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In the January 5, 2010 Federal Register, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) outlined (pdf) its two-phase process for updating the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS). SEVIS collects information on:

• prospective, current and former foreign students, exchange visitors and their spouses entering the U.S. on F, M or J nonimmigrant visas; and
• officials of approved schools and designated sponsors.

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The Times of India reports that, beginning February 1, 2010, an online application process for U.S. visas will be launched at consulates in India. Applicants will complete applications and answer additional questions online, print out a confirmation page, and then bring the document to a consular office.

Although the global economic crisis caused a decrease in the number of U.S. visa applications overall, student visa applications from India — the United States’ top source of foreign students —was up 9%, from 94,563 to 103,260, in 2009 as compared to 2008.

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Limited slots at Chinese universities and the prestige of U.S. higher education are contributing to an influx of Chinese nationals to American colleges and universities, according to USA Today. An Institute of International Education report found that, compared with last year, enrollment by Chinese nationals has increased 21% to 98,510 undergraduate and graduate students, slightly behind India, which sends 103,260 students.

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In an effort to boost trade with India, Canada has announced a new visa scheme for business visitors from India, according to expressindia.com. The new scheme will offer multiple-entry visas to Indian citizens, and business visa applications will be cleared within 24 hours. Canada also intends to double the number of Indian students to whom visas will be awarded. The move comes as Canada and India finalize nuclear cooperation and investment protection agreements.

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Even with a considerable decrease in H-1B visa applications during the past year (nearly 20,000 visas remain available for 2009, whereas in 2008 over 163,000 applications were submitted within days of the entry period opening), issues surrounding the H-1B program remain very visible, so much so that Computerworld.com has issued a “10 top H-1B stories” list for fiscal year 2009. The following stories made the list:

1. The H-1B and L-1 Visa Reform Act of 2009. The bill would limit, to 50%, the percentage of visa holders a company could employ in its U.S. workforce.
2. Comprehensive Immigration Reform. Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY), chair of the Immigration, Refugees and Border Security subcommittee, is pushing for reform and supports the H-1B program. At a subcommittee hearing, former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan spoke in favor of the H-1B visa.
3. TARP. Congress placed H-1B restrictions on banks receiving bailout money.
4. USCIS’s Increased Enforcement Efforts. Reports indicate that 20% of H-1B applications have problems, including fraud.
5. H-1B and Wages. A New York University / University of Pennsylvania study found evidence that H-1B workers reduced tech wages by as much as 6%.
6. The Recession. The economic downturn impacted the number of H-1B applications, particularly in the past few months.
7. Department of Justice Charges. The department filed complaints alleging H-1B fraud against a dozen individuals and companies, which some claim was the largest H-1B enforcement action ever taken by the federal government.
8. The Obama Administration. The President has appointed many H-1B supporters. Officials include IT industry leaders who benefit from the program and have argued for the end of H-1B visa restrictions.
9. Legal Challenges. Tech workers challenged President George W. Bush’s decision to extend (from 12 months to 29 months) the duration of student visas, alleging it created a vehicle to side-step H-1B restrictions.
10. The Shrinking IT Job Market. The H-1B visa program is central to the debate about the effects of globalization on the technology job market.

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The Sunday Business Post reports that Ireland may require all non-EU citizens traveling to Ireland for periods of several months or longer to obtain a visa. Currently, Ireland designates countries as either “visa required” or “non-visa required,” regardless of the proposed length of stay. The proposal comes amidst concerns that student visas and other types of visas are being used to gain back-door access to Ireland’s labor market.

Beginning January 1, 2011, Ireland plans to require a visa for students staying more than three months. Under the proposal, the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service seeks to introduce a visa requirement more in line with other countries’ immigration practices. In the interim, analysis will be conducted to determine whether certain countries will be exempted and whether long-stay visitors will need visas. The proposal will not be implemented until the government is confident that changes will not adversely impact visa processing times.

