Inside Iowa State: Iowa State University

December 13, 2002

Federal regulations to track international students begin Jan. 30

by Linda Charles
A single mistake could result in an Iowa State student's deportation.

That's what Deborah Vance, program coordinator in international education services, fears most about a new federal international student tracking system that will go into effect Jan. 30, 2003.

Iowa State and universities around the country await the final version of the federal regulations. However, in the proposed version, Vance said there is "no provision to allow for mistakes. The penalty falls on the student."

For example, if the university incorrectly reported an international student was taking a part-time rather than full-time load, the student would lose eligibility status and could be deported. Even if the university caught the mistake, the proposed regulations do not recognize errors as grounds to reinstate a student, she said.

"Iowa State is working hard to prepare for the new reporting procedure," Vance said. "We're notifying students, faculty, staff, advisers and major professors that we are going to have to work together to get the records reported accurately and on time."

Iowa State will need to track about 2,500 international students, she said. Universities that fail to participate in the new reporting procedures won't be allowed to admit international students.

The new federal regulations also will apply to visiting international scholars, postdoc students and faculty. (ISU typically has about 500 international postdocs, visiting scholars and researchers, and a few international faculty each year). The university will be required to report on anyone holding F or J visa status.

The biggest change under the new regulations will be the way information is reported, Vance said. Under the new system, universities will be required to report information on international students and visiting scholars at regular intervals via the Internet.

"Most of the information we'll be required to collect is the same as before," Vance said. "But never before have we had to report directly to the federal government on a regular basis. In the past, we only reported what the government asked for, and it only asked occasionally."

There will be three notable changes under the new regulations. Universities must report on:

Dependents of international students and visiting scholars.
Disciplinary actions taken against international students and visiting scholars who commit crimes.
Changes of address.

While the new regulations don't go into effect for more than a month, Vance reported Iowa State already has felt the effects of beefed-up homeland security.

Many international students and scholars' arrivals at Iowa State were delayed by special visa screening and background checks. Some students had to postpone their entry into the university until spring semester, and a few don't know if they will be allowed into the country at all, Vance said.

A returning student from Yemen didn't arrive until late September, but he opted to enroll fall semester anyway and make up the work, Vance said. And it took six months for a math professor from Russia to make it back to campus.

More problems have arisen for Iowa State students and scholars from Russia and China, but that may be because the university has more students from those countries. Traditionally, a high percentage of Chinese have been denied student visas, so it is difficult to determine how many of the problems have resulted from increased security, she said.

Vance said she worries about students who were promised assistantships for fall semester and have been delayed until spring. "I'm afraid when they finally get here, they may find their assistantships, very understandably, have been given to other students."

When the new regulations go into effect next month, delays will make getting into the university even harder, she added. If students are unable to arrive by the date specified on their visa documents, they will be returned home and will have to restart the process -- including an abbreviated admission process to the university.

Once international students arrive at the university, the checks may not be over. Male students from 18 countries (Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Eritrea, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, North Korea, Oman, Qatar, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates and Yemen) are required to appear in person at the immigration office in Des Moines and register.

"This effort (to comply with the new federal regulations) must be a partnership among our office, the students and scholars, and the entire university community," Vance said. "Students have primary responsibility for following the rules and maintaining their status. We will help all we can but we need the cooperation of major professors, academic advisers and other key university staff to meet the tighter deadlines and help keep students on track."

Despite all the problems, Vance said there are seven more international students at Iowa State this semester than during fall semester 2001.

Rules are different for international students