Prepared by: Kate Brentzel Index: Type bundle index here

Date Prepared: 8/15/02 DOC Number. 156846

Reviewed by: Type reviewer name here DOC Library: Type library name here
Job Code: 320087

Record of Interview Interview ^ft FBI

Namecheck staff
Purpose To determine whether FBI's namecheck staff were doing the 20-day and 30-
day background security checks for visa applicants

Contact Method In person interview

Contact Place FBI headquarters

Contact Date April 15, 2002

Participants GAP: Judy McCloskey, Jody Woods, Kate Brentzel, Gabrielle Anderson

EBI:|
9/11 Law Enforcement Privacy

HQISDU or ISDU = Headquarters Information Services Division

HMD = Records Management Division

ACSU = Automated Case System

Comments/Remarks We met with several FBI staff responsible for conducting namechecks for
State Department visa security clearances. These officials described the
namecheck procedures they use for SAOs (security advisory opinion)
namechecks. They said that the cables come into the Communication
Center electronically. They print out the cables and send them to their
namecheck division. They then check the names against the FBI's universal
indices.

We inquired as to whether FBI was doing namechecks for visa applicants

that fell into the 20-day hold category. They said that the namecheck
divisions at FBI headquarters were not doing these checks because the
only way they do namechecks for State is if they receive a cable. The 20-
day hold does not generate a cable for each application - the names are
collected on an Excel spreadsheet and put onto a CD-Rom instead. The FBI
officials said that putting the names on a CD-Rom does not constitute
proper communication with the FBI; the FBI wants to receive the
information on a cable. They said that they were upset that the State
Department was telling "the whole world" that FBI was failing to meet the

Pagel Record of Interview

Prepared by: Kate Brentzel Index: Type bundle index here
Date Prepared: 8/15/02 DOC Number: 156846
Reviewed by: Type reviewer name here DOC Library: Type library name here
Job Code: 320087

namecheck requirement when they saw the problem as being a result of

State sending the 20-day names to FBI on a CD-Rom, which does not get
the information into the FBI's namecheck division.

During the meeting, the FBI officials discussed among themselves the
procedures they were putting into place to ensure that the FBI was
checking Visas Condor cables. They explained that in the past, the cables
were being directed to analysts in the operations and terrorism divisions,
who did not necessarily do namechecks. Instead, the analysts may have
been filing them for their own background/analytical purposes. The
officials said they hoped to have their internal Visas Condor namecheck
procedures worked out in the near future.

The officials couldn't tell us how many Condor namechecks, if any, the FBI
had done since late January, since their data on namechecks was not
broken out that way. They said that the cables are simply termed "State
teletype." Starting April 1, they had started keeping separate records for
the various types of State namechecks and had "very few" Visas Condor
namechecks completed.

The FBI officials said that they thought the 20-day names were being sent
to the National Infrastructure Protection Center (NIPC), and that NIPC was
running the 20-day names against the Pentbomb files. We asked for a
contact name at NIPC and| jtold us to call] I When
we called} [a few days later, he referred us back toj |

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Page 2 Record of Interview