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INS extends deadline for universities
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by Cristina Daglas
Friday, January 31, 2003
The U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service was forced Wednesday to allow universities two additional weeks before they are required to use the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System.
This new database will track and monitor international students, but until it is up and fully running, universities can use the paper visa forms. The new deadline is Feb.15, and after this date only SEVIS versions of visa forms will be accepted.
According to INS officials, this new grace period acknowledges colleges are having real difficulties using the system. Officials also said the grace period is for all universities, not just universities that have been certified, like it was originally intended to be. Approximately 5,000 universities nationwide are required to use the SEVIS system.
If a university fails to comply with the new rules for the system, foreign students will be unable to study at that institution. This would cause extreme changes at universities that house large numbers of international students, such as the University of Wisconsin. UW has more than 5,000 international students and scholars currently enrolled on campus.
However, UW had the new SEVIS system up and running in time for the original Jan. 30 deadline. As of yet, it is still waiting on certification from the INS to use the program. This certification was expected Wednesday.
“We have done some testing with the program, but we can’t enter in any information until we get certified,” UW interim director of international student services Judy Brood said.
This setback came as a frustration to many universities nationwide that scrambled to meet the original deadline.
“At this point, we’re hopeful that it will work as it has been designed to,” UW spokesperson John Lucas said. “We are just hoping that it all comes together.”
Since 1996, the INS has had a mandate to create a computerized system to track and monitor foreign students and essentially report when a student does not arrive at a university where he or she is expected.
However, after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the project greatly accelerated, causing schools to rush to fill out applications as well as purchase and install all the necessary software and components for the new database. The terrorist attacks essentially caused the scurry because a number of the hijackers entered the United States under student visas yet never attended class at the universities at which they were supposed to be enrolled.
Under this new system, universities will be notified when expected students arrive in the country, and from that point on, it is the job of the university to tell authorities if students do not show up on campus within a month.
Schools are required to provide personal and academic information as well as the financial status of all international students. The final deadline for universities is Aug. 1; the system only applies to students who are currently enrolled at universities.
Approximately 583,000 international students attend institutions all over the country.
