AU's international student community is having more difficulties than before traveling in and out of the U.S. since various government agencies like the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services and the Department of Homeland Security have implemented a number of security measures that involve all international students on F-1 and J-1 student visas.
The majority of AU's 1,251 international students from 143 countries are on an F-1 visa, according to Kristin Thompson, an international student advisor in the International Student Services office. An F-1 is a visa for an academic student. J-1 visas are for exchange visitors, according to the BCIS.
The BCIS officially replaced the Immigration and Naturalization Services in March as the agency became part of the Homeland Security Department.
After Sept. 11, several security measures were put into action, many of which affect international students and the immigration process. The State Department requires that prior to their departure from the U.S.,
students must go through an exit registration process that can sometimes take up
to 20 days due to waiting lines, said
Fanta Aw, director of International
Student Services.
A second measure is a special registration process only for male students ages 16 and older from mostly Middle Eastern countries, a handful of North African countries and a few Asian countries, Aw said.
These individuals are required to report to the nearest BCIS office within 30 days of their arrival to the U.S. for a special registration process that involves fingerprinting and interviews along with several required documents including a valid ID, proof of registration in an educational institution as well as proof of residence and financial ability, according to Aw.
"Even going home and coming back, students have to think twice," Aw said. "Students have to make strategic decisions whether or not to go home and how that might affect their timing of re-entry into the U.S."
A third measure that has been recently
put into service is SEVIS, a tracking system and central database created by BCIS,
Aw said. SEVIS was created after the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing to track suspected terrorists in the U.S. The system was in the process of being improved but the development was quickly advanced after the Sept. 11 attacks, a process that would have normally taken four years to complete, she said.
Aug. 1 was the deadline for all international students to be registered in the system, which AU has complied with, Aw said. Every semester, AU is required by the Bureau of Immigrations and Customs Inforcement to check that all students, both new and returning, are accounted for, she said.
Any student who fails to enroll, drops below full-time student status without prior authorization or fails to report a change in the student's or dependent legal name or address are just a few of the violations that are grounds for immediate notification to the NCIS according to the May 16 issue of Federal Register.
The new immigration polices went into effect this January and many AU students have already experienced the tightened visa restrictions. Sophomore Nuri Shaways, a German citizen, was questioned extensively upon arrival in the U.S. last January.
"When I entered the States back then, they kept me there for three hours for an interview and fingerprints," Shaways said. "They treated me like a criminal. I was kept as a prisoner, as if I had done something wrong on purpose which I have not."
Some students who were unaware of the new policies have had their visas cancelled and are forced to apply for new ones. For some, this means staying in their home country and missing an entire semester of school.
According to Fall 2003 statistics, 85 students from 22 countries were notified of the new regulations and were instructed on how to go about the immigration process when leaving and entering the U.S. None were found in severe enough violations to be deported.
"It took a tremendous amount of time and energy, but some students, in the end, genuinely forgot to do important procedures like complete their exit registration," Aw said. "We've seen lots of traffic with students asking questions about the new regulations which shows students are quite anxious about all this."
The previous school year, 7,664 walk-in appointments were made at the International Student Services office along with 7,500 telephone calls. According to Aw, the majority of the services requested were discussion on immigration regulations and updates, advising on special registration and travel advisories.
The tightened visa regulations have also discouraged students from coming to AU to study. At AU there has been a slight decrease from last year's enrollment count of students coming from Middle Eastern countries.
"Immigration laws have deterred students from coming to pursue an education here," Aw said. "Many instead go to Canada, the U.K. or Australia."
This poses a problem for those wanting to travel back to their native country during breaks.
Jordanian sophomore Rand Najjar is aware of the new changes.
"They just keep changing the laws so you just have to keep up, that's all," Najjar said. "It's annoying having to go through all these procedures just to go home but it's good that they're not willing to risk anything happening."
Others like Shaways are not as positive about the new immigration laws.
"I was just really surprised that the new laws make everybody who doesn't look white, blonde and blue-eyed look like a criminal and gives the officers the right to treat the people the way they want to," Shaways said.
