Homeland Security: Performance of Information System to Monitor Foreign Students and Exchange Visitors Has Improved, but Issues Remain

DHS's approach to addressing this recommendation is through the introduction of a new Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) system, known as SEVIS II. Specifically, in June 2006, DHS reported that the Student Exchange and Visitor Program (SEVP) would transition to SEVIS II. To this end, DHS developed a SEVIS II System Requirements Document, dated September 2008, which includes a number of system performance requirements, such as operational availability (the system is to be operationally available 99.5 percent of the time, allowing for planned system maintenance), response time (the database is to respond to a query by account number for core biographic data in less than 10 seconds), and storage capacity (the database will store 12,500,000 eligibility records). Moreover, DHS's Fiscal Year 2009 Exhibit 300 budget submission to the Office of Management and Budget includes a number of performance goals and measures for SEVIS and SEVIS II. If DHS effectively implements and operationally manages SEVIS II, it should meet the intent of this recommendation, and therefore, we consider it to be generally implemented at this juncture.

DHS's approach to addressing this recommendation is through the introduction of a new Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) system, known as SEVIS II. Specifically, in June 2006, DHS reported that the Student Exchange and Visitor Program (SEVP) would transition to SEVIS II. To this end, DHS developed a SEVIS II System Requirements Document, dated September 2008, which includes a number of system performance requirements, such as operational availability (the system is to be operationally available 99.5 percent of the time, allowing for planned system maintenance), response time (the database is to respond to a query by account number for core biographic data in less than 10 seconds), and storage capacity (the database will store 12,500,000 eligibility records). Moreover, DHS's Fiscal Year 2009 Exhibit 300 budget submission to the Office of Management and Budget includes a number of performance goals and measures for SEVIS and SEVIS II. If DHS effectively implements and operationally manages SEVIS II, it should meet the intent of this recommendation, and therefore, we consider it to be generally implemented at this juncture.

SEVP has instituted several measures to improve the timeliness and quality of the Help Desk's responses. To address timeliness of Help Desk responses, SEVP has: (1) implemented a process to ensure that all high priority Help Desk tickets are reviewed and escalated as necessary; (2) implemented a process with the Department of State in order to involve State in the process of correcting data fixes in a timely manner; and (3) begun gathering weekly statistics on related performance measures which are reviewed by SEVP program management. To address quality of Help Desk responses, SEVP has: (1) implemented a process for continually updating a knowledge-based computer tool that the Help Desk staff use to answer questions; (2) initiated periodic visits to the Help Desk staff by agency management; (3) begun to conduct weekly conference calls with Help Desk supervisors; and (4) continued to conduct monthly teleconferences with user representatives.

In June 2004, we reported that the Department of Homeland Security's Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) had plans for collecting a fee for implementing and administering the program, but that about 7 years had passed since the collection of the fee was first required by legislation and that SEVP's plans had not yet been approved, much less implemented. Accordingly, we recommended that the DHS Secretary direct the Assistant Secretary of Immigration and Customs Enforcement to take the necessary steps to provide for the expeditious implementation of the fee collection. SEVP began collecting the fee in September 2004. Further, SEVP estimates total fee collections for fiscal years 2005 through 2009 to be $239,361,844. The total net present value is $229,976,688. As a result of implementing the fee collection, the agency became full-fee funded as of October 1, 2004, and no longer relies on appropriated funds in order to operate the program.