SEMO University officials support Bond visa proposal

Southeast Missouri State University officials support legislation in Congress written to help the federal government prevent terrorists from entering the country on student visas.

U.S. Sen. Christopher Bond, R-Mo., introduced the Visa Integrity and Security Act last week.

"We want the world's smartest students to continue their studies in the United States," said Bond. But in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the East Coast, Bond said the federal government needs to make it harder for terrorists to exploit the student visa program.

An FBI investigation revealed one of the terrorist hijackers on one of the airplanes that crashed into the Pentagon entered the country on a student visa.

Bond's legislation would improve record keeping on the part of the Immigration and Naturalization Service as to when and where international students enter the United States. It also would foster the sharing of information between the INS and colleges, flight schools and trade schools.

Adelaide Parsons directs Southeast's international programs. She favors the added record keeping and background checks that Bond wants.

'Better system' needed

"We're in favor of everything Bond is suggesting," said Parsons. "The idea is we need a better system of tracking students."

But Roberta Fraga, 25, of Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, hopes the legislation won't make it harder for her to get her student visa renewed. Fraga is in her second year at Southeast, where she is pursuing a master's degree in business administration.

Her visa is scheduled to expire in December when she makes a brief trip home to Brazil. Fraga said she will have to renew her visa for another year before she can return to Southeast for the spring semester.

Fraga said it's hard to predict the impact of Bond's bill on student visas. She thinks it could be relatively easy for Brazilian students to get visas because of the good relationship between her country and the United States.

"I don't think it would be a problem," she said.

The legislation would affect several immigration matters:

Foreign students would have to obtain a special identification card that uses facial and eye photography and would be compatible with a new computerized tracking system under development.

Criminal background checks would be required for all students wanting to enter the United States.

There would be a two-week waiting period for the issuance of visas so the United States' embassies would have time to perform background checks.

Foreign students would be entered into a computerized database when they arrive in the United States.

The Immigration and Naturalization Service would notify a university of any foreign student that enrolled in that school when that student enters the country. The university, in turn, would report to the INS if the student didn't show up and when international students graduate or drop out.

Southeast already complies with one point -- officials record the name, date of birth and address of its foreign students as well as any family members who move with them to the United States.

Speedier tracking

Bond's legislation could speed up implementation of the tracking system nationwide, Parsons said. She said some improved record keeping could be in place by January.

Currently, many colleges and universities find that only 45 to 50 percent of the new international students they enrolled actually show up, Parsons said.

At Southeast, 71.5 percent of its enrolled, new international students or 55 students arrived for classes this fall. The other 28.5 percent or 22 students didn't show up.

In all, Southeast has 247 international students, which include returning students.

Parsons said the no-shows likely weren't granted visas from U.S. embassies abroad, but currently there's no way to know if those individuals have entered the United States.

While Parsons supports Bond's bill, she believes it could be difficult for U.S. embassies to secure criminal records of visa applicants. "Our government is not going to have access to police records of another country," she said.

Bond's bill doesn't address tourist visas, which Parsons said need even closer scrutiny.

mbliss@semissourian.com

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