September 19, 2002

Justice Department Reports Potential Delay in the Foreign Student Tracking System

The new government computerized system for tracking foreign students (SEVIS), will not be fully operational by the January 30, 2003 deadline set by Congress, reported the Justice Department Inspector General on September 18, 2002. The Inspector General, Glenn A. Fine, advised a House Judiciary subcommittee that the Internet-based SEVIS system will be operating by the deadline, but it is unlikely that all of the training, certification and data entry on the new monitoring system would be ready by January 30th.

Nonetheless, the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) deputy commissioner, Janis Sposato, reported that the system would be up and running, and that the INS would meet its deadline. She did acknowledge that some gaps would remain. While colleges will be required to supply data on new students, they will still have several additional months before they have to supply data on foreign students already enrolled at their schools. Also, the INS will not be able to complete its plans, by the deadline, to visit and check every college and trade school authorized to accept foreign students. Additionally, schools are still waiting for the final rules instructing what colleges need to do to track their foreign students. These final rules are expected to be issued by late fall, according to Sposato.