UNIVERSITY REMINDS STUDENTS OF IMMIGRATION DEDLINE

International students and other foreigners could find themselves barred from entering the United States for three years for visa violations under a new federal law.

The first deadline is Sept. 27, said George Dordoni, assistant director of the Campus Assistance Center at Southeast Missouri State University. The Sept. 27 deadline applies to foreigners who violated the terms of their visas on or before April 1.

A person admitted to the U.S. under a student visa must carry a full-course load of classes at all times and refrain from working off campus without specific permission from the Immigration and Naturalization Service.

Dordoni said an international student who dropped out of school or worked without authorization from February to May, and has not been reinstated to student status, could face immigration problems.

If that student leaves the U.S. on or after Sept. 28, he or she won't be able to get a new visa for three years, Dordoni said.

Foreign visitors, admitted on tourist visas, also are prohibited from working without authorization. They face the same penalties, Dordoni said.

People who have been in violation for a year or more as of April 1998 will be barred from the U.S. for 10 years, he said.

Dordoni said Southeast students should contact him if they believe they may be in violation of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996.

Non-students, who have visa problems, should contact an immigration lawyer, Dordoni said.