U.S. flips policy on part-time students

The U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service did an about-face Monday and decided to allow part-time Canadian students to enroll in U.S. schools permanently—though more paperwork will be involved.
In the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks, the INS initially said no part-time foreign students, including Canadians, would be allowed to study at U.S. schools after April.
Then just earlier this month, that policy was revised to extend through the end of 2002.
Now, that restriction has been lifted though under the revised policy, Canadian students must show proof of enrolment to Customs inspectors when entering the U.S.
“This new rule will prevent the significant disruption of part-time studies, which have become an accepted fact of life along our borders with Mexico and Canada,” INS Commissioner James Ziglar said in a release.
To qualify, students must attend an INS recognized school no more than 120 km from the border. They also must obtain an I-20 Certificate of Eligibility for Non-immigrant Student Status form from their school, which is proof of enrolment.
“It’s a very positive step,” Carol Grim, director of public information and development for Rainy River Community College in International Falls, said yesterday.
Grim said only about 50 students are affected by this change but added RRCC was committed to ensuring they would have access to classes on a part-time basis.
The change will mean RRCC will have to issue enrolment forms to all Canadian students but since they often deal with full-time foreign students, Grim didn’t see this as a problem.
“I’m delighted that they did this,” she enthused. “It is a pretty common-sense resolution to the border community asking the INS to be reasonable.”
INS spokesperson Tim Counts said that while international full-time students are permitted to attend U.S. schools, there was never any regulation covering part-time ones.
At many border crossings, part-time students were permitted to enter for school but there was no firm policy on the issue.
“[After Sept. 11], the INS and the Department of Justice decided to tighten it up and implement [a policy] across the entire nation,” Counts explained.
When the INS first announced plans to tighten the regulations, it received stiff opposition from communities along both borders.
“There seemed to be a lot of people who couldn’t afford to or didn’t have the time to go to school full-time but were doing this,” Counts noted.
“It was going to affect a lot of people that were law-abiding and they were given permission by INS to do so over the years.”
Students will have until Dec. 31 to acquire an I-20 form, entering under a “parole” status until that time, but Counts urged everyone to get it as soon as possible.
Part-time students with at least 50 percent of native American blood do not even require an I-20 form to cross the border, Counts noted.
Those native students who can provide documentation of their status merely can apply for a green card and pass back and forth across the border freely.
While border communities and schools are pleased by Monday’s decision, there will be new security measures to deal with.
In January, the INS will have an online reporting system called the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS). Schools will be required to report on foreign students, including part-time commuters, with this system.
“SEVIS will be invisible to a lot of students. It is an automated, electronic tracking system taking what schools and government already do on paper and automating it,” Counts said.
He added once the program is up and running, it actually could make it easier for schools to issue I-20 forms and transfer data to the government when asked.
Grim wasn’t sure if the college’s online registration program would be compatible with the proposed tracking system, or how much additional work would be required for these changes, but she said it definitely would be worth the effort.
Counts was equally relieved by the new rules. “All three countries benefit from people being able to go to school here,” he said.