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Institute of International Education
809 United Nations Plaza
7th Floor
New York, NY 10017
USA
Tel: +1 (212) 984 5367
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BACKGROUND:
Student and Exchange Visitor Information
System (SEVIS) and Related Issues
What is SEVIS?
"SEVIS" is an acronym for "Student and Exchange Visitor Information System", a U.S. government, computerized process to collect, maintain and manage data about foreign students and exchange visitors during their stay in this country. SEVIS replaced an old manual, paper-driven procedure with an automated one in which real time, accurate information is updated and maintained through use of a web-based application. The purpose of SEVIS is to enable schools and exchange programs to transmit electronic information and event notifications, via the Internet, to DHS and the Department of State throughout the student’s or exchange visitor’s stay in the United States.
What is the public policy goal of SEVIS?
The goal of SEVIS is to provide a proper balance between openness to international students and exchange visitors, and our nation’s security interest in knowing who has come into our country and that they are complying with the terms of their entry.
Who is in charge of SEVIS?
The Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (BICE), (www.bice.immigration.gov), a bureau within the Border and Transportation Security Directorate (BTS) of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is responsible for SEVIS. In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks against the U.S. on September 11th, 2001, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was formed to act as a supervisory umbrella organization for many federal agencies, including the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). The Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement took over many functions of the INS as of March 1, 2003, including maintaining the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) and the special registration databases. BICE has 14,000 employees and is headed by Assistant Secretary Michael Garcia, who previously served as a federal prosecutor and briefly as Acting INS Commissioner.
What information is collected in SEVIS?
The SEVIS database contains the same information that institutions that host and sponsor the foreign students have collected and maintained for over 50 years. In the past, each school or sponsor was responsible for maintaining the information on its own students. What has changed is that the foreign student and exchange visitor information is now maintained in a centralized database. This provides ICE with real time access to information about the foreign students and exchange visitors and their status, and enables ICE to proved advance information to assist the Department of State with visa screening, as information entered into SEVIS by the institutions is downloaded from SEVIS to the consular offices overseas that are responsible for issuing the student visas once a student has been accepted to an educational institution or exchange program.
The SEVIS database includes the students’ biographical data, address, and area of study, as well as program start and end dates. Within 30 days following the deadline for registering for classes, the school is required to report if students failed to register. Furthermore, during each term or session, schools are required to report, within 30 days following the registration deadline, whether the student has enrolled at the school, dropped below a full course of study without prior authorization, or failed to enroll; the current address of each enrolled student; and the start date of the students next session or term. Within 21 days of a change of any information, schools are required to report any “reportable events” such as: failure to maintain status or complete the program; change of name or address; early graduation or completion of program; any disciplinary action taken by the school as a result of the student being convicted of a crime; and any other notification request made by SEVIS with respect to the current status of the student.
Why was SEVIS created?
After the 1993 bombing at the Word Trade Center, it was found that one of the convicted bombers had entered the U.S. on a student visa. After three semesters, her dropped out of school and joined a group of Islamic terrorists. Congress reacted to this by passing a law in 1996 that required the U.S. government to create a computerized foreign student management system by January 1st, 2003. SEVIS implements section 641 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA) of 1996.
What was the timeline for implementation of SEVIS?
Between 1996 and 2001 there were delays and debates regarding the implementation of SEVIS. Many in the academic community (and especially those on campus who handle international student administrative issues) voiced opposition to the proposed system of collection of fees from the students to fund the system. After 9/11, that opposition ceased and Congress quickened the pace on the system being put into place by the INS, after it was determined that one of the 19 hijackers entered the country on a student visa. New rules put into place in 2002 also mandated that SEVIS incorporate additional reporting requirements imposed by the USA PATRIOT Act of 2001 and the Enhanced Border Security Act of 2002.
- The mandatory compliance date for all authorized schools to utilize SEVIS was January 30, 2003. After January 30, all schools had to issue SEVIS-generated I-20 forms to all new students. All schools sponsoring foreign students had to apply for and receive certification from DHS to participate in the SEVIS system.
- By August 1, 2003, schools had to enter all current non-immigrant students into SEVIS and report their enrollment.
What are the benefits of SEVIS?
SEVIS is intended to provide the following improvements: timely information on students’ presence (including knowledge of when students enter the country but fail to enroll at the school they are supposed to attend or drop out of their programs); timely information of key changes; better control over schools’ participation in the foreign student program (since schools need to be reviewed and re-certified, ICE will be able to monitor the educational institutions compliance with obligations under the program); a better database (comprehensive data will enable ICE to better identify trends and patterns to assist in planning and analyzing risks.)
What are the potential drawbacks of SEVIS?
