Foreign students must be documented

9/9/03 -- School administrators expecting foreign-exchange students this fall must make sure they are registered in a special federal database established in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

The deadline for registering foreign students in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) was Aug. 1. Students not listed could find their entry into the United States delayed or denied.

The computerized system was established by the Department of Homeland Security to keep track of more than half a million foreign students enrolled in the nation's colleges and universities -- but also applies to high school students participating in a foreign-exchange program.

SEVIS was created after it was revealed that one of the hijackers responsible for the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks was in the United States on a student visa. The driver of a van that exploded under the World Trade Center a decade ago also was using a student visa.

According to Garrison Courtney, spokesperson for the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, schools have been required to provide information on visiting students for 50 years.

"It's just the process we're using is new," he says. "We had a paper-based system that was inefficient, and when schools sent in the paperwork, it wouldn't get processed for maybe six months. Now it's on the Internet, and schools can update the information a lot better."

Kerry McCollum, director of program operations and training for AFS Intercultural Programs Inc., says most student exchange programs oversee students' visa paperwork as part of their services.

Some districts might be required to submit SEVIS documentation, however, and they should check with their student-exchange program or with federal officials to ensure the federal mandate is met, Courtney says. (Foreign students living in the U.S. with their parents are not covered by SEVIS requirements.)

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Reproduced with permission from the 2003 issue of School Board News. Copyright © 2003, National School Boards Association. Opinions expressed in this newspaper do not necessarily reflect positions of NSBA. This article may be printed out and photocopied for individual or educational use, provided this copyright notice appears on each copy. This article may not be otherwise transmitted or reproduced in print or electronic form without the consent of the Publisher. For more information, call (703) 838-6789.