Senator Feinstein Urges Major Changes
in U.S. Student Visa Program
September 27, 2001

Washington, DC - Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) this week announced that she will soon introduce legislation to reform the U.S. student visa program, including full funding for the implementation of a foreign student electronic tracking system.

Senator Feinstein believes reforms to the system are necessary after learning that a number of the suspected hijackers in the September 11^th attack are now under investigation by authorities for enrolling in U.S. schools but never attending. Additionally, one of the terrorists in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing was here in the United States on an expired student visa.

"Today, there is little scrutiny given to those who claim to be foreign students seeking to study in the United States," Senator Feinstein said. "In fact, the foreign student visa program is one of the most unregulated and exploited visa categories."

"I believe that we need a temporary 6-month moratorium on the student visa program to give the INS time to remedy the many problems in the system," said Feinstein. "This may be controversial, but there has to be recognition that this is an unprecedented time in the country and our national security depends on our system functioning to ensure that terrorists do not take advantage of the vulnerabilities in the student visa program."

Many officials at educational institutions have said there are serious monitoring gaps in the student visa system and describe a process in which people enter the country with a student visa, yet fail to enroll in school -- which is a violation of federal immigration law. As the system stands now, the INS is unaware of these types of warning signs until it is too late to track down the visa violators.

"Congress enacted a law in 1996 to require INS to collect important data on foreign students following the first World Trade Center bombing when it was found that one of the terrorists was here on an expired student visa," said Feinstein. But to date, this critical system has not been put into place. Put simply, I do not believe the INS has moved vigorously enough to implement that system. And while INS has a responsibility in this regard, I believe that schools also have a responsibility within this system."

The legislation from Senator Feinstein will include the following provisions to restore integrity to the foreign student visa process:

Six-month Moratorium on Foreign Student Visas

• Impose a six-month moratorium on the issuance of foreign student visas to give the INS time to fully develop its foreign student tracking system and to put into place the necessary infrastructure to detect foreign students who have violated the terms of their visas (e.g., not enrolling in school, dropping out of school, committing a deportable offense, etc.) once they have entered the U.S.
  

Full Funding Authorization for the INS Foreign Student Electronic Tracking System

• Authorize $32.3 million in appropriations to the INS to begin the implementation of the electronic foreign student tracking system.

New INS Admission Procedures

• Require all foreign students to submit visa applications to the INS for approval before the State Department issues a visa.

• Modify existing law by requiring the INS to conduct comprehensive background checks before the State Department may approve a foreign student visa application.

New Requirements for Schools Enrolling Foreign Students

• Require schools to sign an affidavit certifying their agreement to comply with the terms of the foreign student program and acknowledging the school's responsibility for the student's compliance with the terms of the visa.

• Require schools to report to the INS on a quarterly basis on the student's academic status of the foreign student (e.g., full-time, etc.); type of courses taken; date of visa issuance and date of expiration; and any disciplinary action taken by the school as a result of a crime committed by the alien. (In cases in which the student fails to enroll at school.)

Enhancing INS Data Collection and Integration

• Require the INS to upgrade its electronic data system to include biometric data (i.e., fingerprints, photographs) on all foreign students applying to enter the U.S.

• Require the INS to fully integrate data on foreign students so that such data can be instantaneously retrieved at inspections stations at the U.S. ports of entry, State Department consular offices and the FBI.

• Require the INS Foreign Student Tracking System to be integrated with the following electronic "lookout" and enforcement databases: the INS' IDENT system; Interagency Border Inspection System, used by the INS and U.S. Customs Service; the FBI's IAFIS system; and the State Department's Consular Lookout and Support System (CLASS).

• Upgrade and expand the INS electronic tracking system to include spouses and children of foreign students and non-immigrants holding tourist and temporary business visas.

Enhancing Security at the U.S. Ports of Entry

• Deploy additional INS and Customs inspectors at vulnerable land, air, and sea ports of entry to conduct secondary inspection of incoming foreign students.

Background

One of the suicide pilots of American Airlines Flight 77 which crashed into the Pentagon, Hani Hanjour, had enrolled at an Oakland, California college in November 2000 for an English language course -- but never showed up. Investigators are also examining whether Hanjour and Khalid al-Midhar and Nawaq Alhamzi, also believed to be involved in the hijacking of Flight 77, attended community college in San Diego.

Officials estimate that 245,000 foreign students have entered the U.S. this year to pursue a course of study. Between 1999 and 2000, the State Department issued 3,370 visas to students from nations on the United States' terrorism watch list.

In 1996, Congress approved a federal law to require the INS to electronically collect data on all international students by 2003, but to date, this system has not yet been set up. Without this data, the INS does not have the capacity to share vital information to the State Department, which issue visas, and federal law enforcement agencies, when warranted.

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