SEVIS is an extremely complicated IT project that involves over 6,000 institutions entering in information and maintaining records that must be communicated with ICE representatives and DHS inspectors at U.S. Ports of Entry. In addition, data must be transmitted on a regular basis to U.S. Department of State consular offices around the world. Many of the potential drawbacks involve difficulties in implementing this system, including technical difficulties, input of erroneous information, and difficulty in accessing the data. Students could be inadvertently reported as being out of status, or could encounter difficulties at the Ports of Entry if their records are not correct or are not accessible in the system. In addition, it has been costly and time consuming for institutions to enter all of the student data into the system and in many cases to develop applications that can handle the new data needs. However, SEVIS is primarily a system for maintaining and transmitting information, and, when implemented properly, should not cause students to fail to obtain a visa or interfere with their enrolling in the programs to which they have been accepted.
What other factors might cause students delays or difficulties?
There are several factors that could potentially keep or delay students from gaining entry to the United States once accepted. These include more comprehensive scrutiny of visa applications by U.S. State Department consular offices, including new policies requiring in-person interviews for all visa applicants, and related issues such as cost of travel to U.S. embassies, potentially longer waiting time to obtain visas, etc.
In addition to economic conditions, there are several other factors that could potentially discourage international students from applying to study in the United States or from enrolling in programs once they are accepted. These include: a possible perception by students that they are less likely to be granted a visa, or fear of being detained if they are reported to be out of compliance; general post-9/11 personal security concerns; unwillingness by students to have their personal data tracked in a centralized U.S. government database; general feeling that they will not be as welcome on campuses or in the United States due to anecdotal information they have received regarding public sentiment or policies.
These factors, along with increased marketing and recruitment efforts by – and potentially less difficult climates in -- other host countries such as Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom are already having a visible impact in certain world regions (especially Asia – America’s largest international student source region), where many students are increasingly turning to Australia and other study abroad destinations.
What other background information is available on SEVIS, DHS/BICE, and Student Visas?
The State Department and the Department of Homeland Security have provided information on student visas and regulations on the following websites:
9/19/03
BACKGROUND: IIE’s Role in Promoting
Balanced National Security Policies
What has IIE done to support balanced national security policies?
The Institute of International Education has been a voice of moderation in working with government officials to ensure that the implementation of new homeland security procedures promotes security, while mitigating as far as possible the potential negative impact on international education and professional exchanges. The Institute supports the goal of providing a proper balance between openness to international students and exchange visitors, and our nation’s security interest in knowing who has come into our country and that they are complying with the terms of their entry.
Our work in this area encompasses the following areas:
- Providing direct assistance to the Department of Homeland Security in SEVIS implementation. IIE has worked to assist in successful implementation of the new systems. We have provided detailed feedback and IT recommendations based on our experience in using the SEVIS system for our own grantees and in developing a software application that allows IIE to comply with SEVIS reporting requirements, and have made our in-house IT expertise available to Department of Homeland Security (DHS). IIE’s Director of the Open Doors research effort also continues to work with the Research Director of SEVIS to compare data from these two sources, advising her on discrepancies between the two data sets where these exist.
- Communicating accurate information to the press and public. In addition to the annual Open Doors report on international educational exchange, we have conducted electronic surveys of colleges and universities periodically since September 11, to try to obtain accurate information on the current situation and identify the real scope of any decreases in foreign student interest or enrollment and any delays or difficulties that students have encountered. We have tried to present accurate and unbiased data to the press and public, to balance anecdotal reports of negative experiences reported by individual students and campuses. We have used the surveys and the Open Doors data to put such declines or experiences into context. On our IIENetwork on-line community, we have operated discussion boards and created informational resources to assist campuses and programs in dealing with the new environment for international education, and have assisted campuses in getting the word out as to what they have done to assist international students and make them feel welcome.
- Advocating a policy that balances legitimate academic and public diplomacy goals with national security needs. Beginning immediately after 9/11, IIE issued statements advocating balance and moderation. We voiced immediate opposition to proposed legislation that would have severely curtailed student visas, and shared this viewpoint through direct contact with Congressional representatives as well as statements issued on IIE’s website and in printed materials. We have continued to express this point of view through the press and in our electronic and printed materials, as well as directly to representatives of Congress, the Department of State and the Department of Homeland Security. In addition, the Institute was instrumental in suggesting and creating a full-page ad that appeared in the New York Times, titled “International Exchange Programs: An Investment in National Security”. We assisted the Alliance for Educational and Cultural Exchange in developing and placing this ad, advocating balanced national security policies that do not unduly restrict legitimate academic exchange and public diplomacy, and conducting a subsequent communications campaign to disseminate these messages.
(See www.alliance-exchange.org).
9/19/03
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