The Foreign Service Journal, October 2018

applicant’s criminal history and background with local authori- ties. Once these checks are completed, FPU personnel interview the visa applicant. If the investigation yields evidence that the visa applicant is most likely affiliated with a gang, or if there is evidence that an applicant has provided false information on a visa application, the ARSO-I will also open a visa fraud criminal investigation. Several recent applications flagged by the FRONT-Line vetting process have led to investigations that uncovered sophisticated document fraud. These investigations suggest that those attempt- ing to obtain a U.S. visa with falsified documents have detailed knowledge of the visa adjudication process, and are coordinating efforts among local MS-13–affiliated gang members to provide doctored court records covering up more serious crimes and excluding the names of other gang members implicated in those crimes. In other cases, the ARSO-I investigative team has uncov- ered gang members using false or stolen identities to manipulate both the Salvadoran and U.S. immigration systems. According to a recent internal review at Embassy San Salvador, The FRONT-Line Process Since, however, it is extremely unlikely that gang members would disclose any information on a visa application that would bar them from entering the United States, such as their gang affil- iation or criminal history, additional on-the-ground resources for fully vetting those applicants are needed. The FRONT-Line initiative’s enhanced gang vetting program provides those essential tools and training. The program includes an increased focus on visa applicants in categories particularly susceptible to gang infiltration; it provides training for consular staff and support personnel at the three U.S. embassies in the Northern Triangle; and it offers a regional training course focused on interview techniques. Consular officers at embassies in the Northern Triangle first assess every visa application. If the assessment indicates possible gang affiliation, consular officers refer the application to the consular section’s fraud prevention unit (FPU) for inves- tigation. At the same time, the DSS assistant regional security officer-investigator (ARSO-I) at the embassy investigates the visa THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | OCTOBER 2018 31