The ease with which a student visa can be attained and the restrictions a student might face may drastically change in the near future under a legislative amendment introduced Thursday into Congress by U.S. Rep. Jeff Flake, R-1st District.
The amendment proposes to include biometric identification as a requirement in the visa application process. That information, in the form of electronic fingerprinting, facial recognition and retinal scanning, would be loaded onto a tamper-proof identification card given to the applicant.
“Through allowing our visa screeners access to as much information as possible, we will provide our law enforcement more support as they seek to prevent atrocities such as witnessed last month,” said Flake.
Flake is seeking to attach the amendment to the Patriot Anti-Terrorism bill now before Congress. U.S. Reps. Mike Castle, R-Del., and Nathan Deal, R-Ga., are also sponsoring the amendment designed to make tracking foreign nationals easier for the INS.
Zohreh Sotoodeh, assistant director of admissions at ASU, said new restrictions on student visas are to be expected after the Sept. 11 tragedy. She also pointed out that the proposed changes would have a negative impact on international student applications.
“Years ago, the U.S. was the only place to go for an international education, but now the competition is unbelievable,” Sotoodeh said. “You never heard of the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and New Zealand competing for students, but things have changed.”
Sotoodeh said foreign students are a huge cash source for American universities, contributing as much as $8 billion annually to the national economy.
ASU has more than 3,000 foreign students paying $9,802 a piece per acidemic year in tuition, not including books, housing fees and insurance.
Sotoodeh said already foreign students must prove they have $20,000 in financial reserves before they can be accepted at a U.S. university. She added that more restrictions to an already difficult process may be the motivating factor in convincing a student to apply to another country.
Russell Ahr, special assistant to the director of the INS in Phoenix, said the INS monitors more than 500 million people entering the country during any given year.
Foreign students represent 5 percent of that number. Electronic tracking and identification will help make the process easier but is not an end all to the problem.
“What is embodied in this legislation is the recognition that we have to document and monitor visa holders more closely,” Ahr said. “This is a step in the right direction.”
Reach Victor Allen at victordallen@cs.com.
