International students are going to need to jump through more hoops in order to maintain their visas to study here, and the Department of Homeland Security came to NYU to clear some things up.
Officials from the Department of Homeland Security met with a group of university administrators Thursday in the Kimmel Center to address changes in the monitoring of international students. The audience of over 130 administrators from universities in the greater New York area listened as Julie L. Myers, the assistant secretary of homeland security for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office, described updates to the Student and Exchange Visitor Program, along with SEVP Director Lou Farrell.
SEVP is a division of the Department of Homeland Security created to monitor exchange students entering the country to attend American colleges or universities. The program was established after one of the Sept. 11 hijackers gained entry into the United States on a student visa. SEVP ensures that students are complying with their visa requirements and that schools are abiding by federal regulations.
Farrell outlined four major changes to the program. These included an overhaul of the current student tracking database, the recertification of universities every two years, the establishment of liaisons between universities and the government and additional enforcement agents.
To fund these projects, student entry fees will double from $100 to $200 for nonimmigrant students.
"There are no appropriated funds to SEVP," Farrell said, adding that the program is completely dependent on student fees for funding.
The increase in fees was a concern to some administrators, who believe that encroaching costs, no matter how small, could make their schools less competitive on the international stage, according to Farrell. But Homeland Security officials maintained that the increase was necessary.
"The fall 2008 fee increase will provide the framework for dramatic improvements to the current SEVP program," ICE public affairs officer Brandon A. Montgomery said in a press release Thursday.
Administrators who attended the meeting were primarily concerned with staying abreast of changes in the Department of Homeland Security's student-tracking database, the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System.
David B. Austell, director for NYU's Office of International Students and Scholars, said, "The SEVP Town Meeting was primarily a technical meeting related to the federal SEVIS and immigration regulatory changes, which affect international students and scholars."
Some international students are unconcerned by the alterations to SEVP.
"The fee change will probably not affect me too much," School of Continuing and Professional Studies freshman Raymond Tang said.
Tang, a native of Taiwan, characterized the screening process for international students as efficient. "It was reasonable, a few forms to fill out and then an interview," he said.
Sean Gavin is a staff writer. E-mail him at citystate@nyunews.com.
