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ISEAS: FURTHER CLARIFICATION AND INSTRUCTIONS

P 112339Z SEP 02
FM SECSTATE WASHDC
TO ALL DIPLOMATIC AND CONSULAR POSTS PRIORITY
SPECIAL EMBASSY PROGRAM PRIORITY
AMEMBASSY DUSHANBE PRIORITY
AMEMBASSY KABUL PRIORITY
AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM PRIORITY

UNCLAS STATE 175386

 

VISAS, FOR CONSULS, ALSO FOR PAOS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: CVIS, CMGT, KPAO
SUBJECT: ISEAS: FURTHER CLARIFICATION AND INSTRUCTIONS

REF: STATE 174234

1. Reftel announced the launch of the Interim Student and
Exchange Authentication System (ISEAS), and provided
consular officers with basic instructions and advised
the field of back-up procedures to ensure that consular
officers receive timely electronic verification of
enrollment from the sponsoring educational institutions
during the first 30 days of ISEAS implementation. This
cable repeats and amplifies back-up instructions and
provide consular officers with "how-to" ISEAS
procedures.

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Back-up Procedures
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2. Per para 14 of reftel, while some institutions and
program sponsors may quickly satisfy the requirement for
electronic authentication of F, J or M visa status using
ISEAS, Department expects that the majority will be
unable to so quickly add the required data into the
system. Therefore, for up to 30 days after ISEAS''
September 11, 2002, launch, posts are authorized to
accept e-mail notification of F, M or J status in the
cases of students/exchange visitors who apply for visas
before their sponsoring institutions/organizations have
had an opportunity to enter the required data into
ISEAS. Posts are advised that, in most cases, if data
regarding a particular F, M or J visa applicant is not
in ISEAS, the applicant should be advised to contact his
or her sponsoring institution or program and advise it
of the need to provide electronic confirmation. In most
cases an ISEAS entry remains the best option; however,
should this option prove unworkable during this 30-day
period, posts may accept direct e-mail confirmation of
status. Posts are reminded of the need to provide such
applicants with an e-mail address that will be monitored
on a regular basis for status authentications.

3. At their discretion, posts may send e-mail inquiries
directly to the sponsoring institutions and request e-
mail confirmation of enrollment. Posts in many cases
may be able to obtain e-mail addresses using internet
search engines or from the visa applicant directly. CA
and ECA will work on obtaining lists of institutional
web pages, and will be available to assist consular
officers in locating e-mail addresses. If posts cannot
make the electronic verification directly, the Visa
Office working with ECA will seek the electronic
verification from the sponsoring institution upon
request from post.

4. Note: Academic institutions and exchange program
sponsors have been advised by the Department to limit e-
mail confirmations solely to those cases in which a visa
applicant has contacted them regarding the need to
provide a specific post with electronic notification.
End note.

5. In response to the most frequently asked questions from
posts in ISEAS'' first day of operation: 1) Electronic
notification is/is required of F-2, J-2 and M-2 visa
applicants. 2) Ensure that officers are logging into
the ISEAS verification screen on the Consular Affairs
Intranet Home Page (see para 6 below), and not the
internet site intended for academic institutions and
exchange program sponsors. 3) Regarding DS-2019 forms
filled out by your USIA/PAO colleagues at post - during
the first 30 days of ISEAS, conoffs may accept internal
e-mail or verbal confirmation of visa eligibility.
However, as of October 11, 2002, all program sponsors,
including U.S. government sponsors, must enter
electronic authentication of status utilizing ISEAS.
The Enhanced Border Security and Visa Entry Reform Act
of 2002 does not provide for alternate notification from
USG program sponsors. 4) Posts should retain a record
of electronic authentication of F, J or M status as part
of the NIV file.

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ISEAS How-to
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6. The "Interim Student and Exchange Authentication System
(ISEAS) " Post Verification" site is now up on the
Consular Affairs Intranet Home Page, under "New &
Noteworthy Items" as well as "Consular Favorites."
Clicking on the title will bring up the ISEAS login
screen with two simple boxes. To log into the
application, please take the following steps: 1) select
your post name from the drop down list, 2) enter your
(OpenNet) login name in the Login Name field. (Enter the
login name that you use daily to log onto the Department
of State OpenNet, normally last name, first initial,
middle initial), 3) click on the login button.

7. A successful log in will bring up the Student/Exchange
Visitor Query page with your post name and login name
displayed at the top of the screen. From this page
users can:

- Query student/exchange visitor data to find the
records of students and exchange visitors who have had
electronic acceptance data submitted to ISEAS by
approved schools or program sponsors.

- Mark student and exchange visitor records as verified
to document that a particular record in ISEAS has been
used to verify that the student/exchange visitor has
been accepted by an approved school or program sponsor.

- Query dependent data to find dependents of
students/exchange visitors who have had electronic
acceptance data submitted to ISEAS by approved schools
or program sponsors.

- Mark dependent records as verified to document that a
particular record in ISEAS has been used to verify the
dependent of a student/exchange visitor.

8. Both of these screens contain links and help buttons
that provide further clarification of any of the
particular functions. For example, clicking on the
"Mark Student/Exchange Visitor Records" link returns the
following clarification:

Begin cite:

To mark query student/exchange visitor records, take
the following steps:

- Follow steps 1-3 of Query student/exchange visitor
data to find the record which you wish to mark as

verified.

- Review the data to make sure that the record matches
the paper form submitted by the student/exchange

visitor.

- Click on the radio button for that record (this is
the button that is displayed on the far left of the

query results screen.)

- Please Note: Only one record can be selected at a
time. If you select another record, your first record
will be deselected.

- Click on the Verify Record button at the top or
bottom of the query results screen.

- Special Note Regarding Marking Records as Verified:
Once you click on the "Verify Record" button, the
record that you marked as verified cannot be
unverified. (If you click on "Verify Record" for the
wrong record, please contact the ISEAS Help Desk with a
request to unmark the record and provide your name,
your ISEAS Login Name, and the Confirmation Number,
Last Name and First Name of the record that you
inadvertently marked as verified.)

- The record that you marked as verified displays with
the check box grayed out and checked. In addition, the
Date Verified field is populated with the date/time the
record was verified and the Post and Post User fields
are populated with your Post Name and your Login Name.

- If you have additional records you wish to verify,
enter new query criteria in the query screen.
Otherwise, click on the Logout link at the top of the
screen to logout of ISEAS.

End cite.

9. Users will note that it is possible to enter the ISEAS
post verification application entering any combination
of post name and OpenNet login name. Users are directed
to ensure that they enter the proper post name/login
name for purposes of accountability and data
reliability.

10. CA/VO is advised that ISEAS system administrators will
sometimes enter test student records to verify that
ISEAS is operating properly. These test records can be
identified by the last name, which will be displayed as
"Validation Test-OK." These test records do not affect
ISEAS operation.

11. As ISEAS is an interim system with the limited support
and capacity implied by the term, duplicate records may
be entered into the system. If an applicant has
multiple records due to data updates, the post user
should verify against the record with the most recent
Date Entered field. (The Date Entered is displayed in
the student record.)

12. Minimize considered.
POWELL

 

 

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