Student and Exchange Visitor Program: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 02:04, 25 September 2019

Revision as of 20:51, 28 October 2019

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== Jargon ==

{| class="wikitable" border="1"

! Plain English description !! Jargon for F status (students in academic programs) !! Jargon for M status (students in vocational program) !! Jargon for J status (exchange visitor)

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== History ==

=== Pre-origins: CIPRIS ===

In the [[1993 World Trade Center bombing]], a [[truck bomb]] was detonated below the North Tower of the [[World Trade Center (1973–2001)|World Trade Center]] in [[New York City]]. In the aftermath of this incident, the student visa came under increased scrutiny when it was discovered that [[Eyad Ismoil]], one of the terrorists involved was in the United States on an expired student visa.<ref name="cis1">{{cite news | last = Suhler | first = Jayne Noble | author2 = Timms, Ed | title = Security worries putting spotlight on student visas | url = http://www.cis.org/articles/Katz/katz1999.html | work = [[The Dallas Morning News]] | date = September 20, 1998 | access-date = 2007-05-21 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070512122504/http://www.cis.org/articles/Katz/katz1999.html | archive-date = May 12, 2007 | df = }}</ref><ref name="cis2">{{cite news | last = Suhler | first = Jayne Noble | author2 = Timms, Ed | title = Cases highlight flaws in federal visa system | url = http://www.cis.org/articles/Katz/katz1999.html | work = [[The Dallas Morning News]] | date = November 8, 1998 | access-date = 2007-05-21 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070512122504/http://www.cis.org/articles/Katz/katz1999.html | archive-date = May 12, 2007 | df = }}</ref><ref name=shareok>{{cite web|url = https://shareok.org/bitstream/handle/11244/917/3187222.PDF?sequence=1|title = A Descriptive Case Study of the Impact of 9/11 on International Student Visa Policy in the 20 Months Following the Attacks|author = Mary Helen Reeves|accessdate = February 10, 2016}}</ref><ref name=ins-fsp-report>{{cite web|url = https://oig.justice.gov/special/0205/chapter6.htm|title = CHAPTER SIX. THE INS'S FOREIGN STUDENT PROGRAM|date = May 20, 2002|accessdate = February 10, 2016}}</ref>

A memorandum from the [[U.S. Department of Justice]]'s Office of Investigative Agency Policies to the Deputy Attorney General dated September 24, 1994, mentioned the need to subject foreign students to thorough and continuing scrutiny before and during their stay in the United States. On April 17, 1995, the Deputy Attorney General asked the INS Commissioner to address this issue. This led to the formation of an INS task force in June 1995 to conduct a comprehensive review of the F, M, and J visa processes. Besides the INS, the task force included members from the State Department and the United States Information Agency, and experts in the administration of international student programs.<ref name=ins-fsp-report/> The task force report, issued on December 22, 1995, identified problems in the tracking and monitoring of students by schools, problems in the certification of schools by the INS, and problems with INS receiving and maintaining up-to-date records from schools.<ref name=ins-fsp-report/> As a result of these findings, the [[Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996]] directed the Attorney General, in consultation with the Secretary of State, to develop and conduct a program to collect certain information on nonimmigrant foreign students and exchange visitors from approved institutions of higher education and designated exchange visitor programs.<ref name=ins-fsp-reportshareok/><ref name=shareokins-fsp-report/>

In June 1997, the INS launched a pilot program for a centralized electronic reporting system for institutions, called the Coordinated Interagency Partnership Regulating International Students (CIPRIS). The CIPRIS pilot officially ended in October 1999, as the INS felt it had gathered enough data from the prototype to start working on the nationwide system.<ref name=ins-fsp-report/> The INS began working on a new system that would be called the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) with the associated information system called the Student and Exchange Visitor Information Service (SEVIS). During the rollout, CIPRIS and SEVIS met with considerable opposition from the [[NAFSA: Association of International Educators|Association of International Educators]] and the [[American Council on Education]]. However, they claimed that the opposition was not against the programs in principle but due to the concern that a botched rollout by the INS could result in many students suffering.<ref name=ins-fsp-reportshareok/><ref name=shareokins-fsp-report/>