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The UK Border Agency confirmed that, beginning October 5, 2009, Tier 4 education sponsors can enter phase 3, a voluntary trial period under the UK’s points-based immigration system. During the trial period, sponsors are permitted to issue potential students visa letters while transitioning to using the sponsorship system to issue confirmations of acceptance for studies.

From October 5, 2009, to February 2010, sponsors can issue confirmations, visa letters, or both to potential students applying from within the United Kingdom. Applicants from outside the United Kingdom will still have to apply with a visa letter until February 2010.

Confirmations of acceptance for studies will become mandatory in February 2010.

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According to BusinessWeek, even though the overall number of applications has increased, the number of foreign students admitted to graduate programs in the United States has decreased for the first time in five years. A struggling U.S. job market and the difficulties applicants face obtaining funding during enrollment and then visas after graduation are cited as major contributors to the decline. Most impacted are business programs, which normally enroll a considerable number of foreign students.

International students are instead opting to apply to programs in their home countries, where work visas are not an issue and the cost of education is considerably lower than in the United States. Many have turned to emerging programs in Asia and Europe. Applications to graduate programs in China rose 14% this year.

Fifty-five percent of U.S. graduate programs received more foreign applications in 2009 than in 2008, although less than half reported an increase in admission offers. U.S. graduate programs rely heavily on foreign students to meet diversity initiatives and to provide tuition income. Although a reported increase in domestic applications may fill the tuition void, the diversity gap may not be so easy to mend.

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A review conducted by Australia’s Department of Immigration and Citizenship regarding the student visa program found that Indian students breached their visa conditions at a rate three times higher than the average breach rate. As reported by The Australian, the review ranked Indian students alongside Bangladeshis and Cambodians as a level-four risk, which is the second highest risk category (no country currently ranks at the highest risk category).

As a result of these findings, rules for Indian students have been tightened: Indian students now must prove they have enough money to support themselves for the duration of their studies and must pass stricter English language tests. Critics of the tightened standards argue that they fail to distinguish between university students and vocational training students (who account for almost 80% of all Indian students in Australia).
 

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As reported by The Telegraph, officials from the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of State are planning to significantly decrease the visa processing delays faced by foreign students and researchers. Under a new “streamlined” process, the time needed for a visa security review will be reduced from several months to two weeks. American universities that rely upon foreign science and engineering graduates and doctors—especially from China and India—to lead scientific and technical research projects have complained about the delays in the American visa application process.

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A study commissioned by the Ewing Marion Kaufman Foundation, a private, nonprofit foundation, concluded that few foreign nationals studying at universities in the United States plan to remain permanently in this country to pursue careers after graduation. The study surveyed 1,224 students from India, China and Western Europe via the Facebook social networking site. The students' fields of study primarily included engineering, business and economics, computer science and biological sciences.

In previous surveys of doctoral recipients in science and engineering by the National Science Foundation, 92 percent of students from China and 85 percent of students from India said they intended to stay in the United States to work or conduct research for at least five years after graduating. In contrast, the new survey shows that only 54 percent of the students from China and 58 percent of the students from India want to stay in the United States for a few years after graduation, and only 10 percent of students from China and 6 percent of students from India said they wanted to remain permanently.

The researchers conducting the survey concluded that the results reflected the students’ assessment that there are better economic opportunities in their home countries than in the U.S. Approximately 74 percent of the students from China and 86 percent of the students from India said they believed their home countries' economies will grow faster in the future than they have in the past decade. Almost the same percent of these students said they thought it would be difficult to find a job in their field in the United States. One of the authors stated, “The challenge for the U.S. is to preserve the economic dynamism and openness that has long made us a magnet for talented immigrants."

More information about the study is available online at the Kaufman Foundation Web site at: http://www.kauffman.org/Newsroom.aspx.
 

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The Economic Times reports that Britain is preparing to impose a tax of up to £50 on applicants for student or work visas. The fee will go into a “transitional fund” to support government bodies dealing with the impact of immigration, including local authorities and police. Additional details about the fee are forthcoming; UK ministers are expected to make an announcement shortly.

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