INS Extends Its Foreign Student Deadline
By ADRIAN SAINZ
Associated Press Writer

January 30, 2003, 7:42 PM EST

MIAMI -- The Immigration and Naturalization Service gave the nation's
colleges and universities an extra 15 days to begin feeding information
about their foreign students into a new Internet database. 

The immigration agency said the new Feb. 15 deadline would let schools
make sure their computers could link to INS equipment. 

The INS had set a Thursday deadline for about 3,000 schools to be ready
to start supplying data to the Student and Exchange Visitor Information
System, which is meant to replace the paper-based system the INS has
used for years to track foreign students. 


But some colleges complained that the system was too cumbersome or was
not responding properly. 

"There were certainly indications there were problems that were cropping
up. This is a way to afford those schools two more weeks to work through
those issues," INS spokesman Chris Bentley said. 

The INS has had a mandate to create a computerized system since 1996.
But the long-delayed project was accelerated after the Sept. 11
terrorist attacks. One of the hijackers had entered the United States on
a student visa. 

Schools must provide information on the academic, personal and financial
status of foreign-born students and their dependents. Colleges must also
provide data on any disciplinary action, off-campus employment and
whether the student has dropped below a full course of study. 

The grace period applies only to newly enrolled international students.
An Aug. 1 deadline for foreign students already enrolled still applies. 

About 583,000 foreign students were enrolled in the United States in
2001-02, according to the Institute of International Education. 

Many school administrators were relieved to learned of the extension
Wednesday, though some questioned whether two weeks would be enough. 

Software adjustments at Miami's Florida International University mean it
cannot begin submitting information for its 3,300 international students
until next week, and Georgetown University in Washington had not been
able to access the system until Thursday. 

"It's been as slow as molasses in a refrigerator," Georgetown assistant
dean Kathy Bellows said. "Today, though, I was able to get in and do the
things I needed to do fairly quickly." 

* __ 

On the Net: 

Program information:
http://www.ins.usdoj.gov/graphics/services/tempbenefits/sevp.htm 
Copyright © 2003, The Associated Press

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