning how to make use in the visa process ofINS routine reports on aliens who have changed status or have been found to beinadmissible aliens at ports of entry, from 1998 through 2003.

4. Policy memoranda. Policy memoranda concerning border security matters (visas,passports, related arrangements with Canada and Mexico, migration, refugee/asyleeissues) relating to terrorism and alien smuggling, including follow-up to PDD-39, PDD-62, and HSPD-2, from the Secretary of State or the Deputy Secretary of State to AssistantSecretaries of State (a) from 1993 through September 20, 2001, and (b) sufficient to showcurrent policies and proposed policies under consideration.

5. Secretaryof State - Justice/Homeland Security. Documents, including legal analyses,sufficient to describe the allocation of authority over visas and visa security advisoryopinions among the Secretary of State, the Department of Homeland Security, and theDepartment of Justice (a) on September 11,2001, and (b) currently.

6. Intelligence Community. Policy correspondence concerning intelligence, informationsharing, and visa security clearances relating to terrorism, alien smuggling, traveldocument fraud, and border security and controls, from 1995 to the present:a. from the Secretary of State, the Deputy Secretary of State, or any Under Secretary

to counterparts at: the Department of Defense and its intelligence agencies; theDirector of Central Intelligence and the CIA; the Department of Justice and itsagencies; the Department of Homeland Security and its agencies; and theDepartment of the Treasury and its agencies; and

b. from the Assistant Secretaries of INR, CA, and ML, and the Coordinator forCounterterrorism (S/CT), to counterparts at the CIA, the Department of Defenseand its agencies, the Departmentof Justice and its agencies, the Department of theTreasury and its agencies, and the Department of Homeland Security and itsagencies. ,

7. Congress. An index or indices of correspondence to or from Members of Congressconcerning border security and control in relation to terrorist entry, alien smuggling,ortravel document fraud (excluding correspondence exclusively about individual cases),from 1995 to the present:a signed by the Secretary of State, Deputy Secretary of State, or anyUnder Secretary;


3/6

DOS Document Request No. 4Page3

b. signed by the Assistant Secretary forConsular Affairs; orc. signed by the Assistant Secretary for Legislative Affairs.

8. Congressionally Required Reports.a. A list of reports prepared fo r Congress that are required by statutes, or byconference or committee reports, addressing border security or control matters(including visas and passports, arid handling of refugees/asylees) that relate toterrorist entry, alien smuggling, and travel document fraud (classified andunclassified), from 1995 to the present; andb. Copies of the congressionally required reports concerning denials of visas onterrorism/security grounds, including any classified supplements withindividualized information.

9. Analyses. Legal analyses prepared at the State Department concerning: authorityandstandards for watchlisting individuals associated with terrorism; authority to gaincooperation from intelligence and law enforcement agencies on watchlist information;interagency sharing of watchlist information; harmonization of U.S. and Canadian visaand/or entry requirements; the use of U.S. passports to enter the U.S. from Mexico and/orCanada; and standards for revoking of visas, from 1993 through 2003.

10. Refugee/Asylee Security Review Process. Documents sufficient to describe:a. the security review and clearance process fo r asylees and refugees from 1998through September 11,2001;

b. new security requirements in the immigration process for refugees and asyleesimposed since September 11,2001;

c. the number of asylee and refugee applicants and the number who have been barredon terrorist-related grounds from 2000 to the present; andd. the numberof asylee and refugee applicants for whom security reviews are

currently pending. >1 1 . Watchlists. Agreements among DOS and other government agencies regardinginformation sharing on terrorist watchlists, from 1991 through 2003.12. Alien Smuggling. Intelligence assessments prepared by INR that linked alien

smuggling, migration, or transnational refugee and asylee movements with terrorists,from 1996 through 2003.

13 . TIPOFF. The following information on the TEPOFF program:a. the number of entries in TIPOFF by year, from its inception as a computerized

system to the present, with 6 month total numbers for 2001,2002, and 2003;b. the total number of entries submitted by source agency, by year, from 1998 to thepresent;c. the total number of true hits (matches of visa applicants and watchlistedindividuals) identified for years 1993 through 2003, the number of visas deniedbased o n these matches, and the reasons fo r these denials; and


4/6

9/11 Closed by Statute


d. theTIPQFF entries $_ . J| (forallTIPOFF true hits forIslamic extremist terrorists generally,and al Qa'ida specifically, from 1993 to the present, indicating those to whom visaswere issued or denied, or issued through a waiver of ineligibility, and the post ofapplication.

