Diplomat's Employee Gets Probation in Visa Fraud Case

On June 22, 2007, Irma Caraig, a personal employee of a Filipino foreign diplomat, was sentenced to two years probation by the Northern California District Court in Oakland for fraudulently obtaining a United States visa by presenting a Filipino passport in a false name.

According to court records and proceedings, the U.S. Embassy in Manila issued a diplomatic visa to Caraig in September 2005. In August 2006, the Embassy received information that it had issued this diplomatic visa to an applicant who had used a false name. Special Agents from the Diplomatic Security Service then located this imposter in the Bay Area and identified and confirmed that her true name was Irma Caraig.

Special Agent in Charge of the Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) San Francisco Field Office, Patrick Durkin, said, “The message from this conviction is that walking into a U.S. Embassy and lying about your name on a visa application is a serious crime . The Diplomatic Security Service will continue to investigate and seek prosecution of all allegations of visa fraud to keep imposters out of the United States.”

DSS Special Agents in San Francisco worked closely with officials at the U.S. Embassy in Manila to bring Caraig to justice.

The Bureau of Diplomatic Security is the U.S. Department of State’s law enforcement and security arm. The special agents, engineers, and security professionals of the Bureau are responsible for the security of 285 U.S. diplomatic missions around the world. In the United States, Diplomatic Security personnel protect the U.S. Secretary of State and high-ranking foreign dignitaries and officials visiting the United States, investigate passport and visa fraud, and conduct personnel security investigations. More information about the U.S. Department of State and the Bureau of Diplomatic Security may be obtained at www.state.gov/m/ds.

Contact:
L. Kendal Smith
571-345-2509
SmithLK2@state.gov