Cornell has been approved by the U.S. Department of State and the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) to utilize the government's new database that will monitor and track international students and exchange visitors. The Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) was mandated by Congress last year as it passed a series of new homeland security measures.
The International Students and Scholars Office (ISSO) is coordinating the university's response to new guidelines and regulations for foreign nationals as they are put in place by the federal government. It is also providing information and assistance to international students and scholars at Cornell to help them meet new requirements.
Many colleges and universities nationwide have reported delays in utilizing the SEVIS system because of technical problems with the database.
"We have the SEVIS-compliant application up and running," said David S. Yeh, assistant vice president for student and academic services, crediting staff in the Office of the University Registrar and ISSO for meeting the challenges of implementing the system.
That was the first step toward meeting new federal requirements. By Aug. 1, Cornell must enter data for approximately 6,000 people into the system. This is the estimated total of the university's international students, exchange visitors and their dependent family members.
Laura B. Taylor, associate director of ISSO, describes the attitude of many international students and scholars on campus toward the new tracking system as "concerned, but not anxious." Taylor is chair of a working committee of NAFSA: Association of International Educators, which has been working closely with the INS to try to resolve concerns of universities regarding the new system.
"ISSO has provided information to all continuing international students and exchange visitors, describing SEVIS and giving them information on what the changes mean for them," she said. "Some have responded with additional questions, most frequently related to their need to travel or questions about maintenance of immigration status."
Homeland security concerns have caused restrictions on travel. Visa problems have delayed seven Cornell students and a postdoctoral researcher from returning to campus this semester. Brendan P. O'Brien, director of ISSO, has worked with representatives of U.S. Rep. Maurice Hinchey's office to try to resolve problems with the INS.
"We are working through the political process to enable Cornell and other universities to continue to bring outstanding individuals from all over the world to pursue research endeavors," O'Brien said. "We will also continue to try and assist individuals who are experiencing difficulty as a result of the governmental procedures."
Taylor said the student information that will be submitted to the government via SEVIS is already collected, and students should not have to supply new or additional information.
"Many people are not aware that institutions were already required to collect and maintain specific information on each student and exchange visitor," she explained. "Cornell has always been in compliance with these requirements. The difference now is that we will be required to report that data to SEVIS. Some of the data currently resides in our institutional databases. Other data exists in files housed in the ISSO. As we move into SEVIS, data from our institutional systems will feed our management database, and additional information specific to each individual's immigration status, not housed on a central database, will be keyed in from each student and exchange visitor's immigration records at the ISSO. We are already working on this process.
"The transition to SEVIS is a big task and involves not only the Office of the University Registrar and the ISSO, but also the cooperation of our University Admissions offices and Office of Human Resources. We've been fortunate to have such strong university support for this effort," she added.
O'Brien and Taylor said the ISSO will continue to follow new developments in regulations affecting international students and scholars and will provide support in meeting new federal requirements.
"Students and exchange visitors will need to be more aware of the regulations governing their stay in the U.S., and the ISSO will need to be vigilant in ensuring that they know their rights/obligations and are given the resources and support that they need," Taylor said. "Of particular concern are the regulations governing drops below a full course of study for undergraduate international students. While regulations have long required that reduction below the INS's definition of 'full course of study' be authorized by a school's Designated School Official -- at Cornell, this is a task managed by the ISSO -- the new SEVIS regulations require that such authorization be completed in SEVIS prior to that reduction. Another change requires that students and exchange visitors, as well as their dependent family members, report address changes to the university within 10 days of making the change. These are just a few of the changes affecting our international population."
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