Search is on for Student Visa Violators

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In the past, once a student was in the U.S. on a visa, little to no tracking of that student took place and many people slipped beneath the radar, staying in the country under false pretenses. But the government is about to get tough on violators.

The search for thousands of foreign nationals who may have violated the terms of their student visas is about to begin. An initiative of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the program will commence on August 1, 2003 and continue permanently from then on. 

The greatest focus--admits the department's of Immigration and Customs Enforcement--will be on suspected risks to national security, because seeking out every single violator may prove too extensive a task. Nevertheless, many otherwise innocents will probably get swept up in the search. 

As many as 10,000 people across the U.S. may be in violation of their student visa terms at this moment, which is twice the number of federal agents assigned to deal with immigration enforcement of all kinds, not just student-related. 

Right now the department does not have the resources to pursue each and every foreigner who is out of status in this country, and racial and cultural profiling will become a part of the process, like it or not. 

Monitoring of students in particular became a concern after the 9/11 attacks because student visas had been issued to two of the 19 suspected hijackers, months after the attacks had already taken place: a grave humiliation to the department, and a startling commentary on national security and general awareness among government organizations in the U.S. 

A new database, called the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System, or SEVIS, will be tracking about 1.2 million foreign students residing in the United States. For the agents, combing through that data, searching for problem groups or individuals, will present the greatest challenge. Suspicious activity or circumstances will be reported, and data shared with federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.

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