Foreign
Student-Related Provisions of H.R. 3525, The Enhanced Border
Security and Visa Entry Reform Act
(See the last
provision for the amendment's effects.)
I. Provisions
that amend section 641 of IIRAIRA (the law that requires
SEVIS). These provisions will be part of SEVIS once
it is implemented. As such, they apply to F, M, and
J visa holders.
Provision
Requires the establishment of electronic means to
monitor and verify:
- issuance of
documentation of acceptance of a foreign student or exchange
visitor by an institution (I-20 or
IAP-66);
- transmittal of such
documentation to the State
Department;
- issuance of an F, J,
or M visa;
- admission of holders
of such visas into theUnited
States ;
- notification to
institutions of a student or exchange visitor's admission to
the United
States ;
- registration and
enrollment of the student or exchange visitor in his or her
program; and
- other relevant acts,
including transfers and termination of studies.
NAFSA
Comment
We view this provision, contained
in the original Kennedy proposal, as essentially an
embellishment of SEVIS. Its purpose is to
facilitate the tracking of the student or exchange visitor
from admission to termination, which SEVIS will do
anyway. The major departure from what might
otherwise have been the practice under SEVIS is the
requirement that documentation of admission to the institution
(I-20 or IAP-66) be transmitted to the State Department rather
than or in addition to the student or exchange
visitor.
Provision
Within 30 days after the end of its enrollment period,
schools must report the failure of a person, whose arrival is
expected, to enroll. A similar provision applies to
exchange visitor programs.
NAFSA
Comment
NAFSA was instrumental in getting
the reporting deadline defined in relation to the end of the
enrollment period, rather than the beginning of the academic
term, which was the original provision. The electronic systems
described in the preceding provision will enable schools to
know who is expected.
Provision
Schools and exchange visitor programs will be required
to report the following additional information under section
641 of IIRAIRA:
date and port of
entry;
date of
enrollment;
degree program, if
applicable, and field of study;
and
date of and reason for
termination of enrollment.
NAFSA
Comment
Excluded from this list, at
NAFSA's urging, is extensive other information that would have
been required under the original Feinstein
proposal.
Provision
Requires the Attorney General to prescribe by
regulation reporting requirements under section 641 of
IIRAIRA, "taking into account the curriculum calendar" of the
school or exchange visitor program.
NAFSA
Comment
This replaces original Feinstein
provisions that would have required numerous, frequent, and
extensive reports to be submitted to the INS. The
provision writes into law a longstanding NAFSA
position: that the reporting schedule should take
into account the academic calendar.
II. Transitional
requirements that will take effect 120 days after enactment of
the law and will remain in effect until SEVIS becomes
operational. These provisions apply only to F and M
visa holders, except where indicated.
Provision
1. A visa may not be
issued unless the school has provided to the State Department
"electronic evidence of documentation of the alien's
acceptance" and the consular officer has reviewed the
applicant's visa record. This provision also
applies to J students.
2. The State
Department must notify the INS of the issuance of the
visa.
3. The INS must
notify the school that an alien accepted by that school has
been admitted to
the United
States.
4. Not later than 30
days after the end of the enrollment period, the school must
inform the INS, "through data-sharing arrangements," of the
failure of any person with respect to whom it has been
notified under 3 to enroll.
NAFSA
Comment
The provision numbered 1 above is
the outcome of extensive conversations between NAFSA and the
senators' offices on the question of how to secure the
integrity of the I-20. Although we have questioned
the necessity of this provision, and no ideal solution was
found, we feel that the outcome is one we can live with until
SEVIS is implemented. It does not appear to require
submission of the actual I-20 to the State Department, but
rather verification of its issuance, perhaps by an e-mail
notification. NAFSA will seek to work with the
State Department on the implementation of this
requirement. Members should note that provisions 4
and 3 above are linked so that, as we read it, institutions
are not required to report under 4 until they are notified
under 3. This was a NAFSA objective in the
negotiations.
Provision
Funds are authorized to carry out these transitional
provisions.
NAFSA
Comment
NAFSA has long advocated that the
agencies that regulate us must be provided the funding
necessary to carry out their mandates.
III. Other
Provisions
Provision
Bars visa for any alien from a country that is a state
sponsor of international terrorism unless it has been
determined that the alien does not pose a threat to the safety
or national security of
the United
States.
NAFSA
Comment
The following states have been
determined by the Secretary of State to be sponsors of
international
terrorism: Iraq, Iran, North
Korea, Syria, Libya, Sudan,
and Cuba. The original Feinstein
proposal would have prohibited student visas for anyone from
these countries, and would have required background checks for
student visa applicants from all countries. The
compromise provision essentially applies the background check
provision to nationals of these seven countries and removes
the exclusive focus on students.
Provision
Requires F, M, and J student visa
applicants to provide the following information on the
visa application:
address in country of
origin
names and
addresses of spouse, children, parents, and
siblings;
names of references
who can verify this information;
and
employment
history.
NAFSA
Comment
Although NAFSA argued that there
is no justification for burdening only students, to the
exclusion of all other nonimmigrants, with this provision, we
were not successful in securing its removal.
Provision
The Attorney General must provide to the State
Department a list of all educational institutions that are
authorized to receive F and M nonimmigrants.
NAFSA
Comment
This provision appears to be
intended to bolster the State Department's ability to match
applicants with institutions and identify any questionable
applications.
Provision (**Altered by
Senator Byrd's Amendment**)
The INS, in the case of schools, and the
State Department, in the case of exchange visitor programs,
must conduct reviews once every two years to determine that
the institutions are in compliance with their record keeping
and reporting requirements under the Immigration and
Nationality Act and IIRAIRA. An institution's material
failure to comply with such requirements would result in the
termination or suspension for at least one year, at the
election of the INS Commissioner or Secretary of State, of
that institution's approval or designation to receive foreign
students or exchange visitors.
NAFSA
Comment
Prior to NAFSA's intervention,
this provision required annual reviews, and noncompliance
would have resulted in automatic termination of approval or
designation.
