When officials discovered one of the hijackers in the Sept. 11,
2001 attacks entered the United States on a student visa, they
began introducing a slew of legislation to ensure that no
terrorists could enter with a student visa again.
But a year after the attacks, many higher education officials
fear that while these changes may keep terrorists out of the
country, they are inadvertently preventing many legitimate
international students from studying at American universities.
Though some international students may have reservations about
attending American universities because of safety reasons, many
others are facing delays in getting their visas processed because
of extensive screening requirements, said Ursula Oaks, press aide
for the Association for National Educators.
The screening requirements, mainly part of The Enhanced Border
Security and Visa Reform Act (H.R. 3525) include:
“¢bull; requiring universities to electronically track
international students;
“¢bull; withholding visas for students from countries that are
state sponsors of international terrorism (Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Libya,
North Korea, Sudan and Syria) unless they pass background
checks;
“¢bull; requiring universities to report the date of entry, port
of entry, date of enrollment and field of study of international
students.
These changes could have a significant impact on the 2,795
non-immigrant international students at UCLA, who constitute nearly
30 percent of all graduate students and about three percent of all
undergraduate students.
In order to acclimate international students at UCLA to the new
changes, the Office of International Students and Scholars is
holding its first mandatory workshop starting Sept. 12 explaining
the importance of maintaining lawful student status in the wake of
Sept. 11.
It is still too early to tell if enrollment counts of
international students at UCLA are down this year, said OISS
Director Lawrence Gower. But students from the Middle East,
particularly Iran, will probably be more affected by the changes
than students from countries like Canada or France, he added.
The OISS is requesting the state department allow it to complete
many of the certification requirements for Middle Eastern students
to expedite the process. But “it would be an uphill battle in
terms of approval” for a state department that is already
swamped with work to accept, Gower said.
In addition, government officials may implement additional
legislation that would increase screening requirements for students
studying certain science and technology fields.
“If it came through, it would definitely be an issue at
UCLA,” Gower said.
Though the specifics of such a law are not completely clear yet,
the office “would not be in support of a blanket restriction
on the basis of student background ““ it would be impactful
and harmful,” he added.
While students from overseas must undergo additional screening,
universities are scrambling to comply with the Immigration and
Naturalization Service’s new computer system for tracking
international students and professors. Universities must implement
the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System, or Sevis, by
the end of January.
Schools across the nation, including UCLA, say it will be
difficult to meet the deadline. Other officials complained that the
software, which UCLA expects to receive within the next few weeks,
is difficult to use.
In order to meet the deadline, Gower said officials at UCLA will
work late hours and add resources to comply.
“We certainly don’t want to see a student visa used
for harmful purposes ever again,” Oaks said. “But at
the same time, its important to remember that international
students and scholars bring important benefits to us ““ not
just money but important perspectives about other
cultures.”