United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 2005-03-17 monographic deposited born digital 27 p. GA 1.13:GAO-05-440T https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-05-440T P0b002ee180374e6e f:d05440t DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-23 GAOREPORTS-GAO-05-440T machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-GAO-05-440T GAO-05-440T Cultural exchange programs Data collection Exchange of persons programs F-1 Visas Foreign students J-1 Visas Performance measures Program evaluation Program management Strategic planning Homeland security INS Student Exchange Visitor Information System Testimony A19677 The Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) is an Internet-based system run by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to collect and record information on foreign students, exchange visitors, and their dependents--before they enter the United States, when they enter, and during their stay. GAO has reported (GAO-04-690) that although the system had a number of performance problems during the first year that its use was required, several SEVIS performance indicators were positive at that time (June 2004). Nonetheless, some problems were still being reported by educational organizations. In addition, concerns have been raised that the number of international students and exchange visitors coming to the United States has been negatively affected by the U.S. visa process. Accordingly, the Congress asked GAO to testify on its work on SEVIS and related issues. This testimony is based on its June 2004 report, augmented by more recent GAO work, reports that we issued in February 2004 and 2005 on student and visiting scholar visa processing, and related recent research by others. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-05-440T/html/GAOREPORTS-GAO-05-440T.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-05-440T/pdf/GAOREPORTS-GAO-05-440T.pdf GAO-05-440T https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-05-440T Testimony GAO-05-440T; Homeland Security: Performance of Foreign Student and Exchange Visitor Information System Continues to Improve, But Issues Remain; Cultural exchange programs Data collection Exchange of persons programs F-1 Visas Foreign students J-1 Visas Performance measures Program evaluation Program management Strategic planning Homeland security INS Student Exchange Visitor Information System Public Law 104-208 Public Law 106-396