[Washington, DC, July 30, 2003]—Delegate to Congress Donna M. Christensen said that she is pleased that the Department of Homeland Security’s Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has come up with a plan to help legitimate foreign students who attend college in the United States to obtain student visas under the new system.

SEVIS, the new Student Exchange Visitor and Information System, put in place in the aftermath of 9/11, is a government , computerized system that maintains and manages data about foreign students and exchange visitors during their stay in this country.

Several colleges and universities, including the University of the Virgin Islands, have felt the pressure of meeting the congressionally mandated August 1 deadline, to certify all foreign students and have their data entered into the system for this school year.  Several, including UVI sought congressional assistance early this year, as they met requirements, but had still not received certification.  

“I was pleased to assist UVI in acquiring their certification on July 18,” said the Delegate.  “They were one of the 5,937 US schools that became certified.  However, as a Member of the House Committee on Homeland Security, I am equally pleased that ICE has come up with a process to accommodate those students who are law-abiding, but may miss the deadline through no fault of their own.”

ICE has promised to:

• Staff a command center that will be fully operational 24 hours, 7 days a week to address the needs of schools, students and inspectors at ports of entry.
• Send written guidance to inspectors at ports of entry to address individual cases.
• Deploy representatives to airports that process the most students.
• Sent notices to schools across the country detailing concerns.
• Have technical and IT consultants on stand-by to address any SEVIS computer systems issues that may arise.