Homeland Security

DATE=3/27/03

TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT

TITLE=U-S VISAS / TERROR

NUMBER=5-53322

BYLINE=STEVE BARAGONA

DATELINE=WASHINGTON

INTERNET=

INTRO: The U-S government has been tightening restrictions on student visas since the September 11th terrorist attacks. The increased security has hit America's prestigious research institutions, where half of the students in science and technical fields are foreign-born. At a hearing this week, some members of Congress said the visa problems put the country at risk. V-O-A's Steve Baragona reports.

TEXT: State Department officials are caught between competing demands in the post-September 11th world. The fact that several of the 9-11 hijackers were in the United States on student visas became a national security issue.

Before September 11th, the State Department granted student visas automatically if no agency raised an objection within 30-days. But at a hearing Wednesday before the House Committee on Science, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Janice Jacobs, said times have changed.

/// JACOBS ACT ///

In the post-9-11 environment, we do not believe that the issues at stake allow us the luxury of erring on the side of expeditious processing.

/// END ACT ///

Ms. Jacobs said the State Department now insists on hearing from law enforcement before issuing these visas.

She said she recognizes most foreign students in scientific and technical fields are coming to the United States for legitimate reasons. But, Ms. Jacobs said, not all of them are.

/// JACOBS ACT ///

This includes individuals who may be coming to unlawfully obtain and export sensitive technology or information, especially if it relates to the development or spread of weapons of mass destruction.

/// END ACT ///

The extra scrutiny the department is giving to foreign students in science and technical fields is causing backlogs and delays.

Some committee members say holding up student visas on national security grounds may itself be a threat to national security. For example, during World War two German, Italian, Polish, and Russian-born scientists were instrumental in the development of the atomic bomb.

But Congressman David Wu told the committee, some highly qualified scientists were excluded from the United States during the cold war, when fear of Communism influenced government policy.

/// WU ACT ///

The Chinese scientist who is the father of the People's Republic of China's rocketry program was driven out of the United States by McCarthyism. And I would hate to see that we engage in a pattern of conduct now out of fear that would damage our national interest and help our adversaries.

/// END ACT ///

Committee members and witnesses pointed out that the United States owes much of its status as an economic superpower to top-notch foreign-born scientists.

Ms. Jacobs said the State Department has hired more staff and is using more technology in a bid to speed up visa applications.

But American Council on Education president David Ward said the State Department's procedures have not been working smoothly. He said there have been frequent technical problems, including lost, misdirected, and inaccessible records. Government personnel have not been trained to understand the new visa regulations, or to use new computer software. And, Mr. Ward said, nearly a million new applications will enter the system before August as college application season begins.

/// WARD ACT ///

We do not know whether the capacity will be stretched to the breaking point with this sudden increase in volume, because with this low level of volume it has obviously been struggling.

/// END ACT ///

/// BEGIN OPT /// Mr. Ward said an even more serious issue is the system's unpredictability.

/// WARD ACT ///

One can deal with predictable delays, which could be understood by a logjam. But if there is unpredictability in the system, and no rationality in why one visa is delayed and another is not, I think that unpredictability is a serious problem.

/// END ACT // END OPT ///

Princeton University President Shirley Tilghman says the problems do not stop once the students arrive.

/// TILGHMAN ACT ///

They have difficulty leaving the country, either to attend scientific meetings or to visit their families, and then find that there are extended delays in their ability to re-enter the United States after their visits outside the country.

/// END ACT ///

Ms. Tilgman says it not only interrupts their studies, but because many graduate students are also teachers it also disrupts other classes.

If future students know they may run into hassles if they apply to schools in the United States, Ms. Tilgman said they'll go elsewhere.

/// TILGMAN ACT ///

These individuals, by virtue of their quality, have options, have opportunities to study anywhere in the world. I really believe that if this country is to sustain its international leadership role in science and technology, it must continue to engage the very best students and scholars from around the world.

/// END ACT ///

The State Department's Janice Jacobs said the department is doing everything it can to make the process smoother.

/// JACOBS ACT ///

But I do not foresee a return to the more-rapid processing we enjoyed when we thought the threat to our country was less than it turned out to be.

/// END ACT ///

She said visa officials have had to make changes much more quickly after September 11th, and that caused problems. But, she said, the system is improving, and most cases are now processed in 30 days or less. (SIGNED)

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