 |
Vol. XIX No. 2 October 2003 |
 |
Got Visa? (Hint: We're Not Talking About Credit Cards) "Urgent! I had problems at the U.S. Embassy today. They didn't give me a student visa. Please help me!" An e-mail sent from the other side of the world cried out at me on a Monday morning. I figured out the time difference and dialed a long string of numbers—international code, country code, area code, and then a seven-digit number. An unfamiliar ring sounded in my ear. Connected. I began, "Hello, I am calling from the U.S.A. May I speak to a student named…" After some clarifications, it turned out that the U.S. Visa Office requested additional information from the student and offered another visa appointment, two weeks from now. No room for negotiation. School was to start in two days. Calmness was essential here, and patience was a plus. The scenario involved one of Juilliard's talented students and drew in the administration, faculty, and—last but not least—the U.S. Departments of State and Homeland Security. Intense interoffice and cross-continental communication occupied an otherwise normal workday. Alas—thanks to our nation's strengthened security policy post-9/11—responding to such urgent e-mails or phone calls has become routine.Every year thousands of foreigners visit the United States, and dozens of different visa categories (labeled A through V) are made available for our foreign guests to apply for at the U.S. Visa Offices around the world. The category of student visa—which makes up less than 2 percent of our total foreign visitors—won the spotlight in 2001 when two 9/11 terrorists were proven to have intended to go to a flight school in the U.S. prior to the tragedy (whether they attended classes dutifully was another question). As an international educator, it was painful to witness the extent to which some people had abused the "student" visa category, and how the media consequently misrepresented international students and schools. What was more shattering was a series of reactive, unthoughtful actions taken against non-Americans under the banner of patriotism. These actions include mandatory special registration for citizens of "target countries" (mostly Muslim), a worldwide tracking system for international students, tightened visa issuance, and mandatory, in-person visa interviews. The impact on our students is enormous. Confusion, discomfort, disagreement, and even anger are common reactions. "I am not a terrorist; I am an artist!" some of them have exclaimed. Juilliard, a world-renowned school for the performing arts, has been inevitably sucked into this whirlpool of change.A student with the special registration requirement shares his experience at a local immigration office: "I waited in line for three hours outside the immigration building. After I got in, I had to wait another few hours with a hundred other people in a crowded room. When it was nearly my turn, the system broke down." Fingerprints, interviews, and annual follow-up interviews are listed on the official notice as required procedures. (Waiting in line for hours, suffering from hunger and heat—or chill in winter—and anxiety are not listed.)The latest big change is SEVIS—officially known as Student and Exchange Visitor Information System, an online student database governed by the Department of Homeland Security (D.H.S.). This system links the D.H.S., Juilliard (and other schools), the U.S. Visa Offices around the world, and other federal agencies. It is designed to access personal data of international students in the U.S. when necessary. SEVIS is a well-intentioned system that was rushed due to Congressional pressure. August 1, 2003, was the deadline when schools were required to enter all international student data—and all schools must be verified before they can begin entering data. That is over 7,000 schools for Homeland Security to review, without ample resources and a workable timeframe. After certification, the school must enter and dutifully maintain more than 40 "reportable" fields in SEVIS.Is SEVIS ready for a zero tolerance environment? Technical glitches are nearly routine in the SEVIS world. What does it imply when I can (involuntarily) see student data from a different university? What does it mean when student data is not securely and accurately restored in case of transmission failure? Aside from issues regarding confidentiality, data integrity, and potential lawsuits, how would an international student's rights and benefits be considered and protected when he technically does not exist in our government's database, but is otherwise eligible to be a student at Juilliard? These important questions demand some careful thought and critical judgment before an answer can be made.As the student who e-mailed me wonders why the visa officer didn't grant him a visa to come to study, agonizing over his frustration, I lift my phone receiver and dial a toll-free number to a government-sponsored help desk—and I begin the long wait before my inquiry can reach a live person.
| |||
|
||||