College officials are struggling to meet an August 1 deadline to register all foreign students with federal authorities under post-September 11 security laws, but they complain many innocent foreigners could be denied an American education or even be deported due to computer glitches in the registration system. Across the United States, campus offices that deal with foreign students are now cutting back day-to-day services and working 14-hour days, but administrators say they still are stymied in trying to load information into the Student and Exchange Visitor Information Service, known as SEVIS. ‘‘The database is flawed. It couldn’t have been done worse,’’ said Gail Szenes, director of New York University’s Office for International Students and Scholars. Foreigners omitted from the database will face strict scrutiny before their visas are renewed, and administrators fear some students will be denied visas unfairly simply because their names are not properly registered. Worse, they say, is that some foreign students will feel compelled to turn elsewhere for higher education, creating tensions not alliances between the United States and young men and women likely to become influential leaders in their own countries. The tightened vigil has already dissuaded students from applying for higher education in the US. Michael Brzezinski, director of the International Students Office at Purdue University, said that last summer 60 students at the Indiana school were denied visas or got them late, several for minor technical reasons. He said that until SEVIS is made more efficient, the trend will likely continue.
