The Hill's Congress Blog: Ending student visa program abuse

By Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-Fla.)
Published April 1, 2011 12:59 PM ET

Many foreign students come to the United States with noble intentions of receiving a world-class education. Unfortunately, terrorists have taken to exploiting our nation's well-intentioned student visa process to gain access into our country.

This is why I have introduced the Student Visa Security Improvement Act (HR 1211), which will improve the background checks conducted on student visa applicants from high-risk areas and enhance America's ability to ensure that foreign students are abiding by the terms of their visas once in the United States.

While not all terrorists have come to the U.S. under the guise of a student visa, many do.

Just last month, authorities arrested Khalid Ali-M Aldawsari, a 20-year-old Saudi national studying in the U.S. on a student visa, for plotting terrorist attacks against soldiers, critical infrastructure, and President George W. Bush. Recent stories have exposed schools that have helped individuals fraudulently obtain student visas, or failed to report students that did not attend class.

Several 9/11 terrorists overstayed their student visas. The Times Square bomber, Faisal Shahzad, reportedly first entered the U.S. on a student visa. (Continue Reading Here)