Foreign Service Officer: ORAL ASSESSMENT STUDY GUIDE

West, Boswell
From:
Sent:
To:
Subject:
Maher Safirani [safirani_maher@state.gov]
Tuesday, August 9, 2007 9:48 AM
Boswell West [west_boswell@state.gov]
Office concerns
Mr. West,
I'm sorry to bother you, but I feel I must let you know of some problems here in the office. As
you know, there is no end to the number of visa cases, and, as the economic situation here in
Kuman deteriorates, there are ever more applicants for U.S. visas who are not qualified. In
addition, we are required to examine each case far more carefully than previously because of
terrorism considerations; student visas have become a real headache. As you know, we work
under the “first come, first served” model that has worked so well in the past, but we keep
getting further and further behind.
Although one additional position, filled by Amina, was added following the riots last January,
we are unable to keep up with the workload. We were also promised the assistance of the
Family Member Employee, Janet Shore, who had initially been hired to help out with the
evacuation, but unfortunately with her limited knowledge of the local language, she has
difficulty conducting fraud investigations and frequently disrupts us with requests for
translations.
I have repeatedly asked my colleagues in the American Services unit, Ms. Beiruti and Mr.
Hamdi, for assistance, but they have refused to help, although their own workload has decreased
since the coup and the departure of American citizens. I know they performed heroically during
those troubled times, and received an award for their service, but that was some time ago.
Ms. Beiruti and I have not gotten along well since I started working here. Although I have
sought advice from her at times, since she is the most senior employee, she is not up-to-date on
the changes to visa and immigration law since she works exclusively on American Citizen
Service issues. She still seems to think I should show deference to her out of seniority. I'm not
sure whether she dislikes my youth, the fact that I am from the South, or because I am a man --
or maybe all three.
Maher