U.S. Eases Certain Visa Requirements on Students and Scientists

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The U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Friday relaxed certain visa requirements for foreign students and scientists working in sensitive technical fields. People who work or study in the United States under the so-called Visas Mantis program will now be able to maintain their security clearances for up to four years, rather than needing to renew the clearances annually.

The Visas Mantis program was established in 1998 by officials who were concerned about the international transfer of nuclear, biomedical, and computer technology. Following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the U.S. State Department began to enforce the program much more stringently, and the number of applicants who underwent background checks increased nearly twentyfold.

The delays associated with the Mantis program have frequently been cited as a cause of the recent decline in foreign students in the United States. Students have sometimes found themselves stuck in their home countries for weeks or months, awaiting the completion of new background checks identical to the checks they had undergone the previous year.

In a statement on Friday, Nils Hasselmo, president of the Association of American Universities, praised the newly liberalized policy as "a common-sense reform that removes an unnecessary burden that caused enormous inconvenience for thousands of international students and discouraged many more from coming here to study."

The new policy, which had been rumored for several months, resulted from "a recognition that we needed to make the process as transparent and smooth a one as we could, while keeping in mind our security requirements," Angela P. Aggeler, a spokeswoman for the State Department's Bureau of Consular Affairs, said in an interview on Friday. The bureau consulted closely with the Homeland Security Department in crafting the new regulations.

Under the new policy, international students who hold F visas and who work in sensitive fields that are subject to the Mantis program will be permitted to maintain their security clearances for the full length of their academic program, up to a maximum of four years. Students who transfer between institutions or otherwise change academic programs, however, must undergo a new Mantis clearance when renewing their visas.

• Congress Blocks Exemptions That Colleges Had Hoped Would Ease Visa Delays (12/9/2004)

• Foreign Enrollments at American Universities Drop for the First Time in 32 Years (11/10/2004)

• Fixing the Visa Quagmire (10/8/2004)

• U.S. May Extend Security Clearances (9/10/2004)