=== Launch after the September 11 attacks ===

In the aftermath of the [[September 11 attacks]] (September 11, 2001) and the [[Patriot Act]] passed in response (October 26, 2001), there was further increase in scrutiny of student visas, increasing the momentum in favor of the adoption of SEVIS. This was partly because of the fact that one of the attackers, [[Hani Hanjour]], had come to the United States on a student visa.<ref name=shareok/><ref name=ins-fsp-report/><ref name=factcheck-hanjour>{{cite web|url = http://www.factcheck.org/2013/05/911-hijackers-and-student-visas/|title = 9/11 Hijackers and Student Visas|last = Farley|first = Robert|date = May 10, 2013|accessdate = June 17, 2016}}</ref><ref name=shareok/><ref name=ins-fsp-report/>

Below is a timeline of the key events in the two years after the attacks describing the key steps in the evolution of SEVIS:<ref name=shareok/>

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| October 26, 2001 || Final legislation || [[Patriot Act]]; mandates implementation of Section 641 of the IIRIRA

|-

| May 16, 2002 || Proposed rule || Retention and reporting requirements for F, J, and M nonimmigrants; Student and Exchange Visitor Information System<ref>{{cite web|url = https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/eoir/legacy/2003/07/09/fr16may02.pdf|title = Retention and Reporting of Information for F, J, and M Nonimmigrants; Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS)|date = May 16, 2002|accessdate = January 29, 2017|publisher = [[U.S. Department of Justice]] [[Immigration and Naturalization Service]] in the ''[[Federal Register]]''}}</ref>

|-

| July 1, 2002 || Interim final rule || Allowing eligible schools to apply for preliminary enrollment in SEVIS<ref>{{cite web|url = https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/eoir/legacy/2003/07/09/fr01july02.pdf|title = Allowing Eligible Schools To Apply for Preliminary Enrollment in the Student and Exchange VisitorInformation System (SEVIS); Interim Final Rule|date = July 1, 2002|accessdate = January 29, 2017|publisher = [[U.S. Department of Justice]] [[Immigration and Naturalization Service]] in the ''[[Federal Register]]''}}</ref>

|-

| September 11, 2002 || Implementation deadline || The Interim Student and Exchange Authentication System (ISEAS), an interim program by the [[U.S. Department of State]], comes into force. This is a temporary system put in place until SEVIS goes live.<ref name=sevis-glossary/>

|-

| September 25, 2002 || Interim final rule || Requiring certification of all service-approved schools for SEVIS enrollment<ref>{{cite web|url = https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/eoir/legacy/2002/11/06/fr25sep02.pdf|title = Requiring Certification of all Service Approved Schools for Enrollment in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS)|date = September 25, 2002|accessdate = January 29, 2017|publisher = [[U.S. Department of Justice]] [[Immigration and Naturalization Service]] in the ''[[Federal Register]]''}}</ref>

|-

| December 11, 2002 || Interim final rule || Retention and reporting of information for F, J, and M nonimmigrants; SEVIS<ref>{{cite web|url = https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/eoir/legacy/2003/01/10/fr11dec02.pdf|title = Retention and Reporting of Information for F, J, and M Nonimmigrants; Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS); Final Rule|date = December 11, 2002|accessdate = January 29, 2017|publisher = [[U.S. Department of Justice]] [[Immigration and Naturalization Service]] in the ''[[Federal Register]]''}}</ref>

|-

| January 31, 2003 || Implementation deadline || Mandatory SEVIS use begins

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=== History of release versions ===

SEVIS has undergone six major releases since its launch. The release is numbered using a major release version number followed by a dot and a minor release version number. Below is a partial list of release dates:<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.nafsa.org/Professional_Resources/Browse_by_Interest/International_Students_and_Scholars/SEVIS_Releases/|title = SEVIS Releases|date = October 26, 2015|publisher = [[NAFSA: Association of International Educators]]|accessdate = January 29, 2015}}</ref>

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== Fee ==

=== Fee for students and exchange visitors ===

In 2004, the United States Congress mandated that all international students and exchange visitors pay the I-901 SEVIS fee, which funds the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) and SEVIS. The fee can be paid online at fmjfee.com. As of June 24, 2019, the fees are as follows:<ref name=sevis-fee>{{cite web|url = https://www.fmjfee.com|title = I-901 SEVIS Fee|publisher = [[U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement]]}}</ref>

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=== Fee for schools seeking SEVP certification ===

Below is the list of fees for schools seeking SEVP certification (through Form I-17) or re-certification, as of January 2017.<ref name=sevis-fee/>