Worthless job letters: US Embassy puts little weight on employment letters presented by Jamaicans seeking visas

The United States Embassy in Kingston puts little faith in the job letters which Jamaicans present when they are applying for a visitor's visa.

In fact, the embassy believes there are persons in Jamaica who make their living by producing fraudulent job letters, and persons desperate to get to 'foreign' are willing to pay as much as US$400 for these documents.

"Misrepresentation is very common and job letters are often false or misleading," the Kingston embassy told Washington in a diplomatic cable dated December 2008.

"In general, job letters are not reliable as there are many document vendors who have turned the false job-related documents into a cottage industry," said the cable.

It was noted that more than 40 per cent of Jamaicans who applied for a visitor's visa to the US were refused in the last quarter of 2008, up from 37 per cent over the corresponding period in 2007.

not surprised

But embassy officials were not surprised as they had braced for an increase in the number of persons trying to flee the island in light of the global recession and the subsequent massive loss of jobs which occurred at the time.

The embassy had long linked the economic conditions in Jamaica to efforts by more Jamaicans to use fraudulent means to get an American visa.

According to the embassy, once the economic conditions in Jamaica deteriorated, there would be an increase in the attempts by Jamaicans to get to the US by whatever means possible.

"Rising unemployment and weaker individual economic situations in Jamaica will likely result in higher (visa) refusal rates. Post also expects an increase in the use of fraudulent documents as applicants attempt to disguise low wages or unemployment," the embassy said in a diplomatic cable dated December 2008.

"Over the past three months, the refusal rate for Jamaican visitor's visas was 43 per cent, up from 37 per cent for the same period last year," the cable said.

fraud among sports teams

According to the cable, Jamaicans were using several fraudulent means to attempt to enter the US and embassy staff had to remain vigilant.

"Fraud is most commonly found with applicants in entertainment groups and sports teams. There are often additional applicants who apply with a larger group of athletes or performers who have no role in the performances or competitions," the cable said.

The US Embassy had long been wary of the ability of Jamaicans to get fraudulent papers, and in 2007, it reported that its fraud-prevention manager uncovered a racket of counterfeit visa-appointment letters.

According to that cable, embassy officials noticed a pattern where bogus letters were presented by persons claiming to have visa interview appointments.

According to the cable, "During the interview, most applicants revealed the name of a document vendor who is known to the assistant regional security officer investigator and who has been under surveillance for some time."

The cable said Jamaicans were paying up to US$100 for the appointment letter, plus an additional US$400 for supporting documents.