The FBI now can directly access international student and scholar records for review following a revision to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security policy guidelines announced on Tuesday.
The measure could deter international students and scholars from coming to the University and other U.S. colleges and universities, International Studies Office Director Rebecca Brown said.
"It is just one more additional item that makes international students and scholars feel less than welcome in the United States," she said.
The DHS did not return phone calls yesterday but in an article in The Chronicle for Higher Education a DHS spokesperson said the revision would aid in FBI criminal and terrorist investigations.
Brown said the change is misdirected at international students and scholars.
"My concern about this is international students and scholars are amongst the most law-abiding visitors in the United States," she said. "To try to foster the image that terrorists are using student and scholar visas -- the data is not there to back that."
The measure is a revision to the DHS's privacy policy that will grant the FBI access to the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System, known as Sevis, and the U.S. Visitor and Immigration Status Indication Technology System, known as U.S. Visit.
Sevis is a database that is updated daily by the University with information such as course enrollment, duration of study, home and local addresses, visa durations and birth dates of school-sponsored international students and scholars, Brown said. It was created after Sept. 11 by the DHS to track the activities of international students. U.S. Visit is used to track foreign visitors through U.S. ports of entry.
Brown said she does not expect the change to dramatically impact international students and scholars currently at the University, but that it puts added pressure on them to make sure they have accurate and current information on file.
"International students should be very vigilant about maintaining their legal status in the United States because the DHS has zero tolerance for violations," she said.
According to Brown, the number of international student applications to the University has decreased slightly in recent years and significantly declined at universities nationwide. More students are seeking programs offered in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and Canada, she said.
"It just lends yet another chilling effect adding to the perception that student and scholars aren't welcome here," Brown said. "It doesn't make a lot of sense to me to be targeting that population for searching out terrorists."
Sahil Sethi, a fourth-year Commerce student from India, said he believes the change is necessary in light of the Sept. 11 attacks. Sethi said he does not oppose the revision as long as it does not impede the process by which international students and scholars obtain visas.
"As long as it doesn't affect the incoming students, I think it is fine and totally understandable," he said. "It should not become an issue for international students to get visas."
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