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Prepared by: Jody Woods Index: Type bundle Index here

Date: 7/3/2002 DOC Library: Type library name here
Job Code: 320087 DOC Number: 152402

FTTTF, 7/2/02
Reviewed by: Type reviewer name here
Review Date: Type review date here

Record of Interview
Purpose We met ^^ staff of tne Foreign Terrorist Tracking Task Force (FTTTF)
to discuss their progress on risk assessment and condor cables and to
obtain their views on visa policy and law.

Contact Method In person

Contact Place FTTTF Offices, Crystal City

Contact Date July 2,2002

Participants GAP
Jody Woods, Senior Analyst
Kate Brentzel, Analyst
Gabrielle Anderson, Analyst

Fl'lTF
Ihief of Staff, Deputy Director for Law and Policy (703)

Risk Assessment
Condor Processing

Jreported that risk assessment is currently being conducted on

Risk Assessment only flight school applicants that are already licensed pilots. It will be
opened up to all flight school applicants after the Department of Justice
finishes the comment period on its new rule.l [stated that she
doubted the irriTK would ever conduct risk assessment modeling on all
visa applicants, simply because it would be too difficult to transfer the
visa applications to electronic format. She stated that there is widespread
resistance in the State Department to automating the 156 and 157 forms.
In contrast, the flight school applications are fully automated.

9/11 Law Enforcement Privacy
Applicants seeking training at flight schools must fill out an online form
and receive approval from the Attorney General. Those that qualify for
expedited processing are run through the risk assessment model and
turned around in 48 hours or less. For those applicants that come up as
hits through risk assessment.! beported that the task force turns
the case over to law enforcement to make a decision on what should be
done.

When asked if the profile used for risk assessment could be disseminated
to consular officersr |said no because it was (a) classified and (b)
changed daily.

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When asked what consular officers overseas should do if someone applies

for a visa to get flight training^ [stated that they should fill out
another form to see whether they qualify for expedited processing. If they
don't qualify, they should not be given a visa Even if the visa is issued,
the KlTl'F can use INS to track the person down.

20-day hold L Jstated that all parties agreed that the 20-day wait was not
being checked, and Was therefore of limited utility. She believed that
State was planning to act on the 20-day wait immediately. She got the
impression that State would soon end the 20-day wait.

Condor Processing Icables.

Jexplained that 4 of the 38 FTTTF staff process Condor
First they get the paper cable from FBI and sort it by post, refugee
case, and cable number. They run the names of the applicants against the
VICTOFF database, TIPOFF, INS Absconders, stolen passports, I-94s,
NIPC Databases, the Pentbomb investigation, and other law enforcement
databases. For those cases with hits, they conduct further research to
verify the hit and the applicant are the same person. They consider a case
to bfe a match if the two have the exact same name, date of birth, and
possibly passport number, country of birth and other biographical
information. They stated that when in doubt of a match, they always err
on the side of security. Once they have made a match they refer the case
with a recommendation to the FBI's Counter-Terrorism Division to make
a final decision on the case. On cases where no hit came up, the FTTTF
immediately sends word to the State Department that the case has been
cleared. When asked how the information in their systems compares with
C L A S S J I s t a t e d that CLASS does not include data on lost or
stolen passports, intelligence from allied foreign governments, or the
Pentbomb investigation. She also noted that the information in CLASS is
mainly biographical in nature, whereas the information in the FBI system
is in reference to case files.! [stated that the differences
between the databases that FBI has and CLASS will grow over time.

I Istated that the FBI/NIPC is in the process of getting ready

to take over the Condors.r [stated that the FTTTF will not be
allowed to shift it oyef to them until they know it will be done right, unlike
the first time when it was not given a high priority. When the FTTTF
began the Condor processing they inherited a 14,000 case backlog from
the FBLI Istated that these came in the form of boxes and
boxes full of paper cables. She suggested we contact| |
]at FBI for more information on their readiness to
take over condor processing.

I
Jstated that the contents of the condor cables vary greatly by
post, Most have little more information than a name, date of birth,
Country of birth, and reasons why they fell into condor criteria. All three
taskforce representatives felt that condor processing would proceed
much more smoothly if they were given electronic copies of the
applications to reviewj Stated that while State is buying more
scanners, they have resisted her idea of developing a web-based
9/11 Law Enforcement Privacy

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application because of the availability of internet connections overseas

and translatQrs .within the State Department. As it is.l ifelt the
9/11 Law Enforcement Privacy" paper cables they were getting from State did not contain enough
information to conduct a thorough'"risk assessment on thei applicant. [__J
"\ stated that at the very least they needed the information on the
~..DS 156 and 157.

I Istated that the CIA is also processing condors. She stated

that her contact in State for condorsrsl land for refugees is
I I

Concerns about
Visa Law

' She noted that State was not issuing the visa either, just demanding more informalion on the cast.-.

Lbeing recommended
Jagreed to compile data for GAO on how many of these cases ultimately ended up
for refusal.

' See Annitage letter.

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application because of the availability of internet connections overseas

3/11 Law En f o r c e me n t
and translators within the State Department.As it is.l Jfelt the
Privacy" .paper cables they were getting from State did not contain enough
information to conduct a thorough risk assessment on the applicant. |_
I I stated that at the very least they needed the information on the
DS 156 and 157.

[stated that the CIA is also processing condors. She stated

that her contact in State for condors is| [and for refugees is
I

Concerns about
Visa Law

1 She noted that State was not issuing Lhe visa either, just demanding more information on tlie case.

(agreed lo compile data for GAO on how many of these cases ultimately ended up
being recommended for refusal

' See Annitage letter

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9/11 Law Enforcement Privacy

L J stated that beyond the question of law, another problem in

State Department visa processing is that State Department needs to change its culture away
Policy from customer service and efficiency and toward security. She was
unclear on how the creation of the department of Homeland Security
might change the culture around visa processing.

' Auditor's Note: If DOJ is successful in convincing State Department to refuse the Condors on the
basis of research by the FTTTF, that could expand the number of applicants denied under 212(a)3(h

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9/11 Law Enforcement Privacy

L Jstated that beyond the question of law, another problem in

State Department visa processing is that State Department needs to change its culture away
Policy from customer service and efficiency and toward security. She was
unclear on how the creation of the department of Homeland Security
might change the culture around visa processing.

1 Auditor's Note: If DOJ is successful in convincing State Department to refuse the Condors on the
basis of research by the FTTTF, that coiild expand the number of applicants denied inuler 2l^(a>'i(

Page 4 Record of Intrn i