There are three main avenues for students from other countriesto temporarily come to the United States to study, and each involves admission as a nonimmigrant. The three visa categories used by foreign students are: F visas for academic study; M visas forvocational study; and J visas for cultural exchange. (1) 

	Legislative History of the Student Monitoring System

		Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act

When Congress enacted the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act(IIRIRA) of 1996, it added statutory language mandating that the Attorney General, in consultationwith the Secretaries of State and Education, develop by January 1, 1998, a program to collect thefollowing data on foreign students from at least five countries:
identity and address of the alien;
nonimmigrant classification of the alien (i.e., F, J, or M classification), dateof visa issuance, and any change or extension;
academic status of the alien (e.g., full-time enrollment);and
any disciplinary action taken by the school, college, or university as a resultof a crime committed by the alien. The law mandated that the data collection be extended to include all countries by 2003. IIRIRArequired the former Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) (2) to collect the informationelectronically "where practical." It also mandated that educational institutions report this informationto INS as a condition of continued approval to enroll foreign students. 107-56 ) included provisions to expand the foreign studenttracking system and authorized $36.8 million in appropriations for the foreign student monitoringsystem. (4)

	Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS)

The foreign student monitoring system created by the INS is referred to as the Student andExchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS). (5) SEVIS automated an existing manual data collection process. SEVIS became operational for allincoming students on February 15, 2003, the deadline for all institutions which had previously beenapproved to admit foreign students to apply for SEVIS certification (6) and enter all new students intothe SEVIS system. (8) Theeducational institutions were given until August 1, 2003, the same day in which all schools wererequired to have their SEVIS certification completed, to enter all continuing students into the system. Issues

Management of SEVIS. Nonetheless,schools have reported discrepancies between information received from USCIS and ICE regardingSEVIS operations and requirements. (19) 
Nonetheless, there have been few stories in the press of foreign students having problemsentering the United States as a result of the implementation of SEVIS. Through SEVIS, DHS should be able to identify students who have violated the terms oftheir visas; (26) however,some have questioned whether DHS has the staff to locate all student visa violators, and whether itis a beneficial use of DHS resources to do so. There are also concerns that SEVIS errors will leadto unwarranted enforcement action taken against innocent students. (28) 
Delays in Visa Issuances.
There has been increased interest in monitoring foreign students while maintaining the longtradition of permitting international scholars to study in the United States. There are three mainavenues for students from other countries to temporarily come to the United States to study, and eachinvolves admission as a nonimmigrant. The three visa categories used by foreign students are: Fvisas for academic study; M visas for vocational study; and J visas for cultural exchange. Recently,the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) implemented an electronic foreign student monitoringsystem.
When Congress enacted the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act(IIRIRA) of 1996, it added statutory language mandating that the Attorney General, in consultationwith the Secretaries of State and Education, develop by January 1, 1998, a program to collect dataon foreign students from at least five countries, and mandated that by 2003, the data collectioninclude all countries. IIRIRA required the former Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) tocollect the information electronically "where practical." The USA Patriot Act of 2001 includedprovisions to expand the foreign student tracking system and authorized appropriations for thesystem, which was supposed to be funded through fees, paid by the students. The Enhanced BorderSecurity and Visa Entry Reform Act of 2002 increased monitoring of foreign students and closedperceived loopholes.
The foreign student monitoring system created by the former INS, and mandated in IIRIRA,is referred to as the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS). SEVIS, whichautomated an existing manual data collection process, became operational for all incoming studentson February 15, 2003, the deadline for all institutions which had previously been approved to admitforeign students to apply for SEVIS certification and enter all new students into the SEVIS system. The educational institutions were given until August 1, 2003 to enter all continuing students into thesystem, and to have their SEVIS certification completed. Currently, there are 599,617 activestudents in SEVIS.
There have been few stories in the press of foreign students having problems entering theUnited States as a result of the implementation of SEVIS. Nonetheless, schools have reportedtechnical difficulties operating SEVIS, and reported discrepancies between information receivedfrom different bureaus in DHS regarding SEVIS operations and requirements. Additionally, somehave noted delays in student visa processing. Prior to the implementation of SEVIS it was difficultto know when foreign students overstayed their visas. Through SEVIS, DHS should be able toidentify students who have violated the terms of their visas; however, some question whether DHShas the staff to locate all student visa violators, and whether it is a beneficial use of DHS resourcesto do so. Others are concerned that clerical errors will lead to unwarranted enforcement actions. This report will be updated as needed.