Aug. 1 marked a new historical landmark in American history: No explorer discovered a new island, no war ended and no leader was assassinated.

Instead, schools across the United States officially implemented the new Student Exchange and Visitor Infosystem Act, which makes monitoring international students and scholars a full-time job for government agencies.

The USA PATRIOT Act was preceded by a 1996 proposal. After Sept. 11, SEVIS was passed into law in 2001 as part of the PATRIOT Act.

SEVIS includes many provisions, each with the goal of keeping track of international students electronically. The new registration is completely computer-based, creating a database of all international students in the United States for easier review. The old Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services procedures, which included interviews for prospective students, are being categorized electronically for easier access as well.

What this means for international students is a mountain of paperwork and anxiety that could result in severe inconveniences in the form of follow-up interviews with FBI agents, said Sidney Greenblatt, associate director for advising and counseling at the Slutzker Center for International Services.

Well before the PATRIOT Act made SEVIS a reality, rules for international students were well-defined and well-documented. Most of these rules are still in effect, even though SEVIS modifies many of them. Students must fall into a certain type of program of study, be it full-time or part-time, depending on their visa. Rules for employment are even more strict, making it difficult for many students to find an off-campus job.

Although SEVIS is completely electronic and therefore supposed to better aid students and government alike, the system has already proven unreliable and difficult to work with, according to university officials.

‘It’s a technical system that takes a toll on students, and the difficulty here is that it’s not easily amended … We’ve had a lot of problems,’ Greenblatt said.

He cited an instance when a returning student had to wait so long for her visa that, by the time she gained clearance, the faculty adviser for her project no longer worked at the university. These inconveniences are not rare for the new system – delays of one to six months for a visa have become the norm for some international students.

But in its most extreme incarnation, SEVIS can act as a detainer for any applying student who fits a demographic that has been deemed potentially dangerous, Greenblatt said. If a student’s registration meets certain red-flag characteristics, or if the student fails to meet the stringent requirements for all international students, the consequences could be an inability to obtain a visa.

Red flags can range from nationality to major, drawing mainly from terrorist profiles. Sample red flags include Middle Eastern nationality, a major in any type of science, or both. If a student stands out with one too many red flags, he or she must complete a special registration which culminates in an interview with an FBI agent.

‘My uncle is a Muslim, and he doesn’t kill anyone,’ said Michele Etges, a freshman film major with dual citizenship in the United States and Switzerland.

Etges also noted how much less privacy she has been afforded here, as opposed to in her native Switzerland. When her credit had to be reviewed in order for her to purchase a cell phone, she was shocked to be denied on the basis of a lack of credit history. In Switzerland, the invasions of privacy, which Americans accept as part of their daily lives, are unheard of.

But many American citizens and international students alike agree on the need for such a strict and unforgiving system. Two years after Sept. 11, the threat of terrorism still hangs heavy for many.

‘I think if we look back at all those people who were in pilot school, I think we should’ve looked into them,’ said Carol Everingham, a professor of French. ‘I think the government should know what [classes] non-Americans are taking.’

For those who still feel the pain of Sept. 11, SEVIS and the rest of the PATRIOT Act are more than justified.

‘I think it’s creepy, but I understand that it’s needed to keep [terrorism] from happening,’ said Zuhaili Akmal, a freshman computer engineering major from Malaysia.

The Syracuse Common Council has passed a resolution that counteracts many of the more extreme aspects of the PATRIOT Act. The Resolution to Protect Civil Liberties states that ‘government security measures that undermine fundamental rights do damage American institutions and values.’ The resolution, one of 160 similar ones around the country, urges local institutions and agencies to respect the privacy of citizens.

As SEVIS becomes fine-tuned, the system will become more and more adept at tracking international students and scholars. The USA PATRIOT Act may soon be followed by PAT-2, which, Greenblatt said, would allow for complete government access to all e-mail communications as well as several other drastic changes which would even further enhance the power of the government over international students.

Published on September 11, 2003 at 12:00 pm