Study in the US: Stricter student visa procedures

The US department of Homeland and Security has announced stricter student visa checks for international students, including those from India. The change comes after the Boston Bombings on April 15 this year. One of the students associated in the bombings entered the US on a student visa after he ceased to be a student. The problem was that the border agent at the airport did not have access to SEVIS, the Homeland Security Department’s Student and Exchange Visitor Information Service. Under current procedures, a student’s visa status could only be verified under SEVIS if a student was taken for additional questioning. This has now been changed as border agents will have access to the SEVIS database. Border agents will verify a student’s visa status before they arrive in the US from information on the passenger list of the flight. US officials expect an automated system to be up by the end of May. Officials are manually checking student visa information until then. It is not known what effects this procedure will have at airports for Indian students or how long the waiting time will now be. Sudakshina Ghosh May 13, 2013 http://www.indiancolleges.com/education-news/Study-in-the-US-Stricter-student-visa-procedures/4120