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Foreign Student Admissions: How Does It Work and What Are the Challenges?

Episode length: 38m

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With foreign student visas at Harvard and elsewhere in the news, today's episode of Parsing Immigration Policy features Andrew Arthur, the Center for Immigration Studies fellow in law and policy, providing a crash course on the subject. He explains the foreign student admissions process, the responsibilities of schools certified to enroll foreign students, and recent policy issues. With over one million foreign students studying (and working) in America, this episode covers the national security implications of not having proper knowledge of who is being brought in and what they are doing while in the U.S.

Key topics covered:

Admissions Overview

  • The role of the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP)
  • Student's Application to SEVP-certified institutions.
  • Issuance of Form I-20 upon acceptance.
  • Visa application at U.S. consulates.
  • Which branch controls visa issuance?

Role of Designated School Officials (DSOs)

  • A DSO plays the role of a "deputized immigration officer."
  • Monitoring student status via SEVIS.
  • Reporting changes in enrollment or course of study.
  • Conflict of interest? Balancing institutional responsibilities with immigration compliance.

Optional Practical Training (OPT)

  • Students working under the OPT program are still on student visas.
  • Will these students lose their ability to be employed as cheap labor?

Policy Challenges

  • Why did the Trump administration revoke Harvard University's SEVP certification?
  • Potential impact/lack of impact of the District Court's temporary restraining order (TRO).
  • Impact on other schools.

In today's commentary, Mark Krikorian, podcast host and executive director of the Center, highlights today's main illegal immigration challenge: visa overstays. He cites the recent Colorado attack committed by a visa overstayer as an example of the importance of action and describes some of the solutions which are in the reconciliation bill.

Host

Mark Krikorian is the Executive Director of the Center for Immigration Studies

Guest

Andrew Arthur is the Resident Fellow of Law and Policy at the Center for Immigration Studies.

Related

DHS Pulls Harvard’s Student-Visa Certification Authority

Controversial DHS Program Allows Foreign Students to Train in Sensitive Fields

There Are 1.5 Million Foreign Students in the United States (and Over a Third Have Work Authorization)

Not all illegal-alien criminals are border-jumpers

Intro Montage

Voices in the opening montage:

  • Sen. Barack Obama at a 2005 press conference.
  • Sen. John McCain in a 2010 election ad.
  • President Lyndon Johnson, upon signing the 1965 Immigration Act.
  • Booker T. Washington, reading in 1908 from his 1895 Atlanta Exposition speech.
  • Laraine Newman as a "Conehead" on SNL in 1977.
  • Hillary Clinton in a 2003 radio interview.
  • Cesar Chavez in a 1974 interview.
  • House Speaker Nancy Pelosi speaking to reporters in 2019.
  • Prof. George Borjas in a 2016 C-SPAN appearance.
  • Sen. Jeff Sessions in 2008 comments on the Senate floor.
  • Candidate Trump in 2015 campaign speech.
  • Charlton Heston in "Planet of the Apes".
Host:
Mark Krikorian