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• Met with various governance and organizational
units of the university (UMG, Office of the
General Counsel, Administrative Units of the
School of Engineering, Medical School Administrators,
The Graduate School of Business,
GDAWG, Registrar’s Monthly Departmental
Meeting, Faculty Committees in the School of
Engineering and the university chapter of AAUP.
In addition the Stanford Faculty Senate discussed
SEVIS.
• Provided information to the University Compliance
and Internal Audit Committee and the
SEVIS Sub-Committee
• Consulted with colleagues around the country
to ensure that we had the most updated
information on SEVIS. This included, but was not
limited to, attendance at the Ivy League Plus
Meeting, NAFSA National and Regional Conferences,
Bay Area Schools meetings, AAU and
Congressional Offices of local Members of
Congress.
RELATED IMMIGRATION ISSUES
Since September 11, 2001 there have been numerous
legislative and regulatory changes that have affected our
work. What follows constitutes a summary of those
passed in 2002-2003.
• Homeland Security Act: On November 22,
President Bush signed the Homeland Security
Act into law, creating the Department of
Homeland Security. This act mandated the
move of the Immigration and Naturalization
Service from the Department of Justice to the
Department of Homeland Security
• On September 18, 2002 the Department of State
published an interim final rule stating that no F,
M or J visa be issued unless U.S. institutions also
provided U.S. consulates with electronic
notification that the visa applicant had been
accepted to the U.S. institution. A web-based
system was developed, Interim Student and
Exchange Visitor Authentication System
(ISEAS). ISEAS was in force until the full implementation
of SEVIS
• Beginning in the summer of 2002 and continuing
in the fall, the Department of Justice began
issuing rules relating to the registration and
monitoring of certain non-immigrants. On
September 6, November 6, November 22,
December 16 and January 16, 2003 the federal
government issued a succession of regulations
under the general heading of the National
Security Entry-Exit Registration System
(NSEERS).
• On May 21, 2003 the Department of State issued
a cable to all consulates requiring that all visa
applicants now be interviewed. There were
some exceptions but not F, J, H or O visa holders.
• On June 3, 2003 the Department of State issued
a cable to all consulates regarding priority visa
appointments for all F visa holders and J visa
holders in the professor, student and research
scholar categories.
• During 2002—2003 Stanford international
students and scholars witnessed an increase in
visa delays. These delays were due to a number
of causes:
1. SEVIS Technical Problems
2. Visa Delays and Denials Due to
Security Clearance Reviews
3. Visa Appointment Delays
4. Background checks based on name
or country of origin
5. Background checks based on
intended program of study or
research
• On March 1, 2003 the Immigration and Naturalization
Service ceased to exist. The Department
of Homeland Security and its various subagencies
now handled the functions of INS.
PROGRAMMATIC HIGHLIGHTS
The Programmatic Highlight of 2002-03 was the joint
celebration, in May 2003, of the 40 th Anniversary of the
Bechtel International Center and the 50 th Anniversary of
the Community Committee for International Students
(CCIS). We celebrated by
• Hosting a reception on Sunday May 4, attended
by over 200 Community Volunteers, former Staff
members, and Stanford friends
• Producing a historical time-line of the history of
CCIS which is now mounted in the Back Lounge
of the I-Center
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