The regulation of foreigners has increased since the events of Sept. 11. Colleges especially have been informed of more defined developments in tracking and reporting the attendance of international students. Along with the new stricter student visa policies, there is a collective crackdown on the handling of international students who come to the United States to study.
The Immigration and Naturalization Service is developing a database called the Student Exchange Visitor Information System, or SEVIS. This program will gather international student records from schools around the country and compile them into one system. The INS, U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of State will monitor the system.
Every time an international student is involved in some sort of change, whether it be dropping out of school or changing a class, the university will report to the INS through SEVIS.
“We will do what our government has asked us to do,” said Ann Beytagh, an associate university counsel at the office of legal affairs. Beytagh said SEVIS will help track down all J-1’s, visiting foreign professors, and F-1’s, foreign students.
Approximately 820,000 foreign students enter the United States on visas each year, and each of these students has to fill out the INS Form I-20. This form includes information such as address, nationality, place of birth, degree program, academic status and more. Previously, SMU was able to create its own immigration documents, but now the INS will make a uniform I-20 that all universities will use.
The INS retrieves and reviews these records to observe the foreign students and make changes in their visa status if needed. SEVIS will help make this process quicker and more efficient by replacing the slow, paper-based system with Internet-based forms.
“If they do this right, it will not only secure our borders, but those who are here legitimately and play by the rules and aren’t trying to sneak around will receive enormous benefits,” said Clifford R. Thompson, Manager of International Student and Scholar Services. “They will be able to get work authorizations much faster, they’ll be able to change status much easier, and they’ll have more peace of mind.”
The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 requires schools to report discrepancies in the academic status of foreign students.
The United States had long been criticized for this outdated system because the process was slow. An international student could drop out of school and still reside in the United States without anyone knowing it until the end of the semester when all the paperwork was sent to the INS.
“With the paper system, it’s impossible … the manpower and hours it would take on our part to track that,” Thompson said. “We’d be having to call the registrar every day asking them who’s registered, who’s not. It would drive them crazy, and it’s just not practical.”
Thompson predicts this new system will have an arrangement of triggers on the SMU Web site. If an international student goes onto Access and tries to drop a class or withdraw themselves from the school, it will immediately show up as an alert on his computer. The university will then have time to research the problem and see if it is necessary to inform the INS.
The government has set a tight deadline for implementation on January 30, 2003, when all colleges must be enrolled and using SEVIS. A lot of change and chaos are expected for the first few months SEVIS is in use.
“We believe our job descriptions are going to change just because of it, not because the university wants to change it but because the federal government will mandate that,” Thompson said. “After Jan. 30, 2003, it appears that we will become more in the enforcement role of the INS law. We will be required to report to the INS on a regular basis.”
Computer companies are hurrying to help colleges prepare for this deadline. There will be major changes involving PeopleSoft, the student-information software that SMU uses as a general campus program.
PeopleSoft is helping by allowing universities to download the new versions at no charge. This will help expedite the procedure of transferring information through SEVIS.
Before the events of Sept. 11, many believed that SEVIS should not be a priority. This changed. The terrorist actions reinforced the urgency for a new updated system.
Much voice of opposition toward the new database was dropped after investigators discovered that Hani Hanjour, one of the hijackers, entered the United States on a student visa. There is an understanding that SEVIS is billed to protect national security.
At the same time, U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft wants the United States to continue to welcome foreign student enrollment.
“Allowing foreign students to study here is one of the ways we convey our love of freedom to foreign students who will one day return to their countries and take on leadership positions,” said Ashcroft in a recent press conference. “However, we can no longer allow our hospitality to be abused.”
