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Working-level Employee

9/i'l Working-level EmployeeSENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED

DEPARTMENT OF STATEUNITED STATES INFORMATION AGENCY

Off i c e of Inspector Genera lMemorandum o f Conversat ion\sfor the9/11 Hijackers 3620 W. Sahara Ave.. Las

Vegas. NV\Official

O f f i c e2/11/03

DateMichele Truitt & John Clark

Inspector

NoteiLNnvemher.2S.200Q./J V~

JresignedT pom the Department of State on

1. For the record, please tell us your name, present rank and position.^^^_^___^_^_^ I artj no t currently employed with th e State Department.2. Were you the officer tyho issued a nonimmigrant visa to Ziad Samir Jarrah on May

25, 2000 at Berlin? ,I do not remember issuinga visa toZiad Samir Jarrah. I do not recognize the photo ofth e person on the NT V Applicant Detail printout that you are showing me. Thisadjudicat ion data file states that ij Adjudicated and approved anapplicat ion for Jarrah a t Embassy Berlin on May 25, 2000.3. Is this a copy of the application?No. The application was destroyed. Berlin destroyed visa applications year by yearalmost to the date, with rare exceptions. Themoveof our Embassy from Bonn to Berlinin 1999 created space issues, and the FSNs consistently destroyed the old applications incomplying with our destruction schedule.4. Does the computer record indicate whether the CLASS lookout system procedure wasfollowed in this case?Yes. I was a big fan of the lookout system, and I always checked CLASS.

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SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED5. What were the results of your check?The case file printout shows there were no hits against Jarrah.6. Did you interview Jarrah prior to issuing the visa?I don't remember this person or if there was an interview.7. If not, why not?Again, we don't have the application. I don't remember this person.8. What was the policy at post regarding personal appearance waivers?There werc-standardjyritten-procedures. We-had-copies-othese-pFOcedures^Berlin wastrying to cut down on interviews.9. How were you informed of this policy? In writing? Orally? By whom.Yes, I was informed of the policy. Germany has different levels of resident permits, soyou know a third country national's status from the permits, including if they could bedeported. I knew about these documents because I went through the process when I camefrom Austria to Germany to work.There were no sample documents at Berlin, but I arranged for some. The German policewere very helpful, and we exchanged good information. The best-trained people ondocuments, however, were the FSNs. We had some anti-fraud training; some documentswere photocopies, not sample copies, so they had limited value.10. Were you personally given any instructions by your supervisors or superiors aboutasking applicants to appear in person for an interview?We were told to use the guidelines.11. Did a travel agency submit the case?In Berlin, there are visa services companies, but no travel agencies. I'm not sure a visaservice submitted this one. Foreign students and exchange students used thesecompanies, and they had copies of our guidelines and pre-screened applicants. Theyknew if they sent nnn-q^alifying applicants, their bl lSJnCSSPS W OUld SUffgT.

If an applicant were a long time resident and a student in good standing, we would issuethe visa. If there were any travel entries in an individual passport, then the applicant wascalled in for an interview. Many Lebanese have two passports, as we do, to travel in theMiddle East. We would see only the one for which the applicant was seeking a visa, sowe may have missed some travel information.

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SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED21. Would any other elements have helped you make a different decision regarding theapplicant's eligibility for a visa, and why?There was no entry, no CLASS hit. There are many Arab students in Germany andEurope in general. Most students are sent by wealthy parents to get the children awayfrom the turmo il. Although some people may have used this as a cover, a student in goodstanding was a good visa case.Greece f ingerprints its own citizens. W e should be able to fingerprint visa applicants.22. Did your superiors ever discuss the post's NIV refusal rates in general with you?No._2i Did your superiors ever counsel you to raise or lower your-owirrefusal rate?

Not in Berlin. My superiors supported my decisions.My refusal rate was 11%. Others who adjudicated a lot of exchange student applicationshad lower refusal rates. We knew our refusal rates because Berlin's daily, weekly, andmonthly reports provided that inform ation.24. Did you or anyone in the consular section conduct NIV return validation studies? Ifnot, why not?I don't recall anyvalidation studies in Berlin.25. How well did you speak and Arabic?I don't speak or read Arabic.26. Did the Department train you in this language?No.27. Do you consider that the training you received in the Department to carry ou t your

visa adjudication responsibilities was adequate?The training was great in the general sense, but there were limited post files at FSI.Training at post was very useful and important. There were also some anti-fraudsessions. One officer participated in a regional training session, but there was limitedfeedback. Posts are busy, and so some things are overlooked.28. If not, what additional training w ould have enabled you to do a better job?

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SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED

You should be fluent in the language of the country where you are serving. Now inEurope there are no borders, and so many languages are spoken. There are guest workerseverywhere from around the world. Some people come in with translators because they,the applicants, cannot speak German or English. We did not have anyone who spokeArabic, but we had a Farsi speaker because we had a lot if Iranian applicants.I wish I had had the tools to know that we did not want this person (Ziad Samir Jarrah). Iliked my position very much. I am a naturalized citizen and am proud to have done visawork.29. What other comments would you like to make at this time regarding this visa case?Theprocess can be improved for issuing visas andpassports. If another officer is goingto issue a visa for reasons that are not clear, that officer should share those details withcolleagues. Consular officers need to work in their-specialty. If you are a tenuredconsular officer you should do more consular work, notjust complete a single tour andthen take on non-consular jobs.

SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED