FBI gains access to Sevis files

FBI gains access to Sevis files
The FBI now has the right to access information about international students on the Sevis database, but only in cases where there is justification. The change in law, introduced in September, means that special permission does not need to be granted now to FBI agents who wish to access international student data, photographs and fingerprints.
Almost 300,000 students currently have their records in the Sevis central database, according to the Daily Californian. Now in its second year of operation, Sevis has processed details for over 770,000 students and exchange visitors. The FBI was also granted the right by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to access the US Visitor and Immigration Status Indication Technology System, known as US Visit. This system records biometric data of tourists entering the USA and was expanded in September this year to include the 27 countries whose nationals were previously exempt from being fingerprinted and photographed, if on a short-term trip, due to their visa waiver status.
Since September, international students have also been required to pay US$100 to fund the operation of the Sevis system, prior to visa issuance and regardless of whether they are successful in gaining a student visa. The Sevis database records personal information such as a student's field of study in the USA, address and attendance status as well as their photograph and fingerprints.Any student not turning up at their institution once entering the country is filed as a no-show. DHS reports that more than 2,900 students were noted as no-shows in the first year of operation. Subsequent investigations resulted in 155 arrests. A number of investigations also took place into school officials trying to fraudulently issue I-20 forms to international students wanting to gain entry to the USA.