Speech #1100138597

Our legislation would create a White Housechaired International Education Coordinating Council to guide the work of the myriad agencies that affect our competitiveness for international students and exchange visitors. One of the most important provisions in the legislation would remove the nonimmigrant intent requirement for international students. the socalled 214(b) rule. This outdated requirement that all applicants for student visas must intend to return home after their studies makes no sense. especially when talentstarved hightech indus154. Pt. 2 2305 tries actively court international students upon graduation. As I stated earlier. our ability to attract international talent is essential to sustaining our competitive edge in the world. Retaining such a requirement is simply out of step in this day and age. especially when most of our competitors are going out of their way to enact policies to make it easier for international students to stay after graduation. The bill calls for further improvement in the timeliness and efficiency of the visa issuance process for those in the sciences. It directs the Secretary of State to issue guidance to reduce the length of time to issue visas to scientists to a maximum of 30 days. and to provide a special review process for those cases that are delayed more than 45 days. It also directs the Secretary of State to review and update the Technology Alert List on a regular basis. and to consult with academia and the private sector as part of this review. to ensure the list reflects the current state of technology. It also calls for expediting visa reviews for socalled "Trusted Travelers": easily identifiable. lowrisk frequent travelers who have a history of past visa approvals. havent violated their immigration status. and have provided their biometric data. plus any additional information required. to the consulate. This would both ease travel for these individuals and permit consular resources to be focused on more important cases. There is also a provision to also allow expedited visa reviews for international students. scholars and exchange visitors who leave the United States temporarily to visit their families or attend conferences and require a new visa to return to the same program. Today. these people can be stranded abroad for months without being able to return to their programs. The legislation calls for the reinstatement of domestic or stateside visa renewals for those here on employmentbased nonimmigrant visas. This practice was discontinued in 2004. because U.S. consulates abroad were better equipped to collect the required biometric data from the renewal applicant. Given todays available technology. we should seek to reinstate this practice.