May 20, 2002
Office of the Inspector General
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PRESS RELEASE
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
- Introduction
- Organization of the Report
CHAPTER TWO: BACKGROUND
- Organizational Structure of the INS
- Visitor Visas
- Entrance of nonimmigrants into the United States
- Description of visitor visa classifications
- Length of stay permitted by the visitor visa
- Period of validity of the visa
- Length of admission under the B-1/B-2 classification
- Foreign Students
CHAPTER THREE: ATTA'S AND ALSHEHHI'S ENTRIES INTO
THE UNITED STATES
- Introduction
- The Inspection Process
- The primary inspection process
- The secondary inspection process
- Atta's Entries into the United States
- Atta's first entry - June 3, 2000, Newark, New Jersey
- Atta's second entry - January 10, 2001, Miami, Florida
- Processing Atta at the POE
- OIG analysis
- Effect of departure while change of status application is pending
- Atta's length of admission
- Atta's third entry - July 19, 2001, Miami, Florida
- Alshehhi's Entries into the United States
- Alshehhi's first entry - May 29, 2000, Newark, New Jersey
- Alshehhi's second entry - January 18, 2001, New York, New York
- Alshehhi's third entry - May 2, 2001, Miami, Florida
- OIG Conclusions on the INS's Admission of Atta and Alshehhi
CHAPTER FOUR: THE INS'S DELAYED PROCESSING OF ATTA'S
AND ALSHEHHI'S APPLICATIONS FOR CHANGE OF STATUS
- Introduction
- Process to Obtain Nonimmigrant Student Status
- Huffman Aviation's Initiation of Atta's and Alshehhi's Applications
for Change of Status
- Processing at the Texas Service Center
- INS service center organization and mission
- Processing and adjudication of I-539 applications for change of status
- Pre-adjudication processing
- The adjudication process
- The TSC did not adjudicate Atta's And Alshehhi's I-539 applications in a timely manner
- RAFACS history for Atta's I-539 application
- RAFACS history for Alshehhi's I-539 application
- Backlogs at the TSC
- Delay in the transmission of the school I-20 form to ACS
- ACS's Processing of the School Copies of Atta's and Alshehhi's I-20 Forms
- ACS contract to process INS immigration forms
- How ACS processes I-20 forms
- The mailing of Atta's and Alshehhi's I-20s to Huffman Aviation
- OIG's analysis of ACS's processing of the I-20s
- Atta's and Alshehhi's I-20s were handled in the same manner as other I-20s received by ACS at the time
- Atta's I-20
- Alshehhi's I-20
- The contract requirements for handling I-20s after
processing
- OIG Conclusions Regarding the Delay in Sending the I-20 Forms to Huffman Aviation
- Adjudication of Atta's and Alshehhi's I-539s
- Requirements for approval for I-539 change of status
- Signature requirement
- Proof that applicant timely filed the application
- Evidence requirement
- Length of stay for nonimmigrant vocational students
- Information that could have affected the adjudication
- Completion of the course by Atta and Alshehhi on December 19, 2000
- Lack of sufficient hours for "full course of study"
- Departures by Atta and Alshehhi while their I-539 applications were pending
- Production pressures and the I-539
- OIG conclusions regarding the adjudication of Atta's and Alshehhi's change of status applications
CHAPTER FIVE: THE INS'S FAILURE TO STOP DELIVERY OF
THE I-20S TO HUFFMAN AVIATION
- Introduction
- Actions of ACS and INS Employees
- Actions of ACS
- Actions of ACS and INS Employees
- Retrieval of the Atta and Alshehhi files at the TSC
- Actions taken by TSC and INS Headquarters managers
- Reasons TSC and Immigration Services Division personnel
did not stop the I-20s before they were mailed to Huffman Aviation
- TSC personnel
- Immigration Services Division managers
- OIG analysis
- Actions of INS Headquarters Enforcement Division personnel
- Organization of Enforcement Division
- Events at INS Headquarters on and around September 11
- Enforcement Division requests for information and the handling of Atta's and Alshehhi's files
- Reasons stated by Enforcement personnel for not asking
for all INS records or files related to the terrorists
- OIG analysis
- The INS's Response to OIG Criticism
CHAPTER SIX: THE INS'S FOREIGN STUDENT PROGRAM
- Introduction
- Background
- Scope and methodology of review
- Statistics on student visas
- The student visa application process
- Deficiencies in the Foreign Student Program
- Inadequacies in the INS's process for approving schools
- Legal requirements for schools to be certified to accept
foreign students
- The I-17 petition and the INS's certification process
- Inadequate resources devoted to school approval process
- Lack of in-person interviews and site visits prior to
approval
- Lack of re-certifications
- Review of Huffman Aviation file
- Lack of security features on I-20 forms
- Inadequacies in collecting information concerning student
status
- Deficiencies in the Student and Schools System (STSC)
database
- Lack of enforcement
- Lack of training for designated school officials and INS schools officers
- Student and Exchange Visitor System (SEVIS)
- History of SEVIS
- How SEVIS will work
- Data to be collected in SEVIS concerning foreign students
and exchange visitors
- Data to be collected concerning schools
- SEVIS procedures
- School certifications
- Issuance of I-20 to foreign student
- State Department access to SEVIS
- Inspectors' access to SEVIS and updating of student's record that student has entered the country
- Updating of student's record once student enrolls in
school
- Schedule for implementation
- OIG analysis of SEVIS
- Deficiencies that SEVIS will address
- Improved data collection
- Improving fraud detection and deterrence
- Deficiencies SEVIS will not address
- SEVIS implementation difficulties
- Ensuring that approved schools are re-certified prior to the January 30, 2003, implementation deadline
- Collecting the processing fee as required by statute
- Conclusion
CHAPTER SEVEN: THE INS'S PROPOSED CHANGES
REGARDING FOREIGN STUDENTS
- Introduction
- Proposed Processing Changes
- Processing the student copy of the I-20
- Database checks before I-539s are adjudicated
- Check of NIIS database
- Check of the Interagency Border Inspection System
- Performance standards for CAOs
- Proposed regulatory changes
- Proposed change: Aliens who enter the country without a
student visa may not begin a course of study until their I-539 petition for change of status to student has been adjudicated favorably.
- Proposed change: A visitor entering the country must articulate reasons that would support a length of stay longer than 30 days, and if the visitor cannot the default admission period will be 30 days.
- Proposed change: Require prospective foreign students to demonstrate their intent to attend school at the time they are admitted on a B-1/B-2 visa in order to be eligible later to seek a change of status to F-1 or M-1.
- Proposed change: Require flight schools to initiate background and fingerprint checks when a student seeks to learn how to fly a plane over 12,500 pounds.
CHAPTER EIGHT: RECOMMENDATIONS
- Introduction
- Recommendations
- Management of the foreign student program
- Recommendations that affect all foreign students
- Implementation of SEVIS
- Defining "prospective student"
- Capturing information about part-time students
- Recommendations that affect nonimmigrants who wish to change their status to that of a student
- Adequate resources to ensure processing of I-539
applications in 30 days
- IBIS checks
- Recommendations that affect immigration inspectors
- Abandonment of I-539 applications
- I-193 waivers
- General recommendations
- Performance standards for CAOs
- INS policies
CHAPTER NINE: CONCLUSION
APPENDIX: