Embassy New Delhi, India and Constituent Posts - OIG - US ...

SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED
Innovative Practice: Peer Interview Observation Program
Issue: With 23 entry-level officers in the consular section (all but one of them being first-tour
officers) and an insufficient number of mid-level managers, consular managers in Consulate
General Mumbai have been challenged to train and mentor officers on nonimmigrant visa
interviewing skills.
Response: Consulate General Mumbai expanded its nonimmigrant visa training program to
include a peer interview observation program to ensure continuous interview training throughout
an officer’s tour. After spending a formal initial 2-week training period learning from a more
experienced peer, officers participate in this program. An experienced peer observes the
nonimmigrant visa adjudicator periodically and provides immediate feedback on customer
service, efficiency, case notes, decisionmaking, and working with a translator by using a matrix
of criteria to determine whether the officer meets expectations. These sessions are informal and
constructive and do not constitute formal counseling and evaluation, which remains the
responsibility of the consular managers.
Result: Entry-level officers welcome the opportunity to discuss their work in a low-pressure
setting. This helps to develop the skills of new officers and encourages them to learn constantly.
The consular managers appreciate the program as an adjunct to their own efforts to develop the
professional skills of the entry-level officers. This program is a supplement, rather than a
substitute, for the responsibilities of the supervisors to review adjudications and provide their
own counseling and mentoring.
Although the terrorist attacks in Mumbai occurred more than 2 years ago, the
repercussions from that traumatic situation are still reverberating through the consular section.
Many employees, both Americans and LE staff, put in extraordinary performances during the
several days of that crisis. Some employees were among the first at the scenes of the attacks,
inspecting dead bodies to try to identify American citizens. Others were near the hotels for days
at a time as security forces fought terrorists who were holding Americans and others hostage.
The mission decided that there would be no individual awards and that there would be
one group Superior Honor award for anyone who worked on the crisis – whether it was for a few
hours providing in-office support, spending days going through morgues, consoling grieving
victims, or being in the middle of traumatic events. The OIG team noted that this decision
created a sense of grievance among employees that still existed during the inspection.
Consular Section in Kolkata
Kolkata has the smallest consular section of any of the Indian posts. Four officers, 1
EFM, and 11 LE staff provide NIV and American citizens services to the population of India’s
third largest city and the consular district. Kolkata does not provide IV services. Space in the
section is limited, with only six windows for NIVs, including a cashier and a privacy booth, and
there is no room to expand further within the confines of the existing building. Visual oversight
of visa processing is adequate, as two of the vice consuls have offices in the work area. The
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SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED