Obtaining Student Visas Remains An Endurance Test
By Kristin Bagnato

International students seeking to study in the United States still face hurdles as the kinks in the new visa-granting process are ironed out. At the same time, government officials say the system is becoming easier to manage as schools and consular offices become familiar with the procedures. Education officials, however, say that while the system is improving, it cannot yet be deemed a success.

The U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittees on 21st Century Competitiveness and Select Education held a joint hearing last month about the implementation of the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System, also known as Sevis.

While applications from international students seeking to study in the United States are still declining, the rate has slowed from the post-Sept. 11 freefall. And where once lawmakers were consumed with concerns about potential terrorists gaining entry on a student visa, widely publicized fears of a U.S. “brain drain” now are leading lawmakers to question whether the Sevis system is deterring legitimate students from seeking education opportunities in America.

“The Council of Graduate Schools reported a 5 percent decline this year, following the 28 percent decline of last year,” says committee member Rep. Rush Holt, D-N.J. The United States needs to make “some effort to communicate to a broad audience that we have a more friendly and efficient effort … so students abroad know that the system has improved.”

A major issue for institutions is the unwieldiness of the Sevis database. Victor Cerda, special counsel to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, maintains that “the technical fixes are very straightforward, usually handled in terms of days.”

Institutional officials are not so quick to agree.

There “still continues to be problems in this tracking system,” says Lawrence Bell, vice president of public policy for NAFSA: Association of International Educators, and director of the office of international education at the University of Colorado at Boulder.