Some Foreign Students May Experience Scrutiny and Delays at U.S. Ports of Entry

Last week, the Homeland Security Department has ordered U.S. border agents, “effective immediately”, to verify that every international student who arrives in the US has a valid student visa, according to an internal memorandum obtained by the Associated Press.

This decision came after it was discovered that a friend of suspected Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was admitted on an F-1 student visa even though his status had been revoked in SEVIS. Last year more than 500,000 student visas were issued by the U.S. Department of State.

CBP officers must now verify the status of each F-1, M-1 and J-1 nonimmigrant in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) before admission. However, not all border officers are equipped with access to SEVIS, so after preliminary processing, most students and exchange visitors are referred to secondary inspection, where their SEVIS record is reviewed and where they may be questioned further about their U.S. activities.

As a result of these new entry procedures, F-1 students and J-1 exchange visitors entering the United States should anticipate possibility of long waits at U.S. ports of entry. As always, we recommend that they are patient and answer all questions clearly and fully.

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