U.S. Department of State Fiscal Year 2019 Agency Financial Report

The Department’s Bureau of Consular Affairs (CA) has historically analyzed financial and adjudicatory data pertaining to specific visa categories and passport applications to determine possible fraud trends or detect internal malfeasance. CA operates an advanced fraud analytics program to identify, combat, and prevent potential fraud through the fraud prevention units (FPUs) located at 220 embassies and consulates abroad, as well as 29 domestic passport agencies and centers. FPUs use the results of this analysis in combination with their knowledge of local conditions to train consular adjudicators to identify potentially fraudulent applicants. Visa and passport adjudicators are trained to identify counterfeit and fraudulently issued documents, as well as impostors, during their adjudicatory training and in advanced fraud prevention training at technologically equipped facilities. Additionally, CA’s Office of the Comptroller trains Fees Accountable Consular Officers and consular managers on how to spot the signs of potential financial fraud. Other factors that serve to deter fraud include the requirement of applicants for consular services to pay a fee prior to receipt of service and undergo biometric verification of identity, whether facial recognition (visas and passports) and/ or fingerprinting (visas). To proactively prevent fraud, CA provides external training to consular personnel on fraud trends, techniques and counter measures during adjudicative training and in advanced fraud prevention training throughout their careers. CA adjudicators have access to on-line databases that assist with verification of genuine identity and travel documents and to detect counterfeit and altered documents. CA’s Counterfeit Deterrence Laboratory contributes to the design and development of secure U.S. travel documents by sharing analysis and expertise with the interagency group. CA personnel receive malfeasance training annually, either through management or as part of consular-specific training courses. To prevent internal fraud, CA maintains technology and other internal control mechanisms to deter unauthorized access to consular records and uses Consular Management Assistance Team and OIG visits to posts and passport agencies, as well as mandatory Annual Management Control Certifications and other reporting, to actively monitor and deter internal fraud, including financial fraud. Progress in Implementing the Fraud Risk Principle in the Green Book The Department conducts an annual entity-level control assessment to comply with the GAO’s Green Book. The assessment includes Principle #8, which requires management to consider the potential for fraud when identifying, analyzing, and responding to risks. Overall, the Department’s assessment of fraud included tests of operating effectiveness and utilized other existing fraud programs conducted within our bureaus. Other programs that identified fraud were considered including the Statement of Assurance process, as well as work performed by external auditors such as the OIG, GAO, and the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction. Progress in Identifying Risks and Vulnerabilities Many Department managers have robust fraud preventive and detective measures, and fraud analytics programs that have operated for many years, while some areas have developed fraud prevention activities in response to the FRDAA Act. Below are examples and highlights from a few of our accomplishments in 2019. Consular: CA liaised with management and consular adjudicators worldwide to refine their fraud prevention strategies and tactics to combat new and evolving threats. CA disseminated anti-fraud information to a wide variety of clients via the CA/FPP website, the Fraud Digest, webinars, and other publications. CA also liaised with the Bureau of Diplomatic Security (DS), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and other Federal agencies and organizations concerned with immigration fraud and alien smuggling. In addition, CA works to identify and combat internal fraud and provides assistance to DS in visa and passport fraud investigations, with special focus on those that involve employee malfeasance. Property: During 2019, the Integrated Logistics Management System (ILMS) Analytics team discovered one individual at an overseas post who circumvented existing controls and manually entered 91 percent of the assets at the post as well as made $100,000 in manual cost adjustments to existing assets. By comparing fuel costs expended across post locations, one post was identified as spending three times as much as other posts in the same region. 2019 A gency F inancial R eport U nited S tates D epartment of S tate | 145 PAYMENT INTEGRITY AND OTHER LAWS AND REGULATIONS | OTHER INFORMATION