14. Supplemental clearances.a. documents (classified an d unclassified) stating the legal authority, requirementsan dprocedures for the supplemental visa clearance processes (a) for males of specifiedcountries and age groups, instituted after September 11, 2001, and (b) fo r sensitivetechnology-related visas;

b. the number of clearances sought through each process to date;c. the number of individuals found ineligible or to whom avisa was denied through-

each process, who were no t already listed inTIPOFF, by agency providing theclearance or derogatory information;d. for those denied, the names, aliases, dates of birth, countries of origin andnationality, passport number, visa classification, date an d place of issue, and thereasons for the denials,with an indication of which clearance process resulted in thebar and/or whether awaiver of ineligibility was soughtor obtained; ande. memoranda reporting on the evaluation and associated recommendationsconcerning the supplemental visa security review process instituted after September11,2001, an d still in effect.

15. ICAO. Documents sufficient to describe the U.S. government position on machine-readable travel documents andbiometrics, associated with ICAO meetings, from 1998 tothe present.

16. G-8. Documents sufficient to describe U.S. positions concerning border security orcontrol issues (visas, passports, biometrics, migration, refugees/asylees, alien smuggling,travel document fraud) at the G-8 meetings, from 1998 through 2003.

17. IOM. Documents sufficient to describe U.S. positions on any discussions in theInternational Organization for Migration concerning terrorist mobility, from 1998

\h 2003.18. Diversity Program. Any memoranda or telegrams concerning the relationship between

fraud or other vulnerabilities in the Diversity Program and terrorist entry to the U.S.,from 1998 to the present.19 Foreign Government Visa Policies. Any analyses of foreign government visa policies

and their impact on terrorist mobility, e.g.J \ {and vpresent.


5/6


20. Annual Post Fraud Reports. Annual reports on fraud in the visa process sent fromBerlin, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Jeddah, Riyadh, Karachi, Islamabad, Cairo, Amman,Ankaraand Istanbul from 1998 to the present.21 . Diplomatic Security and/or Consular Affairs.

a. copies of Diplomatic Security or Consular Affairs alerts issued from 1998 to thepresent concerning passport and visa fraud, including alerts concerning access byterrorists to blank passports or fraudulent visas;b. an index of reviews carried out by Consular Management Assessment Teamsortheir predecessors to assess post consular vulnerabilities, 1998 to present;

c. Diplomatic Security reporting relating to Islamic extremist terrorist threats againstindividuals, groups or sites in the United States sent to Washington by the field,fromAugust 7,1998 through September 11,2001;d. copies of foreign airport in-transit reports of Islamic extremist terroristsapprehended with fraudulent travel documents, from 1998 to the present;e. analytic products that discuss the use o f fraudulently obtained birth records anddrivers licenses in acquiring visas and passports, from 1998 to the present;f. analytic products that discuss the link between passport and visa fraud and terroristentry to the U.S.; jg. annual arrests, referrals for prosecution (federal or state), declinations, and caseresults, resulting from investigations of passport and visa fraud, noting anyinvolving Islamic extremists, from 1998 to the present; and

h. information concerning Diplomatic Security's current mission with respect topreventing terrorist entry to the U.S. and resources dedicated to it.

22. Doha Visa Fraud. Summary report of the results of the investigation into alleged visafraud at the U.S. Embassy in Doha, Qatar, referred to as "Operation Eagle Strike,"including:a. the names, dates of birth, passport country, passport and visa numbers of

individuals issued the fraudulent visas, and immigration status of each;b. the manner in which the visas were acquired;c. names and positions of those taken into custody, in connection with the provision or

acquisition of the visas;d. whether any of the persons sought had terrorist affiliations, the nature of thoseaffiliations;e. current status of any cases;f. results of the investigation into the employees whoprocessed visa applicationsduring the time of the fraud; andg. any disciplinary or other actions taken as a result of the investigation.

23. Ambassador, DCM, and Principal Officers. Provide the names of the Ambassadors orcharge d'affaires, the Deputy Chiefs of Mission, the Principal Officers and the ConsularSection Chiefs for the period January 1,1999 through the present, for posts in Egypt,Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, andGermany.


6/6


The Commission requests that the documents requested above be provided as soon as they areavailable, even though all requested documents may not be provided at the same time, throughmeans of a "rolling" production.If any requested documents are withheld from production, even temporarily, based on an allegedclaim of privilege or for any other reason, the Commission requests that the respondent, as soon aspossible and in no event later than the production date, identify and describe each such document orclass ofdocuments, as well as the alleged, basis for not producing it, with sufficient specificity toallow ameaningful challenge to any such withholding.If the respondent does not have possession, custody or control of any requested documents but hasinformation about where such documents may be located, the Commission requests that therespondent provide such information as soon as possible and in no event later than theproductiondate.If the respondent has any questions or concerns about the interpretation or scope of these documentrequests, the Commission requests that any such questions orconcerns be raised with theCommission as soon as possible so that any such issues can be addressed and resolved prior to theproduction date.

July 25,2003 Daniel MarcusGeneral Counsel

Date post:	30-May-2018
Category:	Documents
Upload:	911-document-archive
View:	215 times
Download:	0 times