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Summary

The September 11 terrorist attacks by foreign nationals -- including several terrorists on student visas -- have prompted a series of questions about foreign students in the United States and the extent to which the U.S. government monitors their admission and presence in this country. The arrival of letters on March 11, 2002, in which the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) notified a flight school that two September 11 terrorists had been approved for foreign student visas further heightened concerns about lax enforcement of immigration laws. Potential foreign students, as well as all aliens, must satisfy Department of State (DOS) consular officers abroad and INS inspectors upon entry to the United States that they are not ineligible for visas under the so-called "grounds for inadmissibility" of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which include security and terrorist concerns. The consular officers who process visa applicants are required to check DOS's automated lookout systems before issuing any visa. In FY2000, DOS identified 181 potential nonimmigrants (i.e., foreign nationals coming temporarily) as inadmissible because of security or terrorist concerns. The three visa categories used by foreign students are: F visas for academic study; M visas for vocational study; and J visas for cultural exchange. The numbers admitted have more than doubled over the past 2 decades. In FY1979, the total number of foreign student and cultural exchange visas issued by DOS consular officers was 224,030 and comprised 4% of all nonimmigrant visas issued. In FY2000, DOS issued 589,368 visas to F, J, and M nonimmigrants, making up 8% of all nonimmigrant visas issued. In 1996, Congress enacted a provision that established a foreign student monitoring system and required educational institutions to participate as a condition of continued approval to enroll foreign students. The USA Patriot Act (P.L. 107-56) includes provisions to expand the foreign student tracking system and authorizes appropriations for the foreign student monitoring system, which previously had been funded through $95 fees paid by the foreign students. In May, the President signed the Enhanced Border Security and Visa Entry Reform Act (P.L. 107-173, H.R. 3525), which increased the monitoring of foreign students and closed perceived loopholes. Some are advocating closer scrutiny of foreign students entering and studying in the United States. Supporters of this view assert that foreign students are the category of aliens most likely to include spies and terrorists, and they argue that increased monitoring of aliens on F, J, and M visas is essential to national security. Some are suggesting that there should be a moratorium on issuance of new foreign student visas until these questions are addressed. Others warn that this emphasis on foreign students as a main security and terrorist risk is misplaced and that such scrutiny may lead to excessive government monitoring without reducing the risk of terrorism. Many also question the feasibility of systems for nonimmigrant tracking, citing the work that remains on the reporting system for foreign students.

Related Legislation:
• H.R.3525
• S.224

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