What is a Benefit Fraud Assessment?
A. A Benefit Fraud Assessment is used to determine the type and volume of fraud and noncompliance that exists among certain nonimmigrant and immigrant visa applications and petitions, identify systemic causes and vulnerabilities, and propose solutions (legislative, regulatory, and/or procedural). The assessments now referred to as Benefit Fraud and Compliance Assessments primarily consist of systems searches, interviews, and site visits on randomly selected cases. Q. Why was the I-360 Special Immigrant Religious Worker Petition selected as the first petition for a Benefit Fraud Assessment? A. The Form I-360 for Special Immigrant Religious Worker classification was selected as the first petition for the Benefit Fraud Assessment because that classification was historically considered to have a high fraud rate. [See GAO Report no. 99-67 entitled Visa Issuance: Issues Concerning the Religious Worker Visa Program, dated March 1999]. The Office of Fraud Detection and National Security sought
