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Written by: Shelley Rodgers
Published: 03/17/2003 SEVIS Glitches Occur at Colleges Across the Nation
The Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS), a database the federal government mandated for the collection of international student information beginning in January, routinely loses sensitive information about international students and faculty, reports the Chicago Tribune. The gaffes, in many cases, have left schools unable to print necessary immigration documents that international students and visiting scholars must have in order to obtain a U.S. visa for study.
On many campuses, universities trying to print documents through the SEVIS program have had those sensitive papers appear on printers at other campuses thousands of miles away. SEVIS, an initiative originally under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service is now operated by the new U.S. Department of Homeland Security but it’s not likely that the glitches have anything to do with the jurisdictional transition.
In recent weeks, the problems with SEVIS have multiplied. Recently, when Michigan State University tried to print SEVIS documents, each printed with the word “SAMPLE” on them. At the University of Texas at Austin, officials were unable to print from the system for two days last week. Officials at Georgetown University indicate they have temporarily quit using the system at all.
Among the most serious incidents, one student from Thailand attending Southeastern University in Washington, D.C., was arrested by federal agents after the SEVIS database incorrectly listed her as having dropped out. In another instance, a Belgian psychologist headed to Michigan State University on a postdoctoral fellowship had his passport taken by the U.S. Consulate in Brussels when officers could not find his records in the SEVIS database. A separate Michigan State student from Egypt was marooned for several days in Toronto, Canada.
Higher education advocates are extremely concerned by the problems and fear further troubles in the coming months when the volume for academic year 2003-04 increases. University officials report that in the month since SEVIS has been compulsory, staff members have spent untold hours trying to resolve data-entry problems.
Chris Bentley, a spokesman for the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (BICE), which oversees SEVIS at the Department of Homeland Security, acknowledged that the computer network “is not a perfect system.” Further he indicated that BICE officials are confident that the system will be ready for fall semester, when the bulk of new international students’ records will need to be processed.
If you experience any trouble with SEVIS processing please report it immediately to the SEVIS help desk, which can be reached for assistance and support at 1-800-892-4829 between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., EST.
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