Beginning today, colleges, universities, vocational institutions and high schools are required to tell federal authorities if foreign students fail to arrive on campus when expected.
In addition, institutions are required to allow inspectors on campus to ensure the places international individuals spend their time are educational institutions rather than businesses of some sort.
The Student Exchange Visitor Information System is now being implemented to gather information on all international students. This information may include personal information, academic status and fields of study, and it must be submitted into a database that will track the approximately 600,000 foreigners in the United States on student and academic exchange visas.
The University of Wisconsin, in particular, houses more than 5,000 international students and scholars. UW is required to provide information on all of these students to authorities. If schools fail to offer the necessary information to authorities, they will be unable to bring in foreign students in the future.
To meet this deadline, UW was required to fill out an application. Officials then purchased and installed certain software and hardware. By Aug. 1, all personal information and other required information must be submitted.
UW spokesman John Lucas said, “Everything on our end has been completed and the program has been tested.”
“We are just waiting for the last two pieces of the puzzle including the SEVIS ID and certification,” Lucas said. “The SEVIS ID is expected Thursday, and the certification was expected Wednesday.”
The U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service is in charge of supplying the necessary certification. Lucas was unsure whether the certification had arrived when expected yesterday.
By using this new program, universities will be contacted once the student arrives in the country. It is then the responsibility of the school to notify authorities if they fail to show up on campus within a month.
This new $37 million program is raising questions nationwide. While many believe this system will aid in the prevention of terrorist attacks, others believe bringing foreign students to American universities drains funds from U.S. students. Some also believe it trains international students in ways that could create problems in the future regarding national security.
UW senior Justin Thomas is a member of UW’s International Business Student Association and has mixed feelings regarding the SEVIS system.
“I understand what they are trying to do, but the last thing we want to do is make international students uncomfortable,” Thomas said. “We need to enforce immigration laws and be really careful about what information is given out and who receives access to it.”
Thomas expressed the importance of making foreign students feel welcome while they are here. He worries that systems of this sort will do the opposite.
According to the SEVIS website, projects of this sort have been underway for some time. However, the Patriot Act of October 2001 sets Aug. 1, 2003, as the date by which schools must enter all data. More than 5,000 universities nationwide are now hurrying to meet this deadline.
