09/02/03 11:39 f?

202 647 7660 OIG/FO ©001

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MEMORANDUM

FROM: JGONS
,.••'.-'9/11 Working-level Employee
TO: C. COCKBURN, CON
RICHARD BALTIMORE, C<j
ALLEN

THROUGH: A. MILLS, CO>JS

DATE: 5/7/00

On April 25,[ itered the Consular waiting room after regular visa
hours, having tallced his xvay past the guards at the main gate. He identified hirhself as an
administrative officer at the Saudi embassy in,Washington and said that he wanted to get
an A-3 visa, for his Indonesian servant, with Whom he planned to travel that night.
formed him that we would need t0 see a diplomatic note from the Foreign
Ministry before we could issue a visa. I

Later that day|_ Jremrned with the dipioiiatic note. I gavef Jour new
mandatory flier for A-3 visa applicants/and noted that we needed to see a signed contract
showing that] [would pay at least minimum wage to his Indonesian maid during
the duration of her stay in the U.S. He agreed to bring the maid in to sign such a contract.
I pointed out that the requisite minimum -Wage was stated on theflierin] |
possession. / / / _..-•'/

Jretumed once again, with a hand\Vrjtten contract in Arabic in which he

promised to pay his maid SR 1500 per month (less thin half of minimum wage). When I
pointed out that this was substantially less than the necessary amount, F [indicated
a willingness to pencil in any/figure ftte gave him. JJot persuaded of his intent to honor
the/contract and after consulting withl land! 11 explained that I was refusing the
application under section Ip. 1 g of dje INA arid asked to see evidence thatj | is
paying his other domestic servant (currently in the U.S.) at least minimum wage, and
/specified the types of evidence (check stubs, receipts, a bank statement) that would
constitute proof of paynlent At this point! [became incensed and refused to
provide any of the req^^stedirifbnnati;(>n, saying that he needed to travel that afternoon
and that he was, quote, a sick man, unquote.

At my to speak to[ [once he finished attending to an

American citizen.. Wbil occupied^ "[continued to disrupt th6 normal
workirigs of the qonsulajr section, severai times interrupting other customers in his
demand to be:iittei]sdcd to, cyen though he was reassured several timca that the acting
section, chief was prepared to talk with him shortly, In the meantime, Ambassador
Fowler had entered me consular annex, in the belief that he could gain entry to the

9/11 Personal Privacy

 09/02/03 11:39 S202 647 7660 OIG/FO ..^9/11 Personal Privacy ®002

chancery proper. Discovering hecould not,4e left through the front door.1 \g recognized the Am

on the sidewalk. //' |

Approximately 15 minutes later, Ambassador Fowler appearcij in the consular office

area. In the presence of the FSNs, he'proceeded to vigorously 4uery us on tfae'f I
visa case. At several points dming.die discussion, the Ambassador stressed that
I Evas Ma Saudi... a Saudi}.-" and "a Saudi diplomat." Therefore, we, the consular
officials, had to "bend over backwards" to accommpdate him. The Ambassador virtually
dismissed the issue of paymen0o the domestic, stating "they never pav them what they
say anyway", and again pomtedly/noted that we had( to accommodate] I The
Ambassador stressed that he/had worked for three yjears "trying to convince the Saudis
that we were their friendV/and/this kind of racidenf.would be a tremendous setback.
When we informed Ambassador Fowler that we we^e trying to abide by recent
department guidelines on A-3 domestics, he began to exhibit exasperation, and asked us
point blank if the visajwos going to be issued. As rjjds discussion was on the verge of
becoming heated, and as it was taking place in front of the local staffj Isaid to the
Ambassador that we would issue the visa. When the Ambassador asked -if he should
participate.! beplied he felt.it would be better if hje did not, as we could them maintain
at least the illusion of the integrity of the visa process, |[~~|then explained that he did not
want| jto believe that he had obtained the Visa by chasing down the Ambassador.
Unfortunately^ this i? not only exactly what happened, but we could hardly maintain that
we had duly considered the visa, when we discovered that the Ambassador had invited
notoaM I but the domestic as well info th^ work area of the consular section.
1 tended up sitting in my office \yhiie the vijsa was issued.

Despite all our attempts to accommodate] J by allowing him to come in off hours
and return at his leisure, he exhibited highly offensive behavior in our consular section.
We seriously doubt whether- the Saudi embassy in Washington would have tolerated a
fraction of this boorishnesi from ariy U.S. diplomat (although we cannot imagine any
Foreign Service Officer, or any U.S. official stooping to such antics). As an aside, it took
\r mohths to get his housekeeper here from India. Unfortunately, the Chief
of Mission tpolc it upon himself to put two consular officers in an extremely
uncomfortable position, not only with a client, but with our local staff as well.

Attached is a copy of the diplomatic note we sent in February to the Saudi MFA
specifying the contractual requirements for taking servants into the U.S. on A-3 visas,
along with a copy of State 23037, which spells out the Department's concerns about
abuse of this visa category.

9/11 Working-level Employee