INS proposes new rules for tourist, student visas

The Immigration and Naturalization Service on Monday announced changes aimed at tightening visa rules, including one that could limit the amount of time some foreigners can visit the United States to 30 days.

The agency announced a proposed rule on Monday that would reduce the minimum admission period for foreign visitors from six months to the amount of time needed to accomplish the purpose of their trip, which in many cases would be 30 days, according to the INS. The rule would also reduce the maximum stay from one year to six months.

Another rule, effective immediately, would prohibit foreigners who want to study in the U.S. from beginning class before the INS approves their student visas. Currently, foreigners with tourist or business visas can enroll in U.S. schools pending approval of a change in visa status.

The INS is also proposing to deny immigration benefits, including asylum, to aliens who fail to appear before the agency within 30 days of receiving a deportation notice. In the past, 89 percent of aliens who were issued such notices failed to appear, according to the INS. The agency will publish all three rules in the Federal Register for public comment.

"These new rules strike the appropriate balance between the INS' mission to ensure that our nation's immigration laws are followed and to stop illegal immigration, and our desire to welcome legitimate visitors to the United States," said INS Commissioner James Ziglar.

Foreigners with tourist or business visas would have to explain the purpose of their visit to the United States to an immigration inspector who would determine the length of their stay, according to the proposed rule. If an appropriate length of time cannot be determined, the INS will grant visitors a 30-day stay. The proposed rule would allow certain foreign visitors, such as those with vacation homes in the U.S., to extend their stays beyond six months.

"While we recognize that the overwhelming majority of people who come to the United States as visitors are honest and law-abiding, the events of Sept. 11 remind us that there will always be those who seek to cause us harm," Ziglar said.

In the next two months, the agency plans to process all requests for a change in visa status within 30 days, so those wishing to enroll as students can begin class as soon as possible. Sept. 11 terrorists Mohamed Atta and Marwan Alshehhi filed applications with the INS in September 2000 to change their status from visitors to students, and the agency approved their student visas in July and August 2001.

In March, the agency sent letters confirming its approval of student visas for Atta and Alshehhi to attend a Venice, Fla., flight school-six months after the Sept. 11 attacks. The incident prompted President Bush to order the Justice Department's inspector general to investigate record-keeping and mailing procedures at the INS.

Ziglar will testify Tuesday before the House Judiciary Committee on the agency's plan to reorganize itself into separate law enforcement and service bureaus to increase accountability.