State Department Eases Re-entry Rules for Foreign Students and Scholars

NOTE: On November 13, 2003, the American Association of Universities (AAU) issued the following announcement concerning changes to the U. S. State Department "Visa Mantis" rules. The Mantis program was developed due to law enforcement/intelligence community concerns about U.S. security vulnerabilities. The Mantis program is a name-checking system for visa applications used by U.S consulates and embassies worldwide.

These changes affect many students and scholars and will ease travel arrangements especially for those scholars making short trips to attend conferences outside of the United States. Before making any travel decisions based on these changes, we strongly urge all foreign students and scholars to consult with their specific UC campus office of international student and scholar services. The URLs for each campus office are listed at the end of the announcement. The text of the announcement follows:

The State Department issued a cable October 7 that will make it easier for all foreign visitors who have received a Visa Mantis security clearance — including students, scholars, and researchers — to exit and reenter the United States.

The cable extends the validity of all Mantis clearances to 12 months, provided that specific conditions are satisfied. Among the conditions is the requirement that the individual must be "returning to the same program or activity to perform the same duties or functions at the same facility or organization that was the basis for the original Mantis clearance."

This change will allow all international students and scholars who have received a Visa Mantis clearance and meet this requirement to exit and reenter the U.S. for a period of one year without having to undergo a second Visa Mantis security review. After that one-year period, a previously Mantis-cleared international student or scholar who travels outside the U.S. will have to acquire a new Visa Mantis clearance.

The 12-month Visa Mantis clearance had previously been granted only to individuals in U.S. government-sponsored programs. The October 7 cable expands that eligibility to all Mantis-cleared individuals. The cable also states that Chinese and Russia nationals will be issued only three-month, single-entry visas. If they leave the U.S. and wish to come back within 12 months, those individuals will have to get new visas but will not have to undergo a new Visa Mantis clearance.

AAU and the higher education community have advocated for a practical reentry process for international students and scholars as one element of a visa issuance process that is secure, timely, efficient, transparent, and predictable; that will permit scientific exchange and collaboration; and that enhances homeland security. This change to the Visa Mantis procedure is a significant and positive step. It may reduce the number of visa delays international students and scholars experience as they travel to and from international scientific conferences and collaborations and/or travel for personal or other reasons.

Links to campus offices for international student and scholar services:

Berkeley: http://www.ias.berkeley.edu/siss/

Davis: http://siss.ucdavis.edu/

Irvine: http://www.ic.uci.edu/about.html

Los Angeles: http://www.intl.ucla.edu/

Riverside: http://www.internationalcenter.ucr.edu/

San Diego: http://orpheus.ucsd.edu/icenter/isso/

San Francisco: http://student.ucsf.edu/siss/

Santa Barbara: http://www.oiss.ucsb.edu/

Santa Cruz: http://www2.ucsc.edu/oie/is3/