Wednesday, October 31, 2001

Senators propose restricting student visas
By Spencer Hawkins
Daily Californian

BERKELEY, Calif. (U-WIRE) — California Sen. Dianne Feinstein plans to introduce a bill that would deny student visas to students from countries alleged to harbor terrorists.

As a counter-terrorism measure, Feinstein and Arizona Sen. Jon Kyl are constructing a bill that will restrict students from Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Sudan and Syria from obtaining student visas to study at universities in the United States.

Currently, students from any country may apply for a student visa, which does not require as rigorous an investigation as the regular visa process. Two of the terrorists involved in the Sept. 11 attacks were found to have entered the United States under student visas.

According to a statement from Feinstein’s office, the bill will apply intense scrutiny to the student visa program.

University of California administrators are withholding judgment until they see the actual bill, said UC Office of the President spokesman Chris Harrington.

“There are over 9,000 foreign exchange students currently enrolled in the UC system, (and) we value the research and academic contributions of these students,” Harrington said.