Foreign students at OSU and elsewhere still face government scrutiny

By MARY ANN ALBRIGHT
CORVALLIS GAzette-TIMES

It’s been five years since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, destroyed the World Trade Center and shook the nation’s sense of security, but higher education is still feeling the aftershocks as it navigates tougher restrictions on international students and scholars.

These visitors are facing less red tape than they did immediately following the crisis, and enrollment numbers for international students are rebounding, but the hassles caused by ramped-up immigration control still exist.

To keep terrorism at bay and closely monitor who’s in the country, the federal government now requires universities to regularly report data on their foreign guests.

Universities aren’t the only ones being inconvenienced, and the anxiety generated by the events of Sept. 11 isn’t limited to Americans.

Kyoko Hayashi, a 19-year-old student at Meijo University in Nagoya, Japan, is part of an exchange group visiting Oregon State University to study English and American culture for a month. A couple of years ago, she might not have felt comfortable coming to the United States.

“After (Sept. 11) I thought America was a bigger danger, but now I don’t think so. I think time has passed, so we don’t fear,” she said.

Hayashi is one of almost 50 students visiting Corvallis through a partnership between Meijo and OSU’s English Language Institute.

They spent a weekend with volunteer host families, going on outings ranging from baseball games in Portland to Indian powwows in Eugene to day trips along the Oregon coast, and are staying in dorms on campus.

Hayashi and the five other Meijo students in English Language Institute instructor Bryan Andersen’s class said they’ve enjoyed the scenery and people of Oregon.

“Before I came to OSU, I was nervous,” said Haruyo Horikawa, 21. “But when I talked to American people, I changed my mind. Americans are so very kind and friendly.”

The Meijo visitors are here on tourist visas, but those with student visas have faced increased monitoring since Sept. 11.

Even before the World Trade Center fell, the federal government was working on a database to track international students and “exchange visitors” (often foreign researchers and scholars). After Sept. 11, the timeline for launching the new program, called SEVIS (for Student and Exchange Visitor Information System), was accelerated.

Beginning in January 2003, all universities accepting international students or hosting international visitors had to regularly report demographic, academic and immigration information electronically to the Bureau of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, part of the Department of Homeland Security.

Prior to SEVIS, universities were required to keep this information; they had to be prepared to share it with the federal government if asked, but didn’t automatically report the data.

To be in compliance with the terms of their student visas, international students must be enrolled at a SEVIS-certified university full time.

At OSU, International Student and Faculty Services staff handle SEVIS reporting. They devote a large portion of their time to helping students stay compliant.

“We do a lot of proactive work. We monitor student enrollment each week,” said Valerie Rosenberg, director of the department.

“We help students work through potential problems before SEVIS reporting deadlines,” added Laurie Lewis, international student adviser.

When international students expected to arrive on campus do not show up, as was the case recently with 11 Egyptians who were admitted to Montana State University and went missing after entering the country, the university is required to delete their SEVIS files.

This sends up a red flag with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Department of Homeland Security’s largest investigative branch. Law enforcement can then look for, arrest and deport these students.

OSU does have to delete SEVIS files on occasion, Rosenberg said, but usually because the student is no longer a full-time student or decides to attend another university. It’s not because they are plotting terrorist activities or trying to stay here and work illegally, she added.

During the 2005-06 school year, OSU had 903 international students and about 450 exchange visitors.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement tracks national SEVIS data reflecting specific points in time. As of Dec. 31, 2005, the United States had 591,403 international students and 147,577 exchange visitors.

Rosenberg said OSU saw a dip in international students and visitors after Sept. 11, but the numbers are increasing again.

“In general, for a couple years after Sept. 11, the United States was seen as a less friendly place to stay,” she said, noting that other English-speaking countries such as Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom saw a surge in international guests after fall 2001.

Things seem to be rebounding for America.

For example, in the past few years the United States has seen a “significant decrease” in Chinese graduate students applying for study, Rosenberg said. For the 2006-07 school year, applications nationally are up 21 percent from 2005-06.

Universities are responsible for most SEVIS reporting, but students identified by the government for whatever reason as “special registrants” have to provide more specific information on their whereabouts and activities.

Students and visitors are, for the most part, very understanding of the burden, OSU administrators said.

“They don’t always like it, but they can kind of understand,” Lewis said, praising the “spirit of cooperation” she’s seen among OSU’s international guests.

Most of them probably don’t even remember what it was like prior to Sept. 11, Rosenberg added.

“Pre-Sept. 11 memory is fading because there aren’t a lot of students left in the United States who were here before Sept. 11. It’s kind of the status quo,” she said.

Mary Ann Albright covers higher education. She can be reached at maryann

.albright@lee.net or 758-9518.