Fee in works for foreign students
By Beverly Creamer
Advertiser Education Writer
The U.S. government is not about to ease up on international students.
Now that they're all listed in a database called SEVIS — the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System — and are faced with the constant requirement to record every address and class change, the government wants more.
And so, in the next few months, foreign students are going to be charged a fee to be scrutinized.
The amount still is under consideration, but the fee is expected to be as much as $100, and could be put into effect as early as January.
"That's what they're discussing now," said Scott Stensrud, associate vice president for enrollment management at Hawai'i Pacific University. The private university's downtown Honolulu and Windward campuses have the state's largest contingent of foreign students.
"If the student pays the fee, there's no guarantee they'll get their visa," said Stensrud. "They'll have to pay this fee before their visa is processed."
Nonetheless, students are hesitant to be publicly critical of policies that govern their ability to study in this country, he said.
Stensrud said the hope is that the fee will offset the cost of the vast bureaucratic apparatus put into effect after 9-11.
Because one of the terrorists entered the country on a student visa, the nation's approximately 600,000 foreign students are being targeted for closer scrutiny.
Despite all this, HPU's foreign enrollments rose by 7 percent this year, with an additional 360 foreign students enrolling this fall. The total of foreign students at HPU last year was 1,683.
"We're definitely up in both graduate and undergraduate international students. We were relieved," said Stensrud.
At the University of Hawai'i-Manoa, by contrast, the number of foreign students has fallen from 1,613 a year ago to 1,450 this fall.
But Linda Duckworth, director of International Student Services, said the numbers are more likely to be an indication of better file accuracy than a loss of students.
In the past, foreign students have included graduate students doing research outside the United States. But the SEVIS system does not include anyone not in the country, she said.
In the rush to correct and finalize files, Duckworth's office found a handful of students whose visas had expired, and her office worked with them to correct the problems.
"There were a few who had never heard about SEVIS and found out at the port of entry," Duckworth said. "But they were admitted with a 30-day stay and told they need a new Sevis I-20. As long as you submit the necessary documents before the 30-day deadline, you're fine."
Reach Beverly Creamer at bcreamer@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8